Wednesday, 4 February 2026

Presentation

 

Presentation

A gift handed to a recipient in a paper bag is still an acceptable gift, but how much pleasanter it is to receive it nicely packaged.

Eyes feast on expectation. The tin above is an example of attractive presentation. I came across it while looking for ginger biscuits. It appealed to me instantly. Sometimes the contents of striking containers do not live up to the expectation, but these biscuits did. Heart-shaped and pleasantly gingery, they were a delight.

In the 15th century, German monks imported ginger biscuits to Sweden. Ginger biscuits had been known in England and Germany for many years before this.


In 1929, sisters Anna and Emma Karlsson established a bakery in Östermalm, Stockholm, to produce thin ginger biscuits. The legend is that a wish will come true if a biscuit held in the palm of one’s hand breaks into three when gently tapped. Don’t tap too hard or there will be a handful of crumbs!

Nyåkers Pepparkakor are also attractively packaged. They were introduced in the 1940s by two brothers, Bengt and John Åström, in the village of Nyåker. This area became known as the ‘Promised Land of ginger biscuits.’



I could make my own biscuits, of course, but I’m pretty sure they would not stand comparison with either of the above products, neither of which are always readily available. 

14 comments:

  1. That's a lovely container for scummy ginger biscuits. The tin makes them a very special gift.
    I do like biscuit tins and their contents. Unfortunately I have 5 or 6 tins and only use one of them. And I do give them away when I can. You've given me an idea for my friends birthday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our tins contain Christmas decorations, sewing items, small tools, buttons, remote control devices. When they get too battered they are thrown out.

      Delete
  2. We have several attractive tins that we use as containers for other items. They are decoratively quite splendid - and efficient, too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. They do say you eat with your eyes first, and what a lovely feast.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Here they are probably called ginger snaps. I love ginger snaps! But this canister is probably more delightful than the biscuits.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am not familiar with ginger biscuits, but I am familiar with ginger snaps. I googled and found out they are 'almost' the same thing, with a few differences. They are quite good with a cup of hot tea!! (But, of course, then don't come in such a pretty container.)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I do love a nicely decorated tin and used to collect them, but eventually gave some away as I never used them and they took up too much space. I have a few still, mostly Christmas designs and one that used to hold chocolates.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is a very nice tin and it is certainly designed to meet the eye. I agree, packaging is of great importance..

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am a sucker for a pretty tin too...or any attractive packaging, honestly.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Our Swedish blogging mate Monica will be delighted to read this blogpost which is sure to boost the sales of Swedish ginger biscuits.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've bought tins of ??? because I liked the tin,, I still look at stuff and think it would be good for something in my classroom and I retired from teaching 20 years ago!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love a beautiful tin, but in the interest of losing some weight have vowed not to buy any more (unless they're empty from the thrift store)

    ReplyDelete



Thank you for visiting. I love to read your comments and really appreciate you taking the time to respond to posts.

I will always try to repay your visit whenever possible.