***FOOD FACT FRIDAY*** WHY IS A BAKERS DOZEN 13 INSTEAD OF 12? Well this has its origins in the fact that many societies throughout history have had extremely strict laws concerning bakers wares. For example, in Ancient Egypt, should a baker be found to cheat someone, they would have their ear nailed to the door of their bakery. In Babylon, if a baker was found to have sold a light loaf to someone, the bakers hand would have been chopped off. Similarly harsh measures could be historically found throughout Europe. As it wasnt that hard to accidentally cheat a customer, given the exacting attributes required of the end product, bakers began giving more than what was required to make sure they were never cheating customers. Specifically in terms of the bakers dozen, in England,after the Assize of Bread and Ale statute was enacted in the 13th Century, it became common practice that if a vendor or other customers were to order a dozen loaves of bread from a baker, the baker would give them 13 for every dozen they ordered. Likewise, when selling any quantity, theyd give 13 units instead of 12. This effectively made sure tat the baker would never accidentally break the law and get his hand chopped off........ lol
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 08:13:37 +0000
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