The first references to the gingerbread manufacturing in Toruń date from 1380 and are associated with Niclos Czan, one of Toruń bakers of the period. However, the first gingerbread cakes in Toruń were baked as early as the 13th century. They were first made by ordinary bakers, sometimes referred to as pastry cooks, who eventually came to be termed gingerbread cooks. Similar cakes were made also by nuns in the local convents. The very word 'Piernik' in Polish (“gingerbread”) originates from the old Polish term describing spice known as “pierna”, added to flour and honey to make gingerbread batter. The spice arrived in Europe with the crusades, which initiated trade development between Europe and the Middle East. Toruń gingerbread recipes differed from baker to baker. All of them were well-guarded secrets and the recipe exchange between bakers was limited. In 1556 Toruń and Nuremberg entered into an agreement allowing the free use of Nuremberg recipes by Toruń bakers and, in return, granting the former the right to bake cakes according to Toruń recipes. Toruń bakers kept the recipes secret not only from Nuremberg or Königsberg “competitors” – the latter attempting to reproduce the taste of Toruń gingerbread – but from other Toruń bakers as well.