Renaissance Candied Fruit, Roots & Flowers (Markham, 1623) — Step-by-Step + Modern Method

Sugared Plums (Renaissance method)

Originally published: 2015  •  Updated: 2025-10-24

Context. This post expands on Gervase Markham’s early-17th-century candying method from The English Huswife (1623), part of his famous “banqueting-stuffe”—the delicate sugarwork served at the end of elite meals. Candying preserved seasonal produce for winter and created jewel-like sweets for feast courses and subtleties. Below you’ll find Markham’s original text and a carefully tested modern method I use for SCA feast work.

🥕 Dietary Notes. Vegetarian. Vegan if you use cane sugar + corn syrup (or pure sugar) instead of honey. Gluten-free. Allergen check: avoid if sensitive to rosewater (optional).

💰 Sugar as a Status Symbol. In Markham’s day, sugar was still expensive—a luxury ingredient imported through Venice and later from the Caribbean. In the early 1600s, a pound of refined sugar could cost the equivalent of a skilled worker’s entire daily wage. By contrast, modern granulated sugar in the U.S. averages about $0.80 per pound. Its fall in price mirrors the rise of global trade, colonial expansion, and industrial refining, transforming what was once medicine and status into an everyday staple.

Original (Markham, 1623)

To candy any roote, fruite or flower. — Dissolue Sugar, or sugar candy in Rose-water, boile it to an height, put in your rootes, fruits or flowers, the sirrop being cold, then rest a little, after take them out and boyle the sirrop againe, then put in more roots, &c. then boile the sirrop the third time to an hardnesse, putting in more sugar but not Rose-water, put in the roots, &c. the sirrop being cold and let them stand till they candie.

Modern Method (235°F / soft-ball syrup)

Yields varies by fruit. Works for plums, apples, pears, candied melon, ginger, citrus peel, dried figs/apricots (rehydrate first), beets, parsnips, and carrots.

• 1–2 lb prepared fruit/roots (peeled/cored/sliced as appropriate)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup or honey (see dietary note)
• 1 cup water
• Optional: 1–2 Tbsp rosewater to finish syrup (for traditional flavor)

Dietary note: Honey was the traditional sweetener in period sources, but modern corn syrup helps prevent crystallization and keeps the syrup clear. For a vegan version, use pure cane sugar and light corn syrup; for a fully period-appropriate flavor, use honey. Both produce excellent results, though honey will give a slightly deeper, floral taste.

1. Combine sugar, corn syrup (or honey), and water. Heat to 235°F (soft-ball). Do not exceed 235°F during cooking.
2. Add dried-off fruit/roots; a brief temperature dip is normal. Simmer ~20 minutes until translucent/tender.
3. Lift out pieces with a slotted spoon; set on a mesh screen or rack to drain.
4. Drying: Preheat oven to its lowest temp, then turn it off. Place trays inside; dry overnight. Flip if tacky; continue until dry to the touch. (Humidity slows drying—be patient!)
5. Optional: Toss in superfine sugar once fully dry for a sparkling finish.

Period Principle	Modern Execution
Syrup boiled to “an height”	Target 235°F for consistent results
Repeated boilings; cool syrup before adding fruit	Single controlled cook achieves translucence without overcooking
Rosewater optional	Add a teaspoon at the end—or omit for broader palates

“To an height” referred to testing syrup by texture—spinning threads or forming a soft ball in water. Today we achieve the same stage with a thermometer at 235°F (soft-ball stage).

Candied figs & ginger with red anise comfits

Practical Notes & Troubleshooting

• Drying times: Cantaloupe ~4 days; pears/plums ~3 days.
• Using dried fruit: Rehydrate in warm water first; pat completely dry before candying.
• Clarity: Translucence signals good penetration; keep syrup at 235°F to avoid crystallization or tough textures.
• Humidity: Slows drying. Use a fan or oven-dry (off) to finish.

Historical Notes

Markham places candying within the art of “banqueting,” alongside comfits, conserves, and pastes. The repeated heat-and-cool cycles concentrate syrup and reduce moisture, extending shelf life without modern pectin or dehydrators. Rosewater (and sometimes musk/ambergris in elite contexts) perfumes the syrup; I omit it for general audiences but include it for authenticity when appropriate.

📚 About Gervase Markham (1568–1637)

Gervase Markham was an English soldier, poet, and prolific writer whose works covered everything from horsemanship to household management. His The English Huswife (1623) was among the first widely printed cookbooks written for a general English audience—addressed not to royal chefs but to literate housewives. It blended practical recipes with moral instruction, establishing the domestic ideal of the “complete woman.” Markham’s recipes for banqueting dishes, preserves, and confections helped shape early modern English cookery and are frequently cited in studies of Renaissance household life.

🍬 Historical Note. In 16th–17th century England, the banqueting course was a final display of sugarcraft served after the meal—featuring candied fruits, comfits, marchpane, and conserves. These were both edible art and preservation technique, showing the host’s wealth and skill with costly sugar.

Variations Through Time

The craft of candying—preserving fruit, roots, and flowers in sugar syrup—developed over many centuries. The method that Gervase Markham described in 1623 was not new, but rather the English refinement of a process with deep roots in the medieval and Middle Eastern world.

10th–13th centuries – The Islamic Origins of Sugarwork. The earliest known candied fruits appear in Arabic sources from Baghdad and Damascus, where apothecaries and confectioners used cane sugar syrups for both medicine and sweets. Persian texts such as al-Warraq’s Kitab al-Tabikh (10th century) and later Andalusian cookbooks describe fruits, ginger, and rose petals preserved in honey or sugar syrup. These techniques traveled west through trade and crusader contact, influencing Sicily, Venice, and Spain.

14th–15th centuries – Medieval Europe Adopts the Art. In England and France, sugar was still a luxury imported from Cyprus and Venice. Medieval cooks used honey for “wet” preserves and sugar for “dry” candies and dragées. Works such as Forme of Cury and the Harleian manuscripts include recipes for candied ginger, orange peels, and “comfites of anise.” Sugar was considered medicinal and humoral—warming and dry—suitable for ending a meal and aiding digestion. Candying thus straddled the line between medicine and luxury.

16th–17th centuries – The Banqueting Age. By Markham’s era, sugar was more accessible and became a display of refinement. Banquet tables gleamed with crystallized fruits, rose-petal confections, marchpane, and perfumed comfits. “To candy” no longer meant only to preserve, but to beautify—turning nature’s produce into edible jewels through skill and patience.

18th century – From Luxury to Refinement. As Caribbean sugar flooded Europe, flavor shifted from floral to citrus and spice. Hannah Woolley and Elizabeth Raffald’s books taught sugarwork as a core domestic art. Recipes emphasized standardization and technique, signaling candying’s transition from aristocratic novelty to middle-class kitchen craft.

19th century – Industrial and Scientific Sugarwork. The Victorian kitchen introduced the thermometer and precise sugar stages: thread, soft-ball, hard-crack. The long, multi-day candying methods survived mainly for glacé fruits and crystallized ginger, while commercial confectioners supplied candied peel for cakes and puddings.

Modern Use. Today’s glacé cherries, candied citrus, and sugared violets are the direct descendants of this thousand-year continuum. Whether performed over a charcoal brazier or an induction cooktop, the goal remains unchanged: to preserve the essence of fruit in glittering sugar for celebration and delight. 

By the 1800s, candying had evolved into bright glacé fruit and peel—descendants of a tradition that began with 10th-century Arabic confectioners.

Source

Gervase Markham, The English Huswife (London, 1623). Digital facsimile via LSE Library.