Originally published: June 29, 2025 | Updated: June 3, 2026
Updated 6/3/2026: This post has been refreshed to current Give It Forth standards with expanded historical context, clearer recipe formatting, feast service notes, dietary notes, FAQ, internal links to the Roman feast series, and updated structured recipe data.
What is Krambe?Krambe is cabbage, a humble but important vegetable in the Roman diet. This Roman-inspired version is boiled until tender, chopped, and dressed with olive oil, wine, liquamen or fish sauce, caraway, onion, coriander, salt, and pepper.
Krambe in the Roman Feast
This cabbage dish was served as part of the Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast, where it appeared in the mensa prima, the more substantial part of the meal. After the opening course of olives, flatbread, sausages, cucumbers, and cheese spread, dishes like cabbage, chickpeas, and smoked ham gave the feast its heartier center.
Krambe works especially well for large feast service because it is inexpensive, sturdy, and flexible. It can be served warm, cooled, or chilled, and its dressing gives a plain vegetable enough brightness to stand beside richer Roman-inspired dishes.
The combination of olive oil, wine, fish sauce, onion, caraway, and herbs gives the cabbage a sharp, savory flavor. It is not a modern mayonnaise-based cabbage salad. It is closer to a dressed cooked vegetable: tender, seasoned, aromatic, and practical for event cooking.
“Krambe,” from Greek krambē, refers to cabbage, a vegetable that appears frequently in discussions of ancient food and medicine. Cabbage was a common food, but it also carried a strong reputation as a useful household remedy.
Roman authors such as Cato the Elder praised cabbage for its supposed medicinal properties. In De Agricultura, Cato gives cabbage an almost heroic place among garden plants, treating it as useful for digestion, health, and recovery. Whether or not we accept those claims today, they show how seriously Romans could regard an ordinary vegetable.
Apicius also includes cabbage preparations, reminding us that cabbage was not only medicinal or humble. It could be dressed, seasoned, and brought to table as part of a flavorful meal. Roman cooks often relied on combinations of oil, wine, vinegar or wine-based liquids, herbs, spices, and liquamen to make simple ingredients lively.
This version reflects that Roman habit of treating vegetables with strong seasoning. The fish sauce provides salt and depth, the wine sharpens the dressing, the olive oil enriches the cabbage, and the caraway gives a warm aromatic note.
⚖️ Humoral note: Later medieval dietary theory often treated cabbage as a vegetable that could be heavy or windy if poorly prepared. Boiling, draining, seasoning, and dressing it with warming spices and sharp liquids would have made practical sense to later cooks, even though this recipe is Roman-inspired rather than medieval.
Originally published: June 29, 2025 | Updated: June 3, 2026
Updated 6/3/2026: This post has been refreshed to current Give It Forth standards with expanded historical context, clearer recipe formatting, feast service notes, dietary notes, FAQ, internal links to the Roman feast series, and updated structured recipe data.
What are Erebinthoi Knakosymmigeis?Erebinthoi are chickpeas, and this Roman-inspired preparation simmers them simply with saffron and salt. The dish is warm, fragrant, filling, and useful as a legume-based side in an Early Roman feast.
Erebinthoi Knakosymmigeis in the Roman Feast
These saffron chickpeas were served as part of the Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast. They belong naturally in the mensa prima, the more substantial part of the meal, where legumes, cooked vegetables, and meats helped anchor the feast after the opening gustum.
Chickpeas are practical feast food. They are inexpensive, filling, easy to scale, and able to hold flavor without needing complicated service. For a primitive or outdoor event, a warm legume dish can be especially useful because it brings substance to the table without relying on fragile last-minute plating.
This recipe is intentionally simple. The chickpeas are soaked, simmered, seasoned with salt, and colored and perfumed with saffron. The result is not a heavily sauced dish. It is a minimalist preparation that lets the creamy texture of the chickpeas and the fragrance of saffron stand forward.
🏛️ Roman feast note: Erebinthoi Knakosymmigeis pairs especially well with Krambe, Lucanicae, and Petaso paro Mustacei. It gives the meal a sturdy legume component and balances richer meat dishes.
Historical Background
Chickpeas, known in Greek as erebinthoi, were a familiar food in the ancient Mediterranean. They could be eaten in a variety of ways: boiled, roasted, seasoned, used in porridges, or served as part of broader vegetable and legume dishes.
Roman and Greek medical writers discussed legumes in terms of digestion, nourishment, and bodily effect. Authors such as Galen and Celsus refer to foods not only as ingredients, but as part of a wider understanding of health and diet. Chickpeas, like other legumes, were valued because they were sustaining, accessible, and substantial.
The addition of saffron makes this otherwise humble dish feel more refined. Saffron was an expensive aromatic spice, valued for its color, fragrance, and association with luxury. In the Roman world, saffron could appear in food, scent, ceremony, and elite display. Even a small pinch changes the dish: the chickpeas take on a golden hue and a warm, floral aroma.
Did You Know?
Saffron was so precious in Roman times that it was sometimes used as perfume, scattered in public spaces, or associated with elite entertainments. In this dish, it elevates a humble legume into something suitable for a feast table.
This contrast between ordinary chickpeas and costly saffron is part of the appeal. The dish remains simple and nourishing, but the saffron adds a small golden flourish, turning a basic legume into a feast-worthy side.
⚖️ Humoral note: Later medieval dietary theory often treated legumes as substantial and sometimes difficult to digest if poorly prepared. Soaking, simmering until tender, and serving warm would all make practical sense. Although this is a Roman-inspired recipe rather than a medieval one, the concern for digestibility and balance carries forward into later food writing.
Originally published: June 29, 2025 | Updated: June 3, 2026
Updated 6/3/2026: This post has been refreshed to current Give It Forth standards with expanded historical context, clearer recipe formatting, feast service notes, dietary notes, FAQ, internal links to the Roman feast series, and structured recipe data.
What are Itria and Basyniai? These two Roman-inspired sweets were served as part of the mensa secunda, the final course of the feast. Itria is interpreted here as a honeyed sesame-and-nut sweet, while Basyniai are small fig-and-walnut pastries fried in oil and finished with warm honey.
Itria and Basyniai in the Roman Feast
The final course of a Roman-style meal was not always a modern dessert course in the strict sense. Roman diners enjoyed fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, honeyed sweets, cakes, and small confections, but sweet and savory flavors could appear throughout the meal. A final course might refresh the palate rather than act as a heavy sugary ending.
For the Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast, these two sweets were served alongside assorted fresh and dried fruit and sugared nuts. Together, they offered the kind of small, rich, portable treats that work beautifully at the end of a large feast.
Both recipes are practical for event cooking. The sesame sweet can be made ahead, portioned into small bites, and served cooled. The fig-and-walnut pastries are best warm, but the filling and dough can be prepared in advance, making final service easier.
🏛️ Roman feast note: These sweets were part of the mensa secunda, served after the more substantial dishes of the feast. They pair especially well with fruit, nuts, grape juice, apple juice, lemonade, or other light beverages for a modern event table.
Historical Background
Sesame and honey confections were beloved across the ancient Mediterranean. Greek and Roman foodways both made use of small sweets made from seeds, nuts, dried fruits, and honey. These were compact, rich, and easy to portion, making them especially useful for feast service.
The Greek pasteli and Roman iritia or itria bear some resemblance to seed-and-honey sweets, although ancient food terms can shift in meaning depending on source, period, and context. For this feast, Itria was interpreted as a honey-bound sesame-and-nut confection: simple, fragrant, and portioned as small bites for the end of the meal.
Basyniai reflects another familiar ancient pattern: fruit and nuts enclosed in simple dough, fried in oil, and finished with honey. Figs, walnuts, olive oil, and honey were all well-suited to Roman-style sweets. The result is rustic rather than delicate, but rich, memorable, and feast-friendly.
These sweets also help modern diners understand that Roman final courses were not necessarily the same as modern desserts. A Roman-inspired ending could include fruit, nuts, honeyed cakes, fried pastries, and small confections rather than a single large cake or pudding.
⚖️ Humoral note: Later medieval dietary theory often treated nuts as rich and substantial, dried fruits as warming and nourishing, and honey as warming and drying. Although these are Roman-inspired sweets rather than medieval recipes, the practical balance is clear: dense nuts and figs are lifted by crisp pastry, toasted sesame, and warm honey.
Recreating an Early Roman Feast – Push for Pennsic 2004
Served at Push for Pennsic 2004 · SCA Event · Early Roman Style
Originally published: November 19, 2015 | Updated: June 3, 2026
Updated 6/3/2026: This feast hub has been refreshed to current Give It Forth standards with clearer menu organization, links to the recreated recipe posts, additional Roman meal context, practical feast-planning notes, dietary notes, FAQ, and FAQ structured data.
What was the Push for Pennsic Roman Feast? This was an Early Roman-style feast served at Push for Pennsic in 2004. It was designed for more than 100 diners and built around dishes that could be prepared ahead, transported, and served at room temperature under primitive site conditions.
About This Feast
Another blast from the past! This three-course feast was presented in the Roman style, allowing a diverse selection of savory and sweet items across all three courses. Designed to accommodate over 100 diners, the menu focused on dishes that could be made ahead and served at room temperature, with only a few heated on-site using a grill.
The feast site lacked a kitchen, with only a hose for water access, making this my third, possibly fourth, large-scale feast executed under primitive conditions. Because of that, the menu needed to be practical as well as historically inspired. Dishes had to travel well, hold safely, and make sense for service without a modern kitchen.
This is one of the reasons Roman food can be so useful for SCA and event cooking. Many Roman-inspired dishes are boldly flavored, served warm or at room temperature, and built from ingredients that can be prepared in advance: olives, cheese spreads, legumes, greens, sausages, breads, fruits, nuts, and honeyed or spiced sweets.
The Roman Meal Structure
A Roman-style meal is often described in three broad parts: the gustum, or appetizer course; the mensa prima, or main course; and the mensa secunda, or final course. This structure gave the feast a historical framework while still allowing the menu to be practical for a large modern event.
Gustum: The appetizer course. These were small dishes meant to awaken the appetite. Olives, egg dishes, salads, spreads, sausages, and light vegetables could all belong here.
Mensa Prima: The main course. This was the more substantial portion of the meal, often including meats, legumes, cooked vegetables, and richer sauces.
Mensa Secunda: The final course. This might include fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, cakes, sweets, and other small delicacies. Roman meals did not always separate sweet and savory flavors as sharply as modern diners do, so sweet elements could appear throughout the meal.
Many dishes in this feast reflect the rich culinary heritage of Rome, inspired by texts such as Apicius and other classical sources. Some historical accuracy was necessarily interpreted through available ingredients, modern safety expectations, and the realities of cooking for a large event, but the goal was to preserve the spirit, flavor, and structure of an ancient Roman meal.
🏛️ Feast planning note: This menu works especially well for events because many dishes can be made ahead and served cold or at room temperature. That makes it useful for outdoor events, camping, Pennsic-style conditions, and sites with limited kitchen access.
Originally published 5/10/2015 - Updated 5/27/2026
Sugar plate looks simple at first glance: sugar, rosewater, a little water, and flowers. In practice, it is a small master class in medieval sugarwork. It asks the cook to understand heat, texture, timing, humidity, and the mysterious moment when syrup becomes candy.
When I first made this recipe, I worked from the version in Pleyn Delit. I originally associated it with Harleian MS. 279, but while revisiting the recipe for this update I traced the attribution more carefully. In the second edition of Pleyn Delit, the recipe is identified as GK13, which points to Goud Kokery, recipe 13, preserved in Harleian MS. 2378 and printed in Curye on Inglysch.
That discovery changed the way I read the recipe. The original Middle English text does not describe a modern hard candy in thermometer language. Instead, it tells the cook to test the sugar between the fingers, remove it from the fire, stir it, work it, and make the “plate.” That suggests a softer, worked confection may be closer to the historical method, though the hard-crack version is still beautiful for feast display.
Violet petals preserved in sugar plate. The clearer amber candy was cooked to hard crack; the paler version was cooked lower and beaten.
What Is Sugar Plate?
Sugar plate is a medieval confection made by cooking clarified sugar, flavoring it, and forming it into a sheet or slab. The word “plate” here does not mean a dinner plate. It means a flat piece, layer, or formed sheet of sugar.
This is different from sugar paste. Sugar paste is usually a kneadable mixture used for molded or sculpted sugarwork, often involving a binder such as gum tragacanth. Sugar plate, by contrast, begins as cooked sugar and is poured or worked into a flat confection.
In a medieval feast setting, sugar plate belonged to the same elegant world as comfits, preserved fruits, marchpane, wafers, and subtlety work. It was sweet, scented, decorative, and expensive enough to make a statement. A small dish of rose-scented sugar with flowers would have been both dessert and table ornament.
The Source Trail: From Pleyn Delit Back to Goud Kokery
This recipe began for me with Pleyn Delit, but the revised edition gives the source as GK13. That abbreviation refers to Goud Kokery, one of the Middle English recipe collections included in Curye on Inglysch. The printed source identifies the recipe as Suger plate, from Harleian MS. 2378.
Finding the original mattered because it changed how I interpreted the cooking process. The modern recipe gives a practical adaptation, but the Middle English instructions are more revealing about texture and technique.
Original source:Suger plate, GK13, from Goud Kokery in Curye on Inglysch, Harleian MS. 2378.
Modern interpretation: The Pleyn Delit version used for my original kitchen testing.
The original recipe gives several clues that are important for a modern cook:
It begins with clarified sugar.
The sugar is tested between the fingers, not with a thermometer.
The cook is told to avoid letting it become too stiff.
The sugar is removed from the fire and stirred.
Rosewater is added after cooking.
The sugar is worked or formed into a “plate.”
This makes me think the historical preparation was probably not a clear, glassy hard-crack candy in the modern lollipop sense. It seems more likely to have been a worked sugar confection, cooked to a stage where it could still be stirred, handled, flavored, and formed.
That does not make the hard-crack version wrong as a modern feast interpretation. It is beautiful, dramatic, and useful for display. But if I were choosing the version that feels closest to the manuscript process, I would choose the softer worked sugar plate.
Medieval Sugar Stages for Modern Cooks
Modern candy recipes usually give temperatures. Medieval recipes usually do not. Instead, cooks judged sugar by appearance, texture, behavior, and touch. That is why older confectionery language includes terms such as thread, pearl, feather, ball, and crack.
The exact temperatures below are modern approximations. They are useful for home cooks, but historical cooks would have relied on experience and physical tests.
Stage
Approx. Temp.
What It Does
Modern Use
Thread
223–235°F
Forms thin threads from spoon or fingers
Syrups, preserves
Pearl / Blow
230–240°F
Thick syrup, bubbles, stronger strands
Candied fruits, soft sugarwork
Soft Ball
235–240°F
Forms a soft ball in cold water
Fondant, fudge-like candies
Firm Ball
245–250°F
Forms a firmer but pliable ball
Caramels, chewy candies
Hard Ball
250–265°F
Holds shape but remains chewy
Nougat, divinity-style candies
Soft Crack
270–290°F
Forms flexible brittle threads
Taffy, butterscotch
Hard Crack
300–310°F
Sets hard and glass-like
Lollipops, brittle, clear candy
Caramel
320°F and above
Sugar browns and develops caramel flavor
Caramelized sugar
For this recipe, the manuscript clues point most strongly toward the thread, pearl, or soft-ball range rather than hard crack. In testing, about 230°F produced a softer, paler sugar plate that could be beaten and worked before setting.
Humoral Notes: Sugar, Rosewater, and Flowers
Medieval sweets often lived at the border between food and medicine. Sugar was valued not only for sweetness, but also for its usefulness in medicinal preparations, preserves, and digestive confections.
Rosewater adds another layer. Roses were associated with cooling and comforting properties, especially for the heart and stomach. Violets were also often understood as cooling and soothing. A rose-scented sugar confection served at the end of a meal therefore made sense as both pleasure and digestive finish.
For a modern cook, this helps explain why such a small sweet could matter. Sugar plate was not meant to be eaten by the handful. It was a fragrant, elegant closing bite: sweet, floral, and showy enough to belong on a banquet table.
Modern Recipe: Sugar Plate with Edible Flowers
I am including two modern approaches below. The softer worked version is the one I now think is closest to the manuscript process. The hard-crack version is a useful feast-table adaptation when you want clear, dramatic candy with flowers suspended inside.
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
Enough water to thoroughly wet the sugar
2 tablespoons rosewater
1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional, to help reduce crystallization
Edible flowers or petals, such as violets, roses, pinks, calendula, borage, or lavender
Confectioner’s sugar, rice flour, or lightly oiled parchment for preventing sticking
Equipment
Heavy-bottomed saucepan
Reliable candy thermometer, preferably digital
Heat-safe spatula
Parchment paper or a marble slab
Rimmed baking sheet or shallow candy molds
Safety note: Hot sugar syrup is dangerous. It sticks to skin and burns deeply. Keep children and pets away from the stove, use care while pouring, and do not taste until fully cooled.
Version 1: Softer Worked Sugar Plate
This is the version I now favor as the more historically plausible interpretation. It produces a pale, opaque, rose-scented sugar confection rather than a clear hard candy.
Method
Prepare your work surface. Line a baking sheet with parchment, or prepare a clean marble slab. Dust very lightly with rice flour or confectioner’s sugar if needed.
Prepare the flowers. Use only edible, unsprayed flowers. Remove stems and green parts. Petals are easier to use than whole blossoms.
Dissolve the sugar. Place the sugar in a heavy saucepan with just enough water to wet it thoroughly. Add lemon juice if using. Heat gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Cook the syrup. Increase the heat and cook to about 230°F. This is in the thread to soft-ball neighborhood, not hard crack.
Remove from heat. Let the syrup cool slightly, then stir in the rosewater carefully. It may steam or bubble.
Beat and work the sugar. Stir with a heat-safe spatula as it cools. The sugar will begin to thicken and turn paler.
Add flowers. When the sugar is no longer violently hot but still workable, fold in the petals.
Form the plate. Pour or spread the sugar onto the prepared surface before it becomes too stiff.
Cool and serve. Let set fully, then cut or break into small pieces.
The result is softer and more delicate than modern hard candy. It is also more sensitive to humidity, so store it carefully between layers of parchment in an airtight container.
Version 2: Clear Hard-Crack Sugar Plate
This version is less likely to be the exact historical method for GK13, but it is beautiful and practical if you want a dramatic display candy. Flowers suspended in clear amber sugar look like tiny stained-glass windows.
Method
Line a rimmed baking sheet with lightly oiled parchment.
Scatter edible petals across the parchment, or have them ready to add just before pouring.
Cook the sugar syrup to 300°F.
Do not stir once the sugar has dissolved, as stirring can encourage crystallization.
Pour quickly over the petals or into molds.
Let cool completely before breaking into pieces.
This version sets rapidly. Work quickly, and do not try to handle the sugar while it is hot.
Kitchen Testing Notes
My first two attempts at hard-crack sugar plate were unsuccessful. I tested using the cold-water method, but both batches resulted in a soft, gummy candy. After that, I bought a digital thermometer, and the third attempt finally produced the clear amber candy I had been trying to make.
The lesson was immediate: sugarwork rewards accuracy. Humidity, pan size, water amount, heat level, and thermometer reliability all affect the finished candy. Medieval cooks would have learned these stages by experience. Modern cooks can absolutely learn the same skills, but a thermometer makes the learning curve less sticky.
I also tested the lower-temperature version because the manuscript wording seemed to suggest a pourable but not overly stiff candy. That batch was cooked to about 230°F and beaten as it cooled. I added petals of violets and pinks after the sugar began to turn pale.
Both versions were beautiful, and both were approved by my team of test teenagers. I had dim hope there would be leftovers based on the amount consumed by the test subjects. There were not many leftovers. This is, in my opinion, a successful sign.
Which Version Should You Make?
If you are making sugar plate for the first time, I recommend starting with the softer worked version. It is closer to the manuscript clues and gives you a better sense of how medieval sugar cookery worked by texture.
If you are making this for a feast display, a dessert board, or a dramatic final-course sweet, the hard-crack version is lovely. It may be less historically exact, but it creates a beautiful edible decoration.
Version
Temperature
Result
Best Use
Worked sugar plate
About 230°F
Pale, softer, opaque
Historical reconstruction, small sweets
Hard-crack flower candy
300°F
Clear, amber, brittle
Feast display, decorative shards
Flowers for Sugar Plate
Edible flowers turn sugar plate from simple candy into feast art. Use only flowers that are safe to eat and have not been sprayed with pesticides or florist preservatives.
Good Choices
Violets
Rose petals
Pinks or dianthus petals
Calendula petals
Borage flowers
Lavender blossoms, used sparingly
Delicate petals may discolor in very hot sugar, so add them late. For the hard-candy version, scattering petals onto parchment and pouring the syrup over them may preserve their shape better than stirring them into the pot.
For SCA Feasts, Classes, and Historical Demonstrations
Sugar plate is a useful recipe for teaching historical cooking because it shows how much older recipes depend on observation. The original does not give a thermometer reading. It gives behavior: test the sugar, watch the texture, stir it, and do not let it become too stiff.
For a class: Make both versions and let people compare texture.
For feast service: Serve small pieces with wafers, comfits, preserved fruit, or marchpane.
For display: Use the hard-crack version for dramatic translucent shards.
For historical discussion: Use the softer version to talk about sugar stages before thermometers.
For transport: Pack pieces between parchment and keep dry.
For humid weather: Store airtight and avoid leaving the candy uncovered for long periods.
Dietary Notes 🥕
Vegetarian: Yes
Vegan: Yes, assuming vegan sugar is used
Gluten-Free: Yes
Dairy-Free: Yes
Egg-Free: Yes
Common Allergens: None inherent, but confirm flower safety and possible cross-contact
Serving Suggestions
Serve as part of a banquet or final course with comfits, wafers, marchpane, and preserved fruits.
Break hard-crack sugar plate into irregular shards and arrange them on a small plate.
Cut or mold the softer worked version into small pieces once it has set.
Use rose petals for a romantic final-course sweet, or violets for a spring feast.
Package small pieces in paper twists or tiny dishes for an event treat.
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Sources
Hieatt, Constance B. Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks. 2nd ed. University of Toronto Press, 1996. See “Sugar Plate,” p. 175, attributed to GK13.
AI Assistance Disclosure: Historical transcription, formatting, and redaction support were provided with the help of AI tools for research and editing. Some images were created or edited with AI tools. All historical interpretation and final text are curated and verified by the editor of Give It Forth.
