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.
“The Royal Feast” by Alonso Sánchez Coello (1531–1588), oil on canvas, public domain. A sumptuous Renaissance banquet scene that captures the richness and communal spirit of salumi, fruit, and condiments on the table.
Plates of cured meats, cheeses, olives, fresh and dried fruit, and mustard — listed on our 12th Night 2024 menu and served during the Primo seruitio posto in Tavola (first service on the table, antipasti). Charcuterie is a modern framing; the Italian period lens is salumi with fruit, bread, olives, and a sweet-hot mostarda. Prepared and plated by Dan Parker, the board leaned rustic and abundant—grapes spilling over, glossy olives, rosemary releasing aroma as diners reached in.
While “charcuterie” is a French term, the Italian table has long featured salumi—prosciutto, pancetta, lardo, coppa, and regional salami—paired with breads, olives, grapes, and preserved fruits. Renaissance sources also describe mostarda (sweet fruit with mustard heat). Bartolomeo Scappi (1570) includes a Mostarda amabile that blends cooked quince and apple with sugar, candied citrus, and mustard essence.
Scappi, Opera (1570), Libro II, cap. 276 — “Per far Mostarda amabile”
Quince and apples cooked with wine & sugar, worked with candied citrus and spiced with mustard—pounded to a smooth, sweet-hot sauce.
For this feast I used a modern, chutney-style mostarda for ease and flavor balance (link below), which sits comfortably in the same family even if the texture and acidity are more contemporary.
| Aspect | Period (Scappi, 1570) | Modern Chutney Used | Practical Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fruits | Quince & apples; candied citrus peels | Apples & pears; dried cherries/cranberries | Both seasonal & flexible; quince gives classic perfume |
| Sweet/acid | Sugar + wine + grape must | Sugar + white wine + cider vinegar | Modern reads more “chutney” from vinegar |
| Heat | Mustard essence/seed | Mustard seed + ground mustard + cayenne | Adjust heat post-cook to taste |
| Texture | Smooth, pounded sauce | Chunky, spoonable conserve | Either pairs well with salumi & cheese |
| Make-ahead? | Yes — improves with rest | Yes — 3–4 weeks refrigerated | Ideal for feast workflow |
Koekerye (1570)
33 Gilding Make a little honey water, brush the almonds with it, then put the gold or silver on them, and push it down with cottonwool where it does not lie straight. You can also gild gingerbread and other things this way. Prepare a broad stick to lift up the gold with. Do not touch it with the bare hand or it will spoil. Printed in Luebeck by Johan Balhorn, 1570
This is not a recipe. It is a how to gild items that you may wish to present with edible gold. This is something I learned how to do through trial and error. It was an expensive lesson and I hope to spare someone else the expense based on my experiences.
What is edible gold leaf?
Gold leaf is actual gold that is a high enough quality that it can be safely consumed. Make sure that when you are purchasing gold leaf that it is marked as "edible", otherwise, you are risking the consumption of things that can make you ill. Gold leaf will not enter your digestive system, but will pass through your body without being absorbed. It is tasteless, and for the most part, it goes unnoticed while eating.
Is gold leaf expensive?
Edible gold leaf is expensive. Edible gold leaf is made from 24 karat.
What is the best use for gold leaf?
The best usage for gold leaf is as an accent to your presentation, rather than using it to completely cover an item. Regardless of how you use it, the use of it will lend a very luxurious look to your presentations.
What does it look like?
Gold leaf can be purchased as either loose leaf sheets, or transfer sheets. It is usually found in small booklets that are approximately 2" x 4". My preference are loose leaf sheets.
What tools will I need?
Gloves - to prevent the gold leaf from sticking to the oils on your skin and messing up your work
At least two very fine bristled brushes- one to transfer the gold from the sheet to your presentation and one to dampen the surface of your presentation so the gold has something to stick to (I use a paintbrush)
An area that is free of drafts - the sheets that you purchase are extremely thin and very sensitive to airflow.
How do you apply gold leaf?
For loose gold leaf:
To use gold leaf, the surface that you will be attaching it to must be moist. You can moisten the area with a brush that has been dipped in water and then pressed onto a bit of paper towel to remove excess moisture before painting the surface of the object you will be gilding. You can also use egg whites, or a solution of gum Arabic.
Carefully fold back the paper of the booklet before lifting the leaf from between the paper with a clean, dry, brush and then move it onto the area you want to apply it. The gold will want to adhere to *everything* so you will need to be very careful when handling it that you use only a small amount at a time.
The sheets of gold are ultra thin and will fold over on themselves as soon as they are lifted from the paper.
I prefer a more rustic look when gilding. The Spanish Wedges pictured above are an example of that. The gold leaf does not adhere to the entire surface of the item.
For transfer gold leaf:
Using transfer gold leaf is not always advisable. If your project is smaller, loose leaf gold leaf is the better option. For large areas (such as an entire cake), transfer may be best.
As above, the area that will be covered should be moist. Unlike above, you will want to lift the transfer sheet and place it face down on the surface. You will want to smooth the leaf down using very light pressure to ensure that the sheet is stuck to the surface. A large make up brush would be best.
Once you have gone over the whole of the backing sheet, gently pull the backing away from the object starting from one corner. It is not unusual to find that small pieces of gold leaf may remain attached to the backing sheet. Repeat the above steps to adhere it to the object you are gilding.
Note: Gold Leaf will never have a 100% smooth finish and that is it's beauty, it will always be imperfectly perfect, so don't stress if it you see imperfections--whatever you have gilded will be absolutely stunning!
Source
Culina-Vetus.De, 2022, https://www.culina-vetus.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Koekerye-1570.pdf. Accessed 21 Sept 2022.
Originally published on Patreon Oct 5, 2022
Thomas Dawson lists comfets (comfits) as one of the "necessaries appertaining to a banquet". Comfits were often served at the end of the feast to freshen the breath, act as a digestive, as decoration, and sometimes used in the treatment of specific illnesses.
Aromatic seeds such as anise, fennel, or caraway were coated with sugar and colored using beet, spinach, or saffron. They can also be made using almonds or ginger. Comfits can still be purchased today, for example, Jordan almonds or pastilles. They are a bit time-consuming to make but oh so much tastier than the ones you purchase!
The easier comfits to make are the ones with seeds such as caraway, fennel, or anise. Making cinnamon comfits is a bit of a process. To start I will walk you through the process of candying seeds such as anise, caraway, coriander, fennel, or other seeds or nuts.
Many of the cookbooks that were published in the 1700s and after suggest coating the seeds with a solution of gum arabic. To create your solution use 1 tsp. of gum arabic, to 3 tsp. rosewater. I let mine sit overnight and it becomes a thick, honey-colored gel. If you are going to use gum arabic to coat your seeds, the first few coats (charges) will need to use this solution. Then you can move on to your sugar.
For more information on making these historic treats, please visit Historic Comfits Using Modern Equipment by Dame Alys Katharine (Elise Fleming).
Original Recipe
CLXXIX
Von allerley Zucker Confect
Ausz der Apotecken.
Of assorted sugar comfits
(as) from the apothecary
I. Almonds coated.
2. Anise coated.
3. Cinnamon-bark coated.
4. Cloves coated.
5. Coriander coated.
6. Caraway coated.
7. Fennel coated.
8. Pinion nut coated
9. Walnuts coated
10. Hazelnut (Filbert) kernels coated.
11. Peach kernel coated (I assume only the soft kernel inside the pit)
12. Citron peel coated.
13. Apricot kernel coated.
14. Assorted plum kernel(s) coated.
15. Assorted cherry kernels coated (is there a soft center to a cherry pit?)
16. Chestnuts coated.
17. (Sauer) Orange peel coated.
18. Lime peel coated (there is debate if Limonien were limes or lemons)
19. Eichorium (unsure what this is... perhaps oak???) root coated.
20. Pimpernell (Pimpinella saxifraga L) root coated. (greater Burnett???)
21. Glockenwurtz or Helmenkraut (Inula helenium L) root coated. (Elecampane is an expectorant, root also dyes blue)
22. Sugar root coated (sugar beet root)
23. Violet (or pansy) (Viola odorata L, Viola tricolor L) root coated.
24. Ginger coated.
25. Of assorted roots/ that have a well tasting scent/smell.
If you wish such comfits to coat with sugar/ so take a clean copper vessel/ that has two handholds/ hang it in the height on a rope at both handholds/ set a glow kettle with glowing coals thereunder/ put the comfits into the vessel/ and make it fine warm/ pour nice clarified (clean) sugar thereto/ and stir it often therewith/ till the confits the sugar takes to it/ so it becomes nice white and dry. Also coats one assorted grains (do they really mean wheat, rye, etc? or are they talking about kernels as in individual anise seeds?) with sugar/ and assorted spices/ so it becomes good and also welltasting.
Original Recipe How to cover all kinds of Seeds, or little pieces of Spices, or Orange or Limon Pill, with Sugar for Comfits. First of all you must have a deep bottomed Basin of Brass or Latin, with two ears of Iron to hang it with two Cords over some hot Coals. You must also have a broad Pan to put Ashes in, and hot Coals upon them. You must have a Brass Ladle to let run the Sugar upon the Seeds. You must have a Slice of Brass to scrape away the Sugar from the sides of the hanging Basin if need be. Having all these things in readiness, do as followeth; Take fine white Sugar beaten, and let your Seeds and Spice be dry, then dry them again in your hanging Basin: Take to every two pounds of Sugar one quarter of a pound of Spices or Seeds, or such like. If it be Aniseeds, two pounds of Sugar to half a pound of Aniseeds, will be enough. Melt your Sugar in this manner, put in three Pounds of Sugar into the Basin, and one Pint of Water, stir it well till it be wet, then melt it very well and boil it very softly until it will stream from the Ladle like Turpentine, and not drop, then let it seeth no more, but keep it upon warm Embers, that it may run from the Ladle upon the seeds. Move the Seeds in the hanging Basin so fast as you can or may, and with one hand, cast on half a Ladle full at a time of the hot Sugar, and rub the Seeds with your other hand a pretty while, for that will make them take the Sugar the better, and dry them well after every Coat. Do thus at every Coat, not only in moving the Basin, but also with stirring of the Comfits with the one hand, and drying the same: in every hour you may make three pounds of Comfits; as the Comfits do increase in bigness, so you may take more Sugar in your Ladle to cast on: But for plain Comfits, let your Sugar be of a light decoction last, and of a high decoction first, and not too hot. For crisp and ragged Comfits make your decoction so high, as that it may run from the Ladle, and let it fall a foot high or more from the Ladle, and the hotter you cast on your sugar, the more ragged will your Comfits be; also the Comfits will not take so much of the sugar, as upon a light decoction, and they will keep their raggedness long; this high decoction must serve for eight or ten Coats, and put on at every time but one Ladle full. A quarter of a pound of Coriander seeds, and three pounds of sugar, will serve for very great Comfits. See that you keep your Sugar in the Basin always in good temper, that it burn not in Lumps, and if at any time it be too high boiled, put in a spoonful or two of water, and keep it warily with your Ladle, and let your fire be always very clear, when your Comfits be made, set them in Dishes upon Paper in the Sun or before the Fire, or in the Oven after Bread is drawn, for the space of one hour or two, and that will make them look very white.
Comfits
1 tbsp. seed of choice (anise, fennel, caraway, etc.)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
Instructions 1. If you choose to coat your seeds with gum arabic you will need to do that in the first few charges of syrup. The ratio that most of the later confectionary books used was 6:1 - 6 parts sugar syrup to 1 part gum arabic solution. It has an odd smell when you "cook" it, but that does not affect the taste 2. Heat the sugar and the water until it reaches 170 degrees for a smooth coat, or 225 degrees for a jagged coat. 3. While the sugar syrup is heating, you will want to heat your seeds or nuts in a large flat pan such as a wok or frying pan in order to release its essential oils. If you cannot use your fingers to stir the seeds as they heat it is too hot. 4. Once the syrup has reached the temperature you want, take a teaspoon of it and pour it over the seeds in the pan. I shake the pan until the syrup has cooled enough I can smooth the seeds around with my fingers. However, you can use the back of a wooden spoon, and stir the seeds until the sugar dries.
NOTE: In the first few charges (coats) of the syrup the seed will look grayish, and then they will gradually begin to turn white. 5. After about 12 charges, you are done for the day. I prefer my comfits smaller, so I usually do not do this process a second day. However, you can, if you wish, make another solution of syrup and coat your seeds again after they have had time to dry out overnight. The larger the comfits get, the more you will need to divide your batch. You need to be able to work with the pan.
NOTE: Beet juice, spinach juice, and saffron can be used to color your comfits in the last several charges of syrup, or, you can add a few drops of food coloring if you wish.
To Make Cinnamon Comfits
Cinnamon comfits require an extra step. First, you need to make sure that you are using "true" cinnamon, that is Ceylon Cinnamon, which is soft, crumbly, and brittle. When you look at it, it is "compact" and consists of many layers. Cassia cinnamon is what you normally find in the store, and it is thick, and darker in color than Ceylon cinnamon which is a light rusty brown in color. Once you have obtained Ceylon cinnamon you will need to soak it overnight in water. This is so that you can shave it down into the needle-like strips that are needed to make the comfit. Then you will need to let your cinnamon dry thoroughly. Once the cinnamon has dried completely, proceed as above, being careful to coat the cinnamon with the gum arabic/syrup solution in the first three charges (coats). You will need to stop coating your comfits after about eight charges of syrup and let them dry overnight. Then you can make another solution of syrup and continue the next day. Enjoy!
Update: Regarding cinnamon comfits, I have been able to make these successfully without soaking ahead of time.
Sources
"Deutsches Textarchiv – Rumpolt, Marx: Ein New Kochbuch. Frankfurt (Main), 1581.". Deutschestextarchiv.De, 2022, https://www.deutschestextarchiv.de/book/view/rumpolt_kochbuch_1581/?p=418&hl=Rote. Accessed 4 Oct 2022.
Palmer, Sharon. "Ein New Kochbuch". Academia.Edu, 2022, https://www.academia.edu/6272538/Ein_New_Kochbuch. Accessed 4 Oct 2022.
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| Fig. Walnut and Candied Ginger Fruit Paste in the pan |
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| Plum Paste drying in the pan |
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Marchpane, Gingerbread, Coriander Flavored Marzipan (Callishones) decorated with White Coriander Comfits |
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| Marchpane, Gingerbread, Coriander Flavored Marzipan (Callishones) decorated with White Coriander Comfits |
Updated: August 19, 2025
Featuring recipes for: Roast Goose, Sage & Onion Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Apple Sauce, Beef Gravy, Christmas Plum Pudding — plus bonus pantry sauces: Harvey’s Sauce & Mushroom Ketchup.
Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management, 1861
A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas (1843) is my perennial December re-read. It’s timeless, hopeful—and born of a darker reality Dickens refused to ignore. Before we sit down to the Cratchits’ dinner, a little context.
What is Quince? The quince is a member of the Rosaceae family, which also includes apples, pears, apricots, plums and roses. It is one of the earliest known cultivated fruits and appears in many medieval recipes.
Also loke ye haue in all seasons butter, chese, apples, peres,notes, plommes, grapes, dates, fygges, & raysyns, compost, grene ginger and chardequynce (Furnivall, 1868).
