flavord-sugars-msg – 3/27/05

Period flavored sugars.

NOTE: See also the files: sugar-msg, Sugar-Icing-art, sugar-sources-msg, spices-msg, sugar-paste-msg, sotelties-msg, Sgr-a-Cnftns-art, honey-msg, comfits-msg, rose-syrup-msg.

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Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 17:19:35 -0500 (EST)
From: <jenne at fiedlerfamily.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] herb -infused sugars
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Delights for Ladies, by Hugh Plat (I think) has some herb-infused sugars
in it.

> I'm working on my entries for Northern Lights...and just for the heck 
> of it trying to actually come up with things in 5 categories.  I've 
> been working on herb-infused (ginger, lavender, rose)  sugars, just 
> because they're lovely in teas... but I'm hitting a wall when it comes 
> to seeking out documentation.  Any suggestions?
>
> -Ardenia

-- Pani Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net

Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 18:12:46 -0500
From: "Elise Fleming" <alysk at ix.netcom.com>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Herb-Infused Sugar
To: "sca-cooks at ansteorra.org" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Petits Propos Culinaires, Issue 20, has an article entitled "Rose Sugar and
Other Sweets" which details (obviously!) rose sugar.  The article also
mentions violet flavored sugar as well as borage and rosemary.  The
references cited are Dutch.  The author, Joop Witteveen, found a recipe for
rose sugar in a poem written between 1265 and 1270.  He says that the rose
sugar recipe came from the Arab world.  He also notes a recipe in Menagier
de Paris (1393) for rose sugar which calls for rosewater rather than rose
petals.  The Court of King Edward I of England (1329-1307) consumed 1900
pounds of rose sugar and 300 pounds of violet sugar.  Witteveen notes that
this info is in C. Anne Wilson's _Food and Drink in Britain_, p. 289.  Will
this help you with citations?

Alys Katharine

Date: 16 Feb 2004 15:32:37 -0800
From: Colleen L McDonald <Colleen.McDonald at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] herb -infused sugars
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

On Mon, 2004-02-16 at 14:14, Wildecelery at aol.com wrote:
> I've been working on herb-infused (ginger, lavender, rose)  sugars, just 
> because they're lovely in teas... but I'm hitting a wall when
> it comes to seeking out documentation.  Any suggestions?
>
> -Ardenia>>

Plat's Delightes for Ladies (which I think has already been mentioned)
has some recipes for rose sugar.

Here are some other sources that might be of use:

Askham, Anthony.  A Little Herball.  1561(?).  Amsterdam: Theatrum Orbis
Terrarum, Ltd.; Norwood, NJ: Walter J. Johnson, Inc., 1977.
ISBN: 090-221-0843-0

A Boke Of The Properties of Herbes Called an Herball.  London: n.p. ,
1559 (?)
	could be the work of William Copland.
(on microfilm)

A Newe Herball of Macer, Translated out of Laten in to Englysshe.
London: Robert Wyer, 1543(?)
	Falsely attributed to Macer.
(on microfilm).

Have you found documentation for using the herb-infused sugars for
sweets/treat type usage?  When I made my sugar roset, I was surprised to
find that the use specified by Askham is purely medicinal in nature -
but boy, it tastes good!

Cainder

Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 08:24:35 -0500
From: "Barbara Benson" <vox8 at mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] herb -infused sugars
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

> -Ardenia
> I've been working on herb-infused (ginger, lavender, rose)  sugars, just 
> because they're lovely in teas... but I'm hitting a wall when it comes to 
> seeking out documentation.  Any suggestions?

In Sabina Welserin there is a pear tart recipe that calls for Rose Sugar.
Not being commercially available I set about making some.

What I dug up was the following:
ROSE SUGAR, in poem Naturen Bloeme (Flower of Nature) by Dutch poet Jacob
van Maerlant, written between 1265 and 1270. From "Rose Sugar and Other
Sweets" by Joop Witteveen, Petits Propos Culinaires, Number 20, 1985, pp
22-28.
1. "Rose sugar (suker rosaet) is made in the following way: rose petals that
have been rubbed fine with sugar are put in a glass jar and left in the sun
for 30 days; the contents must be stirred daily; the jar must be well sealed
and it will remain good for three years."
Witteveen says that "One could make this sugar not only from roses but also
from violets (Viola tricolor L. and Viola odorata L.) and later also from
borage and rosemary."

I dug this up on the web and that was the entirety of the quote. I know that
there are individuals on the list that have PPC and might be able to dig up
this issue and further enlighten us. I haven't made the pie yet, but I have
several jars of what looks like light brown sugar and smells like roses
(finally). For the first 20 days it just smelled like mown grass.

Serena da Riva

Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 09:59:24 -0500 (EST)
From: <jenne at fiedlerfamily.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Thanks and anpother sugar question...
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

> Many thanks to all of you who sent in information relevant to my sugar 
> inquiries.  Your asistamce has been invaluable!    Now... 
> Somehow...the moisture from the ginger root in the ginger flavored 
> sugar) has leached into my sugar, turning it in to a mush, but not 
> quite a syrup.  Does anyone have suggestions on ways to dry it back 
> out without losing the flavor?

Lay it on a tray and expose it to the air; when it has dried, crush it 
in a food processor.

Next time, you might consider getting lumps of dried ginger rather than
fresh, and crushing them with a hammer or chisel before making the 
ginger sugar.

-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net

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