sugar-icing-msg - 1/16/02 Period sugar icings. NOTE: See also the files: Sugar-Icing-art, sugar-msg, Sgr-a-Cnftns-art, marzipan-msg, Digby-Cakes-art, cookies-msg, cak-soteltes-msg, pastries-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ From: "Elise Fleming" To: Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2001 06:22:54 -0500 Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Cake Icing > We have briefly mentioned period icings before. I get the feeling > that these were much thinner than the fluffy, often rather thick > icings that I'm used to seeing these days. When did these thicker > icings come into use? Or was this a Victorian thing? I imagine these > questions on icings are highly affected by the price and availability > of sugar. > Stefan li Rous And Johnnae llyn Lewis responded: >I was already working on some icing references, so >I will also research buttercream and royal icing and >post when I get it all done. It was a busy week. To which I will comment... All I have seen to date (mostly English sources) is a coating of sugar and rosewater to "ice" the item, usually a marchpane. Within period, what we might call a cake didn't appear to have much for a "topping". When one gets into the 1650s, "cakes" begin to have an icing similar to the sugar and rosewater. Johnnae will probably have more time to double-check this than I will (!), but cakes didn't resemble our cakes, being (often) filled with fruit. Perhaps there was not so much need to coat it with sugar. I do recall that there is a period song that refers to a bridal cake being topped with plums. Alys Katharine Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2001 14:12:01 -0500 From: johnna holloway To: "sca-cooks at ansteorra.org" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] SUGAR ICING/16th C. I have as promised been at work on early sources for sugar icing. I last quoted the following on 8 October 2001. A BOOK OF COOKRYE by A. W. which was published by Edward Allde in 1591 contains the following recipe for a sugar-icing...> On page 29 at the end of a recipe for "a good Marchpaine":> " Or ever that you bake it you must cast on it fine Sugar and Rosewater that will make it look like Ice." After citing the above reference, I began to look for recipes in 17th century material. Last night while looking in box of archival copies, I came across this reference which would push the date back to 1573 in English. It's from The Treasurie of Commodious Conceits and Hidden Secrets by John Partridge.Imprinted at London for Richarde Jones. 1573. STC# 19426. This is the earliest of Partridge's works and predates The Widowes Treasure of the 1580's. Prior to the conclusion of Patridge's long recipe for "To make a Marchpane. Cap.ix" he states: "it may not bake but only be hard and through dryed, and ye may while it is moyft ftick it full of Comfets of fundrye coolers, in a comely order ye mufte moyft it ouer with Rofe water and Suger together, make it fmoothe: and to fet it in the Ouen or other inftrumet,". He concludes: "The greateft Secret that is the makynge of this cleare, is with a little fyne flowre of Ryfe, Rofewater and Suger beaten together & layd thin ouer the marchpane ere it go to dryinge: this will make it fhine lyke Ice, as Ladyes reporte." Patridge's "this will make it shine lyke Ice" does not use Ice as a verb of course, but it may well be the earliest use of Ice as a descriptive term for the sugar and rosewater (here with rice flour) mixture used as a coating for a cake. It certainly predates the 1605 Bacon quotation given by OED for the meaning "A congelation or crystalline appearance resembling ice." Or 1602 for garnishing a cake. OED lists "icing" or encrusting a cake back to 1769 and Mrs. Raffald. None of the other secondary works that I have checked cite either this recipe or this work by Partridge as sources on icing. I will post the 17th century material later this week. [NOTE - See Sugar-Icing-art - editor] Johnnae llyn Lewis Johnna Holloway Edited by Mark S. Harris sugar-icing-msg 3 of 3