HERB - Fennel candy--LONG!

[DianaFiona@aol.com]

In a message dated 08/08/1999 10:13:58 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
RAISYA at aol.com writes:

<< 
 We wandered into an Indian spice shop today, seems like I've heard mention 
of 
 fennel candy in period, but I can't remember where.  Any one know anything 
 about this?
 
 Raisya
  >>
    Sure--there are period recipes for candied spices. I've got some 
somewhere in my files from the discussions on the Cook's list, but I don't 
have time to hunt right now. But I'm pasting in the replies to a recent query 
on that list about such things below here, including a recipe. I also suggest 
you try the Florilegium, though. The original discussions are old enough that 
Stefan probably has gotten them archived by now......... :-)

                        Ldy Diana
>>>
According to _The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy_
(Odile Redon et al., Univ of Chicago Press 1998, ISBN 0-226-70684-2),
the closing of a meal with "epices de chambre" (parlor spices) or
"confetti" (same thing in Italy) was common, a regular part of any
feast.  They specifically mention candied coriander and ginger root. 
They also say that from records it appears that these were generally
purchased already candied from the spice merchants, and so recipies
weren't included in collections.  So for France and Italy at least,
12-13-14th c., some candied spices are documented (I don't know which
of their extensive list of primary sources).  Hope this helps.

-- Harriet
>>>>

Candied spices, under the name dragees and confits, are mentioned
frequently in the 14th-century English recipes from the manuscript
sources compiled for Curye On Inglysch, as well as Le Menagier de Paris
(14th century French) and Chiquart's Du Fait de Cuisine (15th century
Savoyard/French). Harleian Ms. 2378 (15th century, also found in Curye
On Inglysch under "Goud Kokery") includes a confit (candied seed, not
all confits are the same) recipe which I think I have somewhere on disk.
If I can find it I'll post it later.

Then, of course, there's a recipe in Sir Hugh Plat's "Delightes for
Ladies" (pub. 1609 CE), which is quite long but is a little easier to
understand than the one in Harl. 2378.
 
Adamantius
>>>>

For strange reasons, I have my copy of Curye on Inglysch here at work...
(thorns turned into "th": yoghs(?) reproduced as "3")

12 To mak anneys in counfyte.  Take ii unc of fayre anneys & put them
in a panne & drye them on the fyr, euermore steryng them wyth 3owre
hand, till thei ben drye.  Put them than owte of the panne into a
cornes and take up thi suger in a ladell the montynance of a unc and
sett it on the fyr.  & ster thi suger wyth a spatyle of tree, & whan
it begynneth to boyle take a lityll up of the | suger betwene th
fyngers & thi thombe, & whan it begyneth any thyng to streme than it
is sothyn inowe.  Than sett it fro the fyre & stere it a lytyll wyth
thi spatyll, and put thin anneys than to the panne to the suger, and
euermore stere in the panne wyth thi flatte hand sadly, euermore on
the bothum, tyl thei parten.  Bot loke thou ster them & smertyly for
cleuyng togedyr.  & than sette the panne ouer the forneys ageyn,
euermore steryng wyth thi hand, & wyth that other hand euermore tourne
the panne for cause of more hete on the othyr syde tyl thei ben hote &
drye.  But loke that it mel no3t be the bothyn.  And al so as 3e see
that it ges ageyn in the bothym, sette it fro the fourneys and
euermore stere wyth 3oure hand, and put on the fourneys ageyn tyl it
be hote & drye.  And in this manere schull 3e wyrke it vp til it be as
grete as a peys, and the gretter that it waxes the more suger it
takys, and put in 3oure panne at ilke a decoccioun.  And 3if 3e see
that 3oure anneys wax rowgh and ragged, gyf 3oure suger a lower
decoccioun, for the hye decoccioun of the suger makys it rowgh and
ragged.  And 3if it be made of potte suger, gyf hym iiii decocciouns
more abouen, and at ilk a decoccioun ii vnc of suger: and it be more
or lesse, it is no forse.  And whan it is wroght vp at the latter
ende, drye it ouer the fyre, steryng euermore | wyth thi hand, and
whan it is hote and drye sette it fro the fyre and stere it fro the
fyre wyth thi hand sadly att the panne bothym til thei ben colde, for
than will thei noght chaunge ther colour.  And than put them in
cofyns, for 3if 3e put them hote in cofyns thei will change ther
colour.  And in this maner schull 3e make careawey, colyandre, fenell,
and all maner round confecciouns, and gyngeuer in counfyte; but thi
gynger sud be cote leke a dyce in smale peses, fowr sqware, and gyf
thi gynger a litill hyar decoccioun than thou gyffes the other sedys.


HTH, etc.

Vika
>>>>>

And here, in a more or less modern English version:

"To make anise in confit. Take 2 ounces of fair anise and put them in a
pan and dry them on the fire, evermore stirring them with your hand, til
they are dry. Put the out of the pan into a cornice and take up thy
sugar in a ladle the amount of an ounce and set it on the fire. And stir
thy sugar with a wooden spatula, and when it begins to boil take up a
little of the sugar between thy finger and thy thumb, and when it first
begins to spin a thread it is boiled enough. Then set it off the fire
and stir it a little with your spatula, and put your anise then to the
pan with the sugar, continually stirring with thy flat hand slowly,
always on the bottom, til they separate. But be sure you stir them
carefully to be sure they don't stick together. And then set the pan
over the stove again, continually stirring with your hand, and with your
other hand continually turn the pan so it doesn't heat unevenly, til
they are hot and dry. Be careful they don't stick/melt to the bottom.
And also as you see that it goes again in the bottom, set it off the
stove and continually stir it with your hand, and put it on the stove
again until it is hot and dry. And in this manner you shall work it up
til it is as great as a pea, and the larger it grows, the more sugar it
takes, and put in your pan, at each decoction. And if you see that your
anise grows rough and ragged, give your sugar a lower temperature, for
the high decoction of the sugar makes it rough and ragged. And if it be
made of pot sugar, give them four decoctions more above, and at each
decoction 2 ounces of sugar, and if it is more or less, it makes no
difference. And when it is wrought up at the latter end, dry it over the
fire, stirring continually with your hand, and when it is hot and dry
set it from the fire and stir it from the fire slowly with your hand at
the pan bottom til they are cold, for then they will not change their
color. And then put them in boxes, for if you put them hot in boxes they
will change their color. And in this manner shall you make caraway,
coriander, fennel, and all manner of round confections, and ginger in
confit; but your ginger should be cut in small pieces like dice, cubed,
and give your ginger a little higher decoction than you would give the
other seeds."


This recipe is perhaps the greatest (and most fun) example of how, when
you can't understand how instructions fit together, you should just say,
"What the hey" and go and do what it says, and ask your questions later.
My own questions included how much water to add to melt the sugar; after
some experimentation I discovered  that the reason the recipe mentions
no water is that no water is required. You just melt the sugar, slowly,
over a low flame, avoiding caramelizing and burning. It's a good idea to
have  a round-bottomed pan, like one of those bowl-shaped copper  sugar
pots used for zabaglione, Swiss meringue, and other stuff. I used a
small Japanese wok with a skillet handle, which had the advantage of
being able to toss the seeds around, with sugar syrup running to the
bottom where the heat is.

In the brief experimentation I did, I found that my confits did indeed
become "rough and ragged" no matter how hard I tried to avoid this. They
resembled Grape Nuts cereal rather than peas, and I found that while the
sugar became flavored all through with the volatile anise oils, what I
got was additional lumps of candy without seeds in them, once my confits
reached a certain size. They all tasted more or less like
Good-'n'-Plenty candy, for those who have heard of this product.

BTW, I can only assume that a medieval cook's hands were extremely
impervious to heat. What I finally found was a reasonable substitute for
sticking my fingers into the boiling syrup was to coat a wooden spoon
with the syrup, then dip my finger first in cold water, then in the
syrup in the spoon, to see if it spun a thread. My hands are heavily
calloused and I was concerned about burning; I suggest you be extremely
careful if you try this.

Vika, I think you tried some of these at Eastern Spring Crown Tourney,
A.S. XXXIII. Fun stuff, huh?

Adamantius   
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