SC - Hello--this is the requested intro by a newcomer.

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Welcome, Joan!

GARNER at admin.hnc.edu wrote:
> I have a (hopefully) simple question: are sugared flowers suitable for
> ornamenting late medieval French food?  I'm not a raging purist by any
> means, but if they are strictly a Victorian conceit, then even I would
> have to draw the line!
> 
> Joan Garner
> GARNER at ADMIN.HNC.EDU

Nyah! Ah! Ah! (Or other designated evil chuckle...) We always hope our
questions are simple!

Actually, the simple answer is: I dunno. 

The complex answer is that recipes for various candied flowers are found
in some late-period English sources. The one that comes to mind first is
Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book, which, as we all know, Emerged Fully
Grown From The Forehead of Zeus in 1604 ;  ), and most of the recipes
therein are from some unspecified prior date. I wouldn't be at all
surprised to find that candied flowers are a descendant of the various
confited (in this case sugared) spices, although the method for
producing them is slightly different. I do know that spice confits show
up frequently in medieval recipes as a garnish for various foods, but
I'm aware of no direct evidence that this was ever done with candied
flowers.

On the other hand, if they weren't used in that way, what DID they do
with them?

So, the extreme likelihood, based on what we really know, is that
candied flowers did exist in what the SCA regards as late period
England, and might well have been found in France too. They might have
been used as a garnish for food, and they might not.

I hope this helps.

G. Tacitus Adamantius