SC - Sugar Questions

[Margritte]

Below are two recipes I used as a basis for a sugar-paste confection
entered in a recent A&S competition. One of the judges made the comment
that "... powdered sugar is not period." My question is, if a late period
recipe calls for "refined sugar" ground in a mortar, why isn't powdered
sugar period? What should I have used instead? This same judge made a
comment on another entry of mine, saying "Brown sugar is not period- the
raw sugar would be great." I'd like opinions from the list.

- -Margritte

To make Paste of flowers of the colour of Marble, tasting of natural flowers.
Take every sort of pleasing Flowers, as Violets, Cowslips, Gilly-flowers,
Roses or Marigolds, and beat them in a Mortar, each flower by itself with
sugar, till the sugar become the colour of the flower, then put a little
Gum Dragon steept in water into it, and beat it to a perfect paste; and
when you have half a dozen colours, every flower will take of his nature,
then rowl the paste therein, and lay one piece upon another, in mingling
sort, so rowl your paste in small rowls, as big and as long as your finger,
then cut it off the bigness of a small Nut, overthwart, and so rowl them
thin, that you may see a knife through them, so dry them before the fire
till they be dry.
A Queen's Delight or The Art of Preserving, Conserving and Candying,
printed for Nathaniel Brook, 1654.

To make Paste Royall-white.
Take a pound of refined sugar beaten and searced and put into an Alabaster
Mortar, with an ounce of Gum dragagant, steeped in Rose water: and if you
see your Paste be too weake, put in more sugar; if too dry, more Gumme,
with a drop or two of oyle of Cinnamon, so that you never deceive your
self, to stand upon quantities: beat it into perfect paste, and then you
may print it with your molds: and when it is dry, gild it, and so keep them.
A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen or The Art of preserving, conserving
and candying, printed for Arthur Johnson, 1608.

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