A period dish

Candied Fruit

Fruit preserved in sugar syrup and dried, a costly sweet for the banquet table.

Serves 8

Sugar was an expensive import and candying was a way to display wealth. Citrus peel, cherries, and melon rind were cooked in syrup and dried, then served as confetti or used to decorate marchpane.

Ingredients

Produce

  • 4 orange peel
  • 2 lemon peel

Pantry / Durable

  • 4 cup sugar

Other

  • 4 cup water

Method

  1. Cut citrus peel or firm fruit into pieces and blanch them.

  2. Make a syrup with sugar and water and simmer the fruit in it.

  3. Repeat the simmering in stronger syrup over several days until the fruit is translucent.

  4. Drain the pieces and roll them in sugar.

  5. Dry them on a rack and store them in a covered jar.

Served at

A Borgia table in Rome · Rome, Italy

A supper near Calais · Calais, France

The Diet at Augsburg · Augsburg, Germany