"Everything Imaginable Made of Sugar"
Translation of the third course of
The first banquet for Emperors for the early meal on a meat day, and
re-creation of a selection of said third course from
Ein New Kochbuch by Marxen Rumpolt
© 1999 by M. Grasse

As entered in the
Kingdom of the Outlands Queens Prize Competition 1998
By Gwen Catrin von Berlin

In the section on "Von allerly Zucker Konfect" - of all sorts of sugar confectionery, Rumpolt compares it to what is available at an apothecary. I am not able to reliably state if these sweets were considered candy or medicinal; in either case they are tasty.

The sugar coated spices may be thought of as an interesting medieval breath freshener. The coated nuts and peels are more of a dainty or a treat. And the perfect way to present such sweets is a dish made of sugarplate.

My version:

1 t spice (coriander, cloves, anise, etc.) seeds
2 T sugar (up to, add gradually, perhaps a teaspoon at a time as needed)

Place your spices (or nuts, but use larger amounts of nuts and sugar) - one kind only, do each type of spice or nut separately to keep the flavors from becoming muddled - in a heavy-bottomed pot. Heat gently, then add your sugar, stirring frequently while sugar melts and spices are coated. I was unable to keep the sugar from caramelizing, so unfortunately my confectionery is not white, but it is good and also good tasting.

For the peels and the ginger I experimented with a different method.

It is not what Rumpolt states to do, and so I do not claim it is an accurate period technique, but I find this tenderizes and mellows the peels and ginger root somewhat.

After washing, peeling and slicing my peel (same for ginger) I placed it in a pot of cold water. Bring the water to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, then discard that water and repeat once more. (This will remove bitterness from the peel and help soften and mellow the ginger a little (it still has a bite!) I then prepared a simple syrup from 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and add your peel, simmer 5 minutes then let cool in the syrup. Each day for the next 7 days I added ¼ cup sugar and brought it back to a boil for 5 minutes then let cool in the syrup. Your syrup gets progressively thicker; it may try to crystallize. At the end of the week I removed my peels to a rack and let dry. These did turn out white and nice.