SUGAR PASTE: A Cook's "Play Dough"
By Elise Fleming
Sugar paste, molded and colored, formed an important part of a late
period, medieval banquet. Most period
cookbooks refer to it as "sugar plate" but to avoid confusion with a
plate made of sugar and the paste itself, I will refer to it as "sugar
paste." The earliest reference I
have seen is in Curye on Inglysch (a
15th century cookbook), but the most common references are from the late 16th
and the 17th centuries. As evidence of
its versatility and "fun" factor, sugar paste exists today as
"gum paste."
The
paste, both modern versions and period, is simple to make. It is a combination of sugar, liquid, and a
strengthening gum. In the Renaissance,
the gum was "tragacanth", commonly called "gum
dragon." Today, a substitute such
as gum karaya is used. Gum arabic, more
easily found today than gum tragacanth, is not a substitute. Modern gum paste adds glucose, which
increases the pliability and slows the drying effect of air, a welcome addition
to those who do not work quickly and surely.
Other than this, the paste made from a period recipe seems to be
virtually identical to the dough made from modern gum paste mixes.
To
modern tongues, sugar paste is sweet but bland. It tastes somewhat like the small, colored, candy valentine
hearts that carry a motto, but without the addition of a flavor. Rosewater, used to moisten the gum
tragacanth, adds a mild flavor, but Gervase Markham (1615) follows this with
the addition of "the juice of an orange." (1) Adding a period
coloring agent such as certain vegetables, spices, or various flowers will add
an additional flavoring, which may taste somewhat strange to our palates.
As
mentioned, Renaissance cooks used a variety of vegetables, flowers, and spices
to color the white paste. Shades of red
could be obtained with saunders, roses, alkanet, orchil, turnsole, or
commercial colorings such as "rosa paris" or "red rosset." Cinnamon would make a walnut color, and
ginger and cinnamon a lighter shade.
Green might come from spinach, mint, parsley, or "ynde
wawdeas." Mentioned in Curye on Inglysch, the supposition is
that this refers to "india wode."
The latter, when mixed with saffron and egg white, produced green. The more saffron that was used, the lighter
the green. Commercial colorings such as
"sap green" were also available in Elizabethan times. Yellow was most commonly obtained by saffron,
but also by the addition of gold leaf, attached by egg white. Blue often came from a flower such as
violets, bugloss, or turnsole, but it could also be obtained from ground stone
such as "azure." John
Murrell provides a interesting note about the presumed safety of the colorings: "If blew, then Azure being first steept
in vinegar, for else it is verie dangerous, the vinegar killeth the strength of
the blew..." (2)
Flowers that were frequently used included roses, violets, marigolds,
cowslips, primroses, bugloss, and gillyflowers, sometimes listed as "stock
gilliflowers" and "clove-gilliflowers." Sir Hugh Plat (1609) and John Murrell (1617)
instruct the cook to dry the flowers and beat them into a powder. If using marigolds, both suggest the
addition of saffron. Generally, the
proportions listed were an equal weight of pounded flowers to sugar. The flowers and the sugar were often beaten
together to provide a thorough mixing.
Then the liquified gum tragacanth would be added.
Items made of sugar paste were usually destined for the
"banquet" which referred to the dessert following the main courses of
the meal. It also could refer to an
collection of sweetmeats served either formally or informally. What could
the cook shape with this edible dough?
Just about anything, including dishes, trenchers, plates, cups, table
furnishings, snakes, snails, frogs, roses, cherries, strawberries, shoes,
slippers, keys, knives, gloves, letters, capital letters, knots, jumballs,
walnuts (both shell and kernel), cinnamon sticks, clasps and eyes, buttons, wax
lights, marbles, bones, drinking cups shaped like skulls, flowers, rabbits,
pigeons, or other little birds or beasts.
If the cook wanted something simpler, he could roll out the paste and
cut it into shapes for a simple candy.
Sometimes the rolled paste was cut into thin strips and twisted around a
handle to form a spiral. Other times
several layers of different colors were rolled thinly, laid one on top of the
other, sliced crossways and rolled again before being cut into shapes. The colors then produced a marbleized effect.
If
not destined for the banquet, then the sugar paste might contain a
medicine. Both Murrell and Plat include
recipes good against coughs or colds.
Plat includes a version that is rolled and gilded to "convey any
purgative, vomit, or other medicine..." (3)
The
Renaissance cook used a variety of methods for shaping the sugar paste
including hands and pincers. The cook
could roll the sugar paste out, use a reed or the handle of a wooden spoon to
wrap the paste around or, according to Murrell cut the paste with a tin
instrument. He adds that if the cook
isn't skilled, he could use a tin mold.
Several kinds of molds are listed in period cookbooks. Murrell mentions molds that are carved
inwards and which require soaking in cold water for two to three hours. He cites double molds for shaping cherries
and strawberries, with twigs inserted for stalks. Stone, alabaster, and wood molds were used as well as tin ones. These were often dusted with powdered
sugar. Besides specific molds, the cook
could lay the paste over a plate, bowl, or saucer, pressing it down gently to
take its shape. Then the edges were to
be pared away with knife and the item let dry until it could be pried out with
a knife. (A modern cook might be
advised to use waxed paper to avoid the paste sticking to the plate or bowl.)
Thomas Dawson's recipe is one of the most complete. It is from The Second Part of the Good Hus-wives Jewell, 1597, and is titled "To make a past of Suger, whereof
a man may make al manner of fruits, and other fine things with their forme, as
Plates, Dishes, Cuppes and such like thinges, wherewith you may furnish a
Table."
"Take Gumme and dragant as much as you wil, and steep it in
Rosewater til it be mollified, and for foure ounces of suger take of it the
bigness of a beane, the iuyce of Lemon, a walnut shel ful, and a little of the
white of an eg. But you must first take
the gumme, and beat it so much with a pestell in a brasen morter, till it be
come like water, then put to it the iuyce with the white of an egge,
incorporating al these wel together, this done take four ounces of fine white
suger wel beaten to powder, and cast it into the morter by a litle and a litle,
until they be turned into the form of paste, then take it out of the said
morter, and bray it upon the powder of suger, as it were meale or flower,
untill it be like soft paste, to the end you may turn it, and fashion it which
way you wil. When you have brought your
paste to this fourme spread it abroad upon great or smal leaves as you shall
thinke it good and so shal you form or make what things you wil, as is
aforesaid, with such fine knackes as may serve a Table taking heede there stand
no hotte thing nigh it. At the ende of
the Banket they may eat all, and breake the Platters Dishes, Glasses Cuppes,
and all other things, for this paste is very delicate and saverous. If you will make a Tarte of Almondes stamped
with suger and Rosewater of this sorte that Marchpaines be made of, this shal
you laye between two pastes of such vessels or fruits or some other things as
you thinke good."
Approximations
2-3
teaspoons lemon juice
1-3
tablespoons rosewater*
1/2
lightly beaten egg white
1/2 or
1 teaspoon gum tragacanth
up to a
pound or so of powdered sugar (3 1/2 to 4 cups equals approximately one pound)
*The amount of liquid needed varies depending on
the type of sugar used, the humidity of the day, how much tragacanth you used,
etc. Be flexible. You can use water instead of large amounts
of rosewater. The resulting tragacanth
mixture should be slightly runny, not stiff or with lumps. Place the tragacanth at one side of the bowl
with the liquid next to it. Slowly mix
the powder into the liquid to avoid lumps.
Add more liquid as needed.
Soak the
gum tragacanth in the rosewater until it softens. (Warming the rosewater may facilitate the softening.) Mix it with the lemon juice and egg white. Add the powdered sugar bit by bit, mixing
well. If it becomes too stiff and there
is a great deal of sugar left, add the remaining part of the egg white. Knead the dough on a
powdered-sugar-sprinkled board until it is smooth and stretchy. Then use it to shape what you will. Keep the unused portions and any scraps well
covered under a glass jar, in a plastic bag, or under a slightly damp
cloth. (If the cloth is too damp the
paste will begin to dissolve. You can
add more powdered sugar and re-knead.)
You
may wish to try the modern version of sugar paste that is sold in cake
decorating supply stores as “gum paste.”
You can purchase a pre-mixed version where all you do is add water, or
you can purchase the ingredients separately such as the strengthening gum (one
modern brand is Gum-tex), glucose,
and sugar. The gum package should have
directions for making the paste. Modern
gum paste usually includes glucose, which adds to the workability time of
modern pastes. For most uses modern
paste is cheaper and quicker to use.
Gum tragacanth is hard to find and expensive (roughly $30/pound, if you
purchase that much). If the item is to
be eaten, period paste tastes a bit nicer.
If you
add period coloring agents you may need to adjust the amount of liquid in the
recipe and perhaps increase the amount of gum tragacanth which gives strength
to the paste. Add the coloring with the
liquids, not after you have added all the powdered sugar. If your coloring (such as saffron-colored
water) is virtually all liquid, use it as the soaking liquid for the gum
tragacanth instead of the rosewater.
For non-period colors, you can use slightly thinned-out cake decorating
paste colors. If you want the entire
amount colored the same, then add the coloring to the liquids. If you only want part of the dough colored,
break off the desired amount and knead in the color after you have added the
sugar. (This takes a bit longer and
needs more patience to obtain a uniform color.) You can also add flavored oils, available from cake decorating
supply stores, to change the taste.
Use the
sugar paste as you might use modeling clay.
Attach sections with beaten egg white.
Insert a stick, toothpick, or dowel to hold an item upright and add
structural strength. Except for
candies, let items dry 24 hours or more, depending on the thickness of the
paste. Drying times of several days to
a week are common. You can lay the sugar paste on pieces of styrofoam which
allows air to circulate on both sides.
Or, you can place them on waxed paper and turn them carefully once a day
to ensure even drying. Candies are
thin enough that the time between making and serving them will suffice for
drying. If you are uncertain about trying a period recipe, or cannot find gum
tragacanth, purchase the items needed for modern gum paste and practice with it
until you become more confident. Most
cake decorating supply stores (and libraries) carry books that include working
with gum paste. You can find similar
techniques listed under "pastillage." The books give more detailed advice on working with sugar paste
than space here allows.
Additional
Hints
Keep sugar paste pieces away from heat or
moisture. While placing pieces near a
heat source may hasten drying, the oven itself will not work. You need to plan ahead when working with
sugar paste. Use waxed paper, a light
coating of vegetable oil, a spray version of cooking oil, or a dusting of
powdered sugar or cornstarch to help the sugar paste come out of a mold. You may want to roll out and dry a separate
piece of sugar paste to use when practicing painting.
Drawings may be done freehand or by transferring
a pattern. Methods of transfer can
range from carbon paper, using soft pencil, or an opaque projector. Carbon paper is rarely advisable since any
stray pressure can transfer bits of the “carbon” which you will then need to
scrape off carefully. The “pencil
method” involves outlining the design with a soft pencil, turning the paper
over and re-copying the outline, then laying the paper down and again tracing
over the lines to press the soft pencil lines onto the sugar paste. This is time-consuming but “low tech” and
available to anyone. An opaque
projector, often used to project designs onto cakes, will allow you to place
the piece under the light and directly copy the outline onto the sugar paste. If you do not like the effect of a black
line around your figures or design, try a light pencil so that you can “butt”
one color up to the other without the black line separating them. The disadvantage, however, is that your
first color needs to be somewhat dry before you can attempt the second color,
or one may bleed into the other. The
black line tends to keep the colors separated even if it is not particularly
thick.
Use non-toxic markers to outline any picture or
words you want on the dried piece. If
the marker “bleeds” you will then know to be extra careful when applying the
color there so that it doesn’t bleed out of the lines. Use a sharp knife to carefully scrape away
any color that is where it shouldn’t be.
If you work with cake decorating paste colors you can mix them on a
plastic lid. Yogurt tops work
well. Some people prefer to mix the
paste colors with vodka instead of water.
Sprinkle a few drops of liquid onto the lid. Use a clean toothpick to get some paste color and mix it and the
liquid together. Try your color on
your practice piece. The “runnier” the
color is the more likely it will run out of the area you are painting. The thicker the color, the easier it will be
to lay down but it also will be darker.
Experiment to find the consistency you need. If you have laid on too much liquid wipe the brush dry and let
the dry brush soak up the extra water.
You can then apply a thicker mixture if desired. For any color that is “out of the lines”, let
it dry a little and then use a sharp knife to cut out the mistake or to make the
edge sharper.
If you wish to use limners’ colors as was done
“in period” here are some hints from Laura Yungblut. Make the paint thicker than the consistency needed for painting a
scroll. This minimizes the “soaking”
effect where the paste seems to absorb the paint and one uses more and more
paint. You might try laying a white
ground first and putting the color on top.
If you do not paint quickly enough, or if you paint a large area, you
can experience a certain amount of
“gumming up” as the sugar’s surface begins to moisten and mix with the
paint. Laura prefers to thin her paints
with a clear spirit such as gin or vodka to make the moisture evaporation more
rapid. This was not a period practice
but can be more expedient. She warns
against using rum that contains sugar, defeating the rapid evaporation effect.
If yours is a display piece and not meant to be
eaten then you may wish to spray it with several coats of acrylic lacquer
(available at hobby supply stores) to protect against moisture and people’s
fingers. If the piece is edible you
will need to be careful when handling it since your fingers may accidentally
transfer bits of color to other parts of the item. The same goes for wrapping the piece in plastic wrap. Use a clean piece each time you wrap it up.
“Glue” dried pieces together with egg white or
royal icing (egg white, powdered sugar, liquid). When initially working with the fresh paste smooth over wrinkles
with and lines with a small amount of moisture and your finger or other tool. Once the paste has dried you can remove
wrinkles and lines to some extent with a piece of sandpaper or a sharp knife.
Within reason, the thinner the sugar paste is the
prettier and better it looks. If the
item is a bowl, for example, and is very thin, it may lose its shape if it is
exposed to moisture in the air. Pennsic
nights have damaged pieces that have been dried for years! Placing pieces in closed plastic bags or plastic
boxes will provide protection. If you
have made a goblet, once it is thoroughly dried you can use it to serve a
beverage. How long it will stay intact
depends upon the thickness of the walls and how well dried the piece is. There are instructions available in most
large cake decorating how-to books about constructing people, buildings,
etc. Look for instructions for gum
paste, pastillage, and even rolled fondant.
You can place the sugar paste over armatures to make large standing
pieces. Your imagination is your only
limit!
FOOTNOTES
1. Markham, Gervase, The English Huswife, 1615, ed. Michael R. Best, McGills-Queens
University Press, 1986, p. 115, #170
2. Murrell, John, A Daily Exercise for Ladies
and Gentlewomen, 1617, Falconwood Press, 1990, p. 27, #76
3. Plat, Sir Hugh, Delightes for Ladies, 1609, #39, p.22, printed in A Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Cookbooks, Fourth Edition, Volume 1, 1987, Duke Cariodoc of the Bow
and Duchessa Diana Alena, p. 96
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brears, Peter, Food and Cooking in 16th Century Britain, English Heritage, 1985
Curye
on Inglysch, (15th century), ed. Constance Hieatt and Sharon
Butler, Early English Text Society, Oxford University Press, 1985
Dawson, Thomas, The Second Part of the Good Hus-wives Jewell, 1597, Falconwood
Press, 1988
Lorwin, Madge, Dining With William Shakespeare, Atheneum, 1976
Murrell, John, A Daily Exercise for Ladies and Gentlewomen, 1617, Falconwood
Press, 1990
May, Robert, The
Accomplisht Cook, 1678 (fourth edition), Falconwood Press, 1992
Markham, Gervase, The English Huswife, 1615, ed. Michael R. Best, McGills-Queens
University Press, 1986
Plat, Sir Hugh, Delightes for Ladies, 1609, printed in A Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Cookbooks, Fourth Edition,
Volume I, 1987, Duke Cariodoc of the Bow and Duchessa Diana Alena
Willan, Anne, Great
Cooks and Their Recipes, McGraw-Hill, 1977
W.M., A
Queen's Delight, 1671, Prospect Books, 1984