Confects, Conserves & Honeys
The Western Tradition in particular had a number of preparations based on sugar or Honey. These were Candies, Confects or Preserves of Roots, Seeds, Nuts, Herbs and Flowers, and Honey of Flowers
Preparation with sugar serves several purposes: 1. Preserve the effects; 2. Tastes better; 3. Helps to make medicines more strengthening and tonifying.
Of course, traditionally, the diet had comparatively little sugar in it, so the use of Sugar by Apothecaries was acceptable.
Candied or Condited Roots
|
The Way to Preserve Roots from Gerard: Refined Sugar 1 lb. Egg White 1 Water 1 pint Boil together, removing the scum as it rises, and form a Strong Syrup; when cool, add the following, having infused them together overnight previously: Rose water 1 saucer full Cinnamon water 1 spoonful Musk 1 grain After being infused, strain them, and add to the Syrup. Sea Holly (or other) roots are prepared as follows: pick and wash them, and boil in water for 4 hours until soft; peel them and remove the pith, slicing the roots in half if necessary to do this. The roots are then placed in the Syrup for 24 hours, then heat them in the Syrup without boiling for about an hour. When this is done, the roots are removed and placed on paper with sugar sprinkled on, and dried in a mild oven, or by a fire. This method of ‘Conditing’ or preserving may be used for other roots; ‘there is not any that can prescribe you a better way’. A Simple Way to Preserve Roots from Salmon: Take a quantity of Sea Holly (or other) roots and clean them, removing the pith; steep for a day in Pure Water, stirring it occasionally, then dry them with a cloth. Form a Syrup with an equal amount of Water (or a suitable decoction) and White Sugar, and a little Rose Water (or a little Cinnamon etc.). When almost boiling, add the roots, and boil till the excess water is consumed and it becomes as thick as a Syrup. The Way to Preserve Roots from the Royal College of Physicians: ‘Boil the roots till the rind will easily peel off: when peeled, slit them through the middle and the pith being taken out, wash them 3 or 4 times in cold water. Then take for every pound of roots so prepared 2 pounds of Double Refined Sugar; dissolve the Sugar in water, set it over the fire, and as soon as it begins to boil, put in the roots, and continue the boiling till they become soft’. Roots which are Preserved similarly: Angelica, Borage, Bugloss, Burnet, Calamus, Chicory, Comfrey, Elecampane, green Ginger, Satyrion, Sea Holly, Zedoary. Note that barks are prepared as for roots. Conserve of Quince Take of the flesh of Quinces cut and boiled in fair water to a thickness, eight pounds, white sugar six pounds, boil it to its just thickness. Sometimes spices including Ginger, Pepper and Cinnamon are added. Benefits the Stomach and Digestion, stops Nausea and Vomiting; also for Diarrhea and Dysentery. Candied Calamus root ‘Take dried sliced Calamus 1 lb., and seethe it in 2 quarts of small wine; afterwards pound to a grout, and take Honey or Sugar 2 lbs, let it seethe till it be thick, when it is little cold, then temper with it small cut Ginger 6 oz, pounded Cloves, Nutmegs, Mace, and Cardamon, of each 1½ dram, Long and Common Pepper, of each 3 quarters of an ounce, Galangal 1½ drams’. Or it can be prepared as for other roots. Confect of Calamus is very good for various diseases of the Brain and Sinews. It is useful for Dizziness, Vertigo and Headache, it sharpens the Wit and strengthens the Memory. It is good for all Rheums, and benefits all old diseases. It was ‘Commended’ for Vertigo (Wirtzung), as well as Nightmares. |
Candied Elecampane root It Warms and Strengthens the Stomach, increasing Qi and improving Digestion. It restores lost strength. Candied Elecampane also strengthens the Lungs in Chronic Cough, Asthma, Wheezing and Shortness of Breath associated with deficiency. It is very good to ease all types of pain in the bowel coming from cold or phlegm. Candied Garlic root Garlic Cloves, cleansed 1 lb. Cover them with water and boil a little, then cast the water away; then boil in a sufficient amount of Hyssop Water until soft; make the liquor into a Syrup by boiling with 1 lb. of refined Sugar; towards the end, add the Garlic with 24 grains of Ambergris and 4 grains of Musk tied up in a Rag, and 2 oz, of Spirit of Clary. Good for Epidemic and Infectious diseases, Plague, Pestilence, and Spotted Fevers; for these diseases, it is prophylactic as well as curative. Also for Cough, Asthma, Stone, Gout, and Colic. Candied Ginger root Take fresh Ginger root, steep in water until the outer skin will peel off, then cover with a lye made of wood ashes so that they might swell. When they have softened and mellowed, pour off the lye, wash with fresh water so long until the sharpness of the lye is no longer perceived. Then put the Ginger on thick linen cloth so that it absorbs as much of the liquid as possible. Next a thick syrup of Sugar or Honey is made and poured over the Ginger pieces (making sure the syrup is not too hot, as this will make the Confected Ginger very hard). Good for all pains of the Stomach and Bowels which come from Cold and Weakness, as well as all types of Phlegmatic sicknesses; it warms the whole body, and dries excess moisture. It is warming and strengthening, and very good for the Stomach, promotes Appetite and Digestion, relieves Wind, and may be given in cold type Diarrhea. It strengthens the genitals and is Aphrodisiac. Candied Sea Holly root ‘The roots condited or preserved with sugar … are exceeding good to be given to old and aged people that are consumed and withered with age, and which want natural moisture: they are also good for other sorts of people, nourishing and restoring the aged, and amending the defects of nature in youth’. (Gerard) Candied or Confected Nutmeg Steep the best Nutmegs in a sharp lye made of wood ashes until they are softened, then pour off the liquid and remove the outer skin. Then wash it well with fresh water to remove the sharpness of the leigh; then let them dry in a sieve. Next prepare a syrup of Sugar which has been well decocted, and so pour it luke-warm over the Nutmegs. Confected Nutmeg is Warm and Dry, and are more tonifying than unprepared Nutmegs. They strengthen the Head, Brains, Heart, as well as the Vital Spirits; they increase Natural Heat. They consume troublesome and excess Humors, and they strengthen the Stomach. They are good for all hardness and swellings of the Spleen and Liver which come from Cold or Phlegm. They have ‘great power for to dry a moist head’. In addition, they ‘make fresh Blood’. It also helps purge Melancholy from the Blood. Certain Nuts, especially Walnuts, as well as Fruits such as Chebulic and Emblic Myrobalan are confected similarly. |
Conserves and Confections
A Conserve or Confection is a preparation with sugar where a herb is beaten with sugar. Typically, it is a preparation of fresh flowers, such as Rose or Violets. It can also be prepared with fresh herbs or dried and powdered herbs, roots or seeds, spices etc.
To prepare, the fresh flower or leaf is cleansed of veins, stalks, flower bases etc., then beaten with three times their weight of white sugar. They are beaten until no large particles are seen. Excess moisture is allowed to evaporate, then it is kept semi moist.
Sometimes they are dried to be powdered. Sometimes different proportions of sugar are used.
Herb Confections most used:
Note: where possible, the tops of herbs taken in flower are used:
Balm, Eyebright, Fumitory, Goat’s Rue, Ground Ivy, Marjoram, Mints, Pennyroyal, Purslane, Rue, Sage, Sorrel, Violets, Wood Sorrel, Wormwood
Flower Confections most used:
Betony, Blessed Thistle, Borage, Broom, Bugloss, Calendula, Centaury, Chicory, Coltsfoot, Comfrey flowers, Cowslips, Elder, Eyebright, Hyssop, Lavender, Lily of the Valley, Linden, Mallow, Marjoram, Orange, Peaches, Peony, Rose, Rosemary, Sage, Scabious, Self Heal, Violets, Water Lilies
|
Confection of Aniseed. ‘Confected Annis seeds are also very good for all debility of the Stomach, it helps digestion, it expels the pain and wind of the Stomach, the same doth Fennel seed also’ … It is ‘good for them which have a stinking breath, and cannot sleep; it provoketh Urine, it quenches natural Thirst, it takes away the windiness of the belly, it is good for all pains of the Stomach, against all diseases of the Liver, of the Lights, of the Matrix, and it helps the digestion. It is also good against all Hoarseness, shortness of Breath, and especially for all cold diseases of Women, and for all them which be much plagued with the Whites. Lastly, it augments also much the Milk in women’. (Wirtzung) Confection of Balm ‘A Conserve of this herb is especially good for all bitings of Scorpions, of Spiders, and of Wasps, and is also good for all bitings of Mad [Rabid] Dogs, the same being eaten or laid upon it: it moves Women’s terms, it assuages all Toothache and pain in the Joints, it frees one from the Poison of the Toadstools, it stays the scouring Dysentery, and takes away all Colics, it drives away all Pensiveness, it strengthens a cold Stomach, it warms the Breast, and gives a light Breath, it cleanses all Ulcers, and is good against all Dark Sight’. (Wirtzung) Confection of Bayberries Used for griping and pain of the Belly caused by Wind for which it was said to be ‘the very best medicine that may be derived’. It ‘doth vehemently expel all Winds out of the Stomach, and out of all other parts’. It is beneficial for all diseases coming from Cold. (Wirtzung) Confection of Betony ‘Betony is very highly and worthily reputed of all Physicians … This Conserve of Betony is therefore not unjustly commended, seeing these virtues ensuing be ascribed unto it’. ‘Some do write that it is good against the Cramp, against the Palsy, and against the Falling Sickness; it is good against Madness, against Spitting of Blood, and against the Sciatica; this herb is also good against all pain of the Stomach, of the Kidneys, and of the Bladder, of the Liver, Milt, and of all inward parts, it expels Urine, it loosens, and it helps Digestion: it is also good against Belching, it cleanses the Breast, it withstands the Dropsy, the Ague, and it moves Womens Terms’. ‘In fine, it is especially good for all inward Sickness: lastly, it is also good against all Venom’. (Wirtzung) Confection of Borage and of Bugloss These two herbs are interchangeable as they ‘are of one nature … the same are to be used in all Venomous and Pestilential Agues; they do strengthen the Heart and all Vital Spirits; they withstand all Venom, and Heaviness of Mind; and they do also clean the Blood from all Melancholy. In Fine, they cool all inward parts’. (Wirtzung) Most often, the flowers alone were Confected, these being more Cordial, and were most often used for Debility, Chronic Illness, Consumption, as well as Fainting and Palpitations. Confection of Calendula flowers ‘Conserve made of the flowers and sugar taken in the morning fasting, cureth the trembling of the Heart, and is also given in the time of Plague or Pestilence’. Also good to promote Urine. Dose: 1–2 drams. (Culpeper, Salmon) Confection of Caraway seed ‘Especially does it warm the Stomach, and all inward parts, it opens all obstructions, it forces Urine, it breaks the Stone, it expels sand and gravel, it drives out winds, and it takes away all pain and colic of the belly’. (Wirtzung) Also good for obstructions of the Spleen, including that with Fever and Pain. Confection of Coriander seed It dries the ascending vapors of the Stomach, and are good for the Stomach. They strengthen and dry the brains, and are good against Vertigo, Paralysis, and to procure Sleep. ‘The seeds of Coriander prepared with Sugar prevail much against the Gout’. A small quantity is taken after supper. (Gerard) ‘Coriander seed and Bitter Almonds confected with Sugar, do strengthen also the Memory and the Brains’. (Wirtzung) Confection of Cowslip flower It clears Wind and Heat from the Head; it warms and strengthens the Brains and Heart, and is good against Paralysis, Vertigo, Epilepsy, Convulsions, Trembling, Cramps, Nerve Pain, as well as Frenzy and False Apparitions. Wirtzung noted that this was not much used because the Conserve of Betony or Gilliflowers was used similarly, but were more acceptable. Confection of Cumin seed Good to clear Cold and Wind from the Stomach and Bowels. It promotes Digestion, Eases Pain, and is good for Colic, Griping, Meteorism, Hiccoughs, Poor Digestion and Food Stagnation. Useful in Malabsorption, and to help Slimming. Used for obstructions of the Spleen with Fever and Pain. Also for Headache, Migraine and Poor Memory. Some have used it for Edema, Cough, Asthma etc. Confection of Elder berries Take ripe Elder Berries, remove their stalks, press out the juice, and seethe until soft without adding anything to it. Honey may be added at the end if needed. The Conserve of Elder berries ‘is holden by the ancient Physicians, and also amongst the common people, almost in steed of Treacle, and that not without cause … This Conserve is to be taken against all inward Venom, it cures all Ulcers and Swellings, it expels by sweat all bad Humors and corruptions: wherefore it is to be taken before that one do go to the bath: but this cannot be done but only after purging, and that fasting. If this be so used, then does it consume the Dropsy at the beginning’. (Wirtzung) Confection of Elder flowers ‘This Conserve opens the Liver, drives away the swelling of the belly, and all beginning of Dropsies, [Edema] &c’. (Wirtzung) It is useful to promote Sweat in Colds and the beginning of Infectious Diseases. In the treatment of Measles: ‘Common people do especially commend the Conserve of Elder flowers, and the same rubbed upon the heated parts’. (Wirtzung) It was also used for Jaundice. Confection of Eyebright Very good for the Eyes and Brain, it clears Wind and Heat, and strengthens the Memory. It strengthens the Liver, clears Yellow Jaundice and Fevers coming from an unclean Stomach. Confection of Fennel seed ‘Good against all Poison, and especially against the venom of Snakes, it moves Women’s terms, it warms the back, it assuages the pain of the same, it breaks the Stone, it expels Urine, the Stone, Gravel, and the Slime whereof the Gravel is engendered, it increases Women’s Milk, it cures sour belchings of the Stomach, it is good against all wambling [nausea] and vomiting, it allays the Cough, and all Hoarseness of the Throat. But above all is this Fennel seed commended against the darkness of the eyes, for it preserves people from all films on the Eyes, it sharpens the sight if one take the same morning and evening, to wit, after meals, and chews the same long’. (Wirtzung) Confection of Fumitory ‘This Confection is especially good for all them which be full of unclean blood, and also for all them that be plagued with Scurf, with the Pox, and with such like uncleanliness: it keeps men in health, and also from all Venomous air. Of this Conserve may freely be taken, as much as the quantity of a great nut, before that men will bathe, for that it expels out the sweat, and all bad Humors of the body: therefore it is also good in the beginning of the Dropsy, for that it opens the Liver and all obstructions of the inward parts; it drives out the Yellow Jaundice by the urine, and is very commodious for many other things’. ‘There is nothing that cleanses the blood more then Fumitory’. (Wirtzung) Confection of Gilliflowers Only the red Gilliflowers are used, and the whites on their bottom should be cut off. ‘This Conserve has the same virtue that the Conserve of Betony has, for they are also a kind of Betony’. ‘These Gilliflowers are especially commended against all Venom: this Conserve is also very good for the Head and the Brains, drying and warming the same, it allays also the shaking and shivering of the Quartan Ague: it is also somewhat bitter, and is therefore good against all Worms taken fasting, it is good against the pain of the Teeth, it withstands Drunkenness, and breaks the Stone. This may also be used as a preservative in time of the Plague’. (Wirtzung) |
Confection of Hyssop Either the herb with flowers, or the flowers alone was used. It is very good for the Breast and Lungs; it is used for old Coughs, tightness of the Chest and shortness of Breath; it consumes all cold Rheums; it strengthens the Stomach, Head and Brains; it removes the ascending vapours, and is good against all Poison, and also very meet against all coldness of the internal parts. Confection of Lavender flower This was made from either true Lavender (English or French varieties), or Spike Lavender (L. spica), which is inferior. ‘Both these herbs are found to agree so near in operation that the Spike is called the male, because it has bigger leaves and ears, and the Lavender the female’. ‘Of both these herbs are the flowers only taken, and for every pound of flowers, two and a half or Sugar, or otherwise three pounds of Sugar, because they be strong: beat them well together’. ‘This Conserve is very good for all cold diseases of the Stomach, and for all windiness of the same, it eases the pain in the Belly, and the ascension of the Mother, it opens all obstructions of the Liver, it moves Urine, it dries the cold and moist Brains, it is good for the Sinews, Palsy, and Lameness that proceeds of them, it restores the Lost Speech, it takes away all cold Rheums that fall out of the head into the Eyes, Teeth and other parts, and this Conserve is especially good against the corruption of the Gums’. (Wirtzung) Confection of Marjoram This was generally made of the fresh leaves only, stripped from their stalks. ‘This Conserve is of a dry and of a warm nature, it is especially good for all moist and cold diseases of the Brains, of the Head, and of the Stomach, it opens all obstructions of the Liver, and all inward parts, it does strengthen the Heart, and it has the same virtue with the conserve of Lavender, and of Spikenard’. (Wirtzung) Marjoram was considered a specific for Loss of the Sense of Smell by some authors. Confection of Peony flowers ‘Take the leaves (Petals) of Peony flowers (which do blow in May) and pound them very small, unto a pound of flowers take 2 pounds and a half of Sugar, and set it the space of 3 months in the Sun stirring it about every day’. ‘This Conserve is very good against all Fantasies, against the Hag or Nightmare (as some term it), against the Falling Sickness, and swimming of the head, against the diminishing of the Sight, and all diseases of the Brains: it moves Women’s Terms, and cleanses them after Childbirth; it is also good for Gravel, and for the Yellow Jaundice, it suppresses the Vapors of the Stomach, it refreshes women that be vexed with the suffocation of the Matrix, it is also marvelously good against the panges of children, and it letteth the growing of the Stone in them: if so be that the children be too small that one cannot give it them, then are the nurses that give suck to use this conserve in abundance’. (Wirtzung) Confection & Sugar of Roses Fresh Red Rose petals 1 part Refined Sugar 3 parts Beat well together. Or, with dried Petals: Red Rose Powder 2 oz. Sugar 16 oz. Clarified Honey 3 oz. Rose water 4 oz. It is cooling and mildly binding, being strengthening and Cordial. It is good for weakness and wasting associated with Chronic and Obstinate Fevers, Hectic Fevers and Consumption. Some preferred Conserve of Roses before all other things in these conditions. Wirtzung (1598) said it was useful in the long-term management of Plague victims and Consumption. Culpeper said ‘The moist Conserve is of much use, both binding and Cordial, for until it be about two years old it is more binding than Cordial, and after that, more Cordial than Binding’ … The dry Conserve which is called Sugar of Roses, is a very good Cordial to strengthen the Heart and Spirits as also to stay Defluxions’. It was often used for diseases of women including excess menstruation, and as a tonic during Pregnancy, and for threatened Miscarriage. It also helps purge Melancholy from the Blood. Confection of Rosehips 1 part fresh Rose hips (seed removed) are beaten to a pulp, forced through a sieve, then 2 parts sugar are added and mixed well. Another version: The ripe fruit is to be boiled with red Wine until they are soft, then push through a sieve, then seethe it well with a gentle heat without adding anything to it, stirring continually. Honey may be added at the end if needed. ‘This Conserve has a marvellous operation for to stop the Scouring or Lask: it is also good for all wambling of the Stomach’. (Wirtzung) The Conserve of Rosehips was said to be especially useful in the treatment of Rheumatism, both to aid in the cure of, and to help prevent a relapse. (Cooke) Confection of Rosemary ‘This Conserve is warm by nature, it attenuates also all tough gross and phlegmatic matter of the inward parts, it dries and strengthens the Brains, it refreshes the Heart, and makes Merry; it strengthens the mortified Natural Heat, it expels the Yellow Jaundice, and withstands the Dropsy, it warms and cleanses the Breast, it makes a good Breath, it drives out Phlegm, and strengthens Digestion, it withstands all Venom, that might hurt the Heart, it takes away the Colic or griping of the belly, it causes one to sweat well, whereby it expels all bad Humors out of the body, it cleanses the Blood, hunts away all Heaviness and Pensiveness, and strengthens all Weakness’. (Wirtzung) It helps purge Melancholy from the Blood. Used to promote circulation, and help expel Sweat, for which purpose it was ordered to be taken before bathing. It increases natural heat, benefits the Elderly and ‘doth warm all those which be half dead’. Confection of Sage It strengthens the Stomach, consumes all bad Humors from it, opens all Obstructions, and strengthens all Members. Much used for all diseases of the head which proceed of Cold; it is useful for Cramp, Lameness and Paralysis, and is good for diseases of the Nerves. In addition is also strengthens the Memory. Also used for Snake bites. Confection of Violets Confection (or Conserve) of Violet flowers was most used, but that prepared of the leaf is also used. Violet flowers are most Cordial. This is cooling and moistening; it assuages the pain of the abdomen; it allays the heat of Bile, and quenches Thirst. It is very good for all heat conditions of children as it calms them, keeps the belly open, and strengthens and calms the Heart and Brain. Also used to help purge Melancholy from the Blood. Wirtzung said it was useful in the long-term management of Plague victims. It is not suitable for a cold, weak Stomach, however. Confection of Water Lilies ‘This Conserve strengthens much, and cools in very hot Agues, and also in Pestilential Agues. It is also very good for them that consume away, and that have the Pleurisy’. ‘It takes away the dry Coughs, for that it cools and moistens the Breast, the Throat, and the dry tongue: it quenches Thirst, it cools through her cold the Liver, the Milt, and all inward parts, and it provokes Sleep’. (Wirtzung) It is good for all Heat and Inflammation of the Heart, Lungs, Liver, Stomach and Kidneys. It also cools the Kidneys to hinder Lust and stop Nocturnal Emissions. However, it is not suitable for cold bodies due to its cold nature. |
Honeys
Honeys are sweet preparations like Syrups made with Honey instead of Sugar, and were usually prepared from Flowers. Flowers are either steeped in Honey and left in the Sun, or else gently boiled in Honey. In some cases, Juice of the flowers are boiled with Honey.
Honey of Roses
|
Honey of Roses may be prepared several ways: 1. Red Roses, not fully open 1 part; Clarified Honey, 6 parts. Dry the Roses a little in the shade; then put them in the Honey in a glass vessel, seal, and set in the Sun. It can boiled gently before straining, although some preferred just straining. 2. Rose juice 1 part by weight, clarified Honey 10 parts. Boil gently, and while boiling add 4 parts of fresh Red Roses. Boil until the juice is consumed, strain, and keep. 3. 120 mls. of Rose Fluid extract is mixed with sufficient Honey to make 1000mls. Mix well Renodeus noted the many ways Honey of Roses was prepared. Some used whole flowers, some the petals. Some used fresh flowers, other dry. Some used the juice, some the flowers. Some macerated flowers in Honey in the Sun, others boiled them over a fire. |
It was traditionally used as a Cephalic and Cardiac. Regarded as strengthening to the Stomach and Liver. Used primarily as a soothing application to Sores and Ulcers of the Mouth and Throat. It may be used to prepare the Melancholy humor. Occasionally used topically for red and inflamed skin conditions. It was also used in some compounds, for example Electuary of Safflower and Electuary of Pine Kernels. Dose: 1–3 oz. In the same manner may be made Honey of the Flowers of Betony, Peony, Sage, Violet, Water Lily etc. |