Renaissance Fruit Paste Recipes

Deliciously Authentic Renaissance Fruit Paste Recipes

Renaissance fruit paste recipes are similar to Medieval leach recipes. Fruit pastes consisted of the pulp of various fruits reduced by heat to a kind of thick marmalade, with the addition of, sometimes, nearly double its weight in sugar.

The fruit paste was boiled to reach the preferred consistence and then molded into rings or knots, dried, and then either left plain, or at times they were crystallized, or candied.

Pastes in decorative shapes were often used to ornament desserts such as cakes, pies, tarts, and puddings. They were colorful and very sweet tasting. You will enjoy trying these Renaissance fruit paste recipes.

If you have difficulty reading the Early-Modern-English style of writing, or you need to shed light on any outdated ingredient names and cooking terms used in the Renaissance dessert recipes, please refer to...

The Renaissance Dessert Recipes Glossary

To make Pafte Royal

Paste Royal is delicious and if you're in a hurry, it is easily made using any flavor of store-bought marmalade. This is a very easy candy recipe to make.

Take Quince Marmalade almoft cold, and mould it up with fearced Sugar to a Pafte, then make it into what form you pleafe and dry them in a Stove.

To Make Pafte of any Plumbs

Take your Plumbs, and put them into a Pot, cover them clofe, and fet them into a Pot of feething Water, and fo let them be till they be tender, then pour forth their Liquor, and ftrain the Pulp through a Canvas ftrainer, then take to half a Pound of the Pulp of Plumbs half a Pound of the Pulp of Pippins, beat them together, and take their weight in fine Sugar, with as much Water as will wet it, and boil it to a Can [candy] height; then put in your Pulp, and boil them together till it will come from the bottom of the Pofnet, then duft your Plates with fearced Sugar, and fo keep them in a Stove to dry.

To make Pafte of Almonds

This is an early almond paste recipe.

Take four Ounces of Valentia Almonds, blanched and beaten with Rofewater till it come to perfect Pafte, then take ftale white bread, grate it and fift it, and dry it by the fire, then put that to your Almonds with the weight of all in fine Sugar, beat them very well, and put in fome Spice beaten and fearced, then when it is a little cool, roul it out, duft your Moulds and print it, and dry it in an Oven: you may if you pleafe put the juice of a Limon into it when it is beating, you may make fome of it into Jumbolds, and tie them in knots and bake them upon Buttered Plates, and when they are baked, ice them over with Rofewater, Sugar, and the White of an Egg, and fet them into the Oven again for a while.

To make Pafte of Apricocks

Take your Apricocks, and pare them, and ftone them, then boil them tender betwixt two difhes on a Chafing-difh of coals, then being cold, lay it forth on a white fheet of paper; then take as much Sugar as it doth weigh, and boil it to a Candy height, with as much Rofe-water and fair water as will melt the Sugar; then put the Pulp into the Sugar; and fo let it boil till it be as thick as for marmalet, now and then ftirring of it; then fafhion it upon a Pie-plate like to half Apricocks, and the next day clofe the half Apricocks to the other, and when they are dry, they will be as clear as Amber, and eat much better than Apricocks it felf.

To make Pafte of Pippins like leaves, and fome like Plums, with their Stones and Stalks in them

Take Pippins pared and coared, and cut in pieces, and boiled tender, fo ftrain them, and take as much Sugar as the pulp doth weigh, and boil it to a Candy height, with as much Rofe-water and fair water as will melt it, then put the Pulp into the hot Sugar, and let it boil until it be as thick as Marmalet; then fafhion it on a Pie-plate, like Oaken leaves, and fome like half Plums, the next day clofe the half Plums together; and if you pleafe you may put the ftones and ftalks in them, and dry them in an Oven, and if you will have them look green, make the pafte when Pippins are green; and if you will have them look red, put a little Conferves of Barberries in the Pafte, and if you will keep any of it all the year, you muft make it as thin as Tart ftuff, and put it in Gallipots.