Medieval Sesame Honey Camdy

Sesame seeds are an ancient food crop, enjoyed for thousands of years. Cultivated first in the Indian subcontinent, their use spread to Africa and Eurasia and around the world. Honey is also on of the most ancient, worldwide foods so it’s unsurprising that many cultures have combined the two to make delicious candies. Greece, China, Sicily, and India, for example, all have traditional sweets featuring sesame seeds and either sugar or honey.

In the 1990s, while researching my Master’s thesis, I came across the Mappae clavicula, a medieval collection of recipes for crafts such as dyeing, metalworking, ceramics, and others. In 1974 the American Philosophical Society published an English compilation of various versions of this manuscript. Among the the arts and crafts formulas were three recipes for candy,

Hawthorne, John G., and Cyril Stanley Smith. Mappae Clavicula A Little Key to the World of Medieval Techniques. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1974.

285. The recipe for sesame candy
The recipe for sesame candy. Put white pure honey near a moderate fire in a tinned [pan] and stir it unceasingly with a spatula. Place it alternately near the fire and away from the fire, and while it is being stirred more extensively, repeatedly put it near and away from the fire, stirring it without interruption until it becomes thick and viscous. When it is sufficiently thickened, pour it out on a [slab of] marble and let it cool for a little. Afterwards, hang it on an iron bolt and pull it out very thinly and fold it back, doing this frequently until it turns white as it should. Then twist and shape on the marble, gather it up and serve it properly.

286. Sugar candy Now by a similar cooking process [put] some sugar soaked in a little water in a tinned [pan] and defroth it when it boils and strain it well in a colander. In this way, after adding in the ingredients that you know, stir it unceasingly until it reaches [the correct] consistency. Pour it out in separate pieces on a marble [slab] that has been lightly oiled. Carefully cool the pieces on the marble, separate them from it by hand and keep them properly.[footnote 195]

287. Penidias candy Now penidias candy [is made] like sesame candy after the sugar has been defrothed and strained, but without stirring it. When it has been fully cooked, work it on the bolt as described above, then shape it by cutting with shears."

These 12th Century candy recipes looked remarkably familiar to me. Boiled candy poured onto a marble slab to cool, then pulled on a hook, shaped into ropes and cut with shears - these techniques are still in use today. A quick YouTube search for “pulled hard candy” or “candy hook” turns up many examples of both professional candy makers and home cooks demonstrating these techniques. Taffy pulls are a mainstay of stories about childhood in the 19th century.  Pulling boiled candy incorporates air bubbles and produces a less brittle end product.

The recipe for sesame candy was my first attempt at reproducing medieval candy. Although sesame is in the title, the seeds are not included in the recipe. By trial and error I found one half cup of sesame to one cup of honey produced a great candy. Using toasted sesame seeds instead or raw also had a better flavor.

Years after creating my version I found a slightly different interpretation by David Friedman on page 63 of his Medieval Miscellany. Try both and see which on you prefer.


Medieval Honey Sesame Candy
1/2 cup toasted sesame
1 cup honey
Combine the honey and sesame seeds in a pan and cook to 275-280° F. Pour out onto a rimmed baking sheet that has been well oiled or lined with an oiled silicone mat.  As soon at is is cool enough to handle, pull with oiled hands until very stiff. Roll into thin ropes. Let rest (or chill) until fully hardened and then cut into pieces.

The candy will be sticky. Either wrap in pieces of waxed or parchment paper or store in layers with sheets of paper in between to keep them from sticking together.