comfit

Like many food items that are now soundly in the dessert realm — sprinkles' predecessor, comfits, are a good example — chocolate sauce was once lauded for its medicinal properties.

In the 15th century, comfits — a predecessor of the modern sprinkle — were made from dried fruits, nuts, seeds or spices that were lacquered with melted sugar.

According to National Geographic, a sugarplum is a comfit, or “a seed, nut, or scrap of spice coated with a layer of hard sugar,” which was popular from the 17th to the 19th century.

And he bought a round red lacquered comfit dish with a cover, and in this he put sesame cakes and larded sweets and he put the box on the table.

Before the industrial revolution and the advent of automation, it could take a candy maker several days to complete a single batch of comfits.