the main culinary contribution of the Renaissance; the rapid diffusion of strong alcoholic waters and sugar-based foods. Printed books of secrets, which revealed the mysteries of distillation and sugarwork to English gentlewomen start to appear from the middle of the sixteenth century. The earliest was by a contemporary of Mattioli, a monk called Girolomo Ruscelli, whose work The Secretes of Master Alexis of Piedmont was first published in London in 1558. An eighteenth century trade card advertising Right (authentic), Green and Yellow Usquebaugh. Perseco, or persico, was a popular liqueur flavoured with peach kernels. Vespitro Brandy 2 pints, aniseed one ounce, true lemons, sugar one pound, corianders two ounces, fennel one ounce, angelica two drachms. Break up these ingredients, and put them in a jar, with two pintsof brandy; peel the two lemons, which you must add to the mixture, and squeeze in the juice; break the sugar, dissolve it in water, and put it into the jar; let it stand for a fortnight, then strain it through a flannel bag, filter, and bottle it. From: G.A. Jarrin, The Italian Confectioner (London: 1820)

Above: The carnivorous plant Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia L.) was used to create a bright yellow cordial water called rosa solis or rosolio. This strong spirit seems to have originated in Renaissance Turin and was initially esteemed as a medicine and aphrodisiac before it became a popular drink. On their first arrival in England in the late 1400s, distilled cordial waters had been strictly used as alcoholic medicines, prescribed in small doses to invigorate