A large blue-and-white bowl is heaped with dried apricots, candied tangerine peel and lumps of rock sugar, a small bowl beside it holds lotus seeds, and a wooden tray holds bars of nut brittle.
Sweets and preserves
Introduction
Candies, and preserved fruit steeped in sugar or honey.
Candies and preserved fruit covers candies and preserves made by steeping fruit in sugar or honey. Candies include hard, crisp and gel kinds, and preserved fruit is fruit or melon boiled or steeped in sugar, some kept moist and some dried. The Song books Dong Jing Meng Hua Lu and Meng Liang Lu already record honeyed fruit, sugar-boiled sweets and sugar sweets of many kinds. Fresh fruit belongs to Fruits and Nuts, and the sugar and honey used belong to Oils, Salt, Sugar and Honey.