In the home of a prosperous master craftsman in Renaissance Nuremberg, the meal is not divided into starter-main-dessert but organized around a nourishing base (a cereal porridge or pottage, the Mus), followed by a piece of roasted or boiled meat on feast days, and accompanied by the ever-present rye bread. Separately, one keeps the Würzwerk and Backwerk — spiced confections and pastries stored in boxes, to be nibbled, offered, or taken on journeys. Rhine wine flows at table, often warmed and spiced in winter.

Nuremberg was one of the great hubs of the spice trade in Northern Europe: ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, pepper, and saffron arrived from Venice — the very city where Dürer went to learn. This spice chest perfumes both gingerbread and mulled wine, and marks the taste of the city's bourgeoisie.