In an early modern household devoted to practical knowledge, the table is not divided into starter-main-dessert but organized around three offices that share the same herbs: the potage (the day's nourishing base, fava beans, vegetables, and brown bread), the roast or the pie (reserved for feast days and convalescents), and distilled or preserved preparations (cordial waters, syrups, preserves) that move from the kitchen office to the health office. Mortar, alembic, and scale serve both the dish and the remedy indifferently.

Rosemary, thyme, sage, and fennel perfume both dishes and remedies; distillation in the copper alembic, a learned gesture of the time, transforms water and herb into "cordial waters" that define this entire table.