In medieval Scandinavia, the day was structured around two main meals: dagmål, taken in mid-morning, and nattmål, served in the late afternoon. At court, these two occasions varied according to the Church calendar — on meat days, game and spiced meats were served; on lean days (often half the year), the menu was reduced to fish, peas, and rye bread. Dynastic feasts, however, went beyond this framework with prestige dishes enhanced with imported spices, a sign of rank. Blanche, who came from Namur, brought to this Nordic foundation a Flemish taste for sweet-spiced flavors and honeyed treats.

Transported at great expense along Hanseatic routes to Baltic ports, spices on the royal table were a true display of power. Blanche, raised in the Namurois where Flemish spice merchants were already active, made ginger and saffron her signature: a rugged North enhanced with an Oriental fragrance.