A Medieval Description of Manna

Manna, according to medieval Arabic sources, is initiated by the rising vapors of the fruits of trees, water, and earth. All these gather up in the sky and ‘cook’ with the heat of the sun, and then condense and thicken and sweeten in taste. With the cold of night they condense even further, and, as a result, they become thick and heavy and fall on the ground, rocks, and trees, like dew. This explains why manna and similar sweeteners were called ‘honey of dew’ in medieval times.