Recipe by Daniel Myers

Ingredients

2 cups red wine

1 tsp. powder douce

2 - 3 Tbsp. sugar, according to taste



Method

Put ingredients together into a pitcher or other vessel with a pour spout, and stir until sugar dissolves. Serve warm or cold.

For a non-alcoholic version, use grape juice instead of wine and add one or two teaspoons of red wine vinegar for a bit of tartness. Depending on the sweetness of the the grape juice, the amount of sugar may be reduced or eliminated entirely.

Source [Forme of Cury, S. Pegge (ed.)]: PUR FAIT YPOCRAS. XX.IX. XI. Treys Unces de canett. & iii unces de gyngeuer. spykenard de Spayn le pays dun denerer, garyngale. clowes, gylofre. poeurer long, noiez mugadez. maziozame cardemonij de chescun i. quart' douce grayne & de paradys stour de queynel de chescun dim unce de toutes, soit fait powdour &c.

Source [The Good Housewife's Jewell, T. Dawson]: To make Hypocrase. Take a gallon of white wine, suger two pound, of sinamon ij d. ginger ij d. long Pepper ij d. Mace ij d. not brused, Graines ij d. Gallingall j d.od. Cloues not brused, you must bruse euery kinde of spice a litle, & put them in an earthen pot all a day, & then cast them through your bags two times or more as you see cause, and so drinke it.

Source [Le Ménagier de Paris, J. Hinson (trans.)]: HIPPOCRAS. To make powdered hippocras, take a quarter-ounce of very fine cinnamon, hand-picked by tasting it, an ounce of very fine meche ginger and an ounce of grains of paradise, a sixth of an ounce of nutmeg and galingale together, and pound it all together. And when you want to make hippocras, take a good half-ounce or more of this powder and two quarter-ounces of sugar, and mix them together, and a quart of wine as measured in Paris. And note that the powder and the sugar mixed together make "duke's powder".

Source [Le Viandier de Taillevent, J. Prescott (trans.)]: Hippocras. Take four ounces of very fine cinnamon, two ounces of fine cassia flowers, an ounce of selected Mecca ginger, an ounce of grains_of_paradise, and a sixth [of an ounce] of nutmeg and galingale combined. Crush them all together. Take a good half ounce of this powder and eight ounces of sugar [(which thus makes Sweet Powder)], and mix it with a quart of wine.

Source [Libre del Coch, R. Carroll-Mann (trans.)]: 5. SPICES FOR HIPPOCRAS. Five parts cinnamon, three parts cloves, one part ginger; half of the wine must be white and half of it red, and for one azumbre, six ounces of sugar, mix everything together and cast it in a small glazed earthenware pot and give it a boil, when it comes to a boil, [cook it] no more, strain it through your sleeve often enough that it comes out clear.

Published: April 20, 2011

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