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French mustard and hypocras from the fourteenth century.
(printout version recept January/February 2003, 2 pag.A4. Introduction
to recipe and illustrations)
The original text of the recipe for
mustard is taken from Le Menagier de Paris in the edition of G.E. Brereton and J.M. Ferrier, Le Menagier de Paris (Oxford, 1981), p.258.
The original text of the recipe for hypocras is missing in this edition. That is
because this recipe, a fifteenth century addition, appears only in one of the three
manuscripts of the Menagier that have survived (the manuscripts date all three
from the fifteenth century, there is no autograph by the Menagier himself). The
additions are partly published by J. Pichon in an appendix to his edition in 1847.
Edition: J.Pichon, Le Ménagier de Paris, Traité de
morale et d'économie domestique [...] (2 vol., Genève, 1847), vol. 2,
p.273.
The recipe for mustard:
| Moustarde. Se
vous voulez faire provision de moustarde pour garder longuement, faictes
la en vendenges de moulx doulx. Et aucuns dient que le moulx soit
bouly. Item, se vous voulez faire moustarde en ung village a haste, broiez du senevé en ung mortier et deffaictes de vinaigre, et coulez par l'estamine. Et se vous la voulez tantost faire parer, mectez la en ung pot devant le feu. Item, et se vous la voulez faire bonne et a loisir, mectez le senevé tremper par une nuyt en bon vinaigre, puis la faictes bien broyer au moulin, et bien petit a petit destremper de vinaigre. Et se vous avez des espices qui soient de remenant de gelee, de claré, d'ypocras ou de saulses, si soyent broyez avec et après la laisser parer. |
Mustard. If you want to make
a supply of mustard that will keep long, make it during the picking-season
(of wine grapes) from fresh stum. Some say the stum must be boiled. Item if you want to make mustard in a village (where there is no must) in a hurry, grind white mustard in a mortar, mix with vinagre, and strain through the sieve. When you want to use it immediately, put it in a pot near the fire. Item if you want to make good [mustard] at leasure, soak the mustardseeds during one night in fine vinagre, then grind in the mill, and mix in the vinagre gradually. When you have spices left over from making jelly, claret, hypocras or sauces, grind these with [the mustardseeds] and let it mature. |
250 gram (2 cups) white or black mustard seeds, or some of both
4 decilitre 1 3/4 cup) white wine vinagre of good quality
1 tsp. mixed spices
salt
Preparation in advance: Since must (the
freshly pressed juice of winegrapes about to ferment) is available only in
wine-countries in octobre, we make the mustard with wine vinagre. Let the
mustard seeds soak during the night in white wine vinagre, The vinaigre should
stand about 2 centimeters above the seeds.
Preparation: The next morning the mustard
seeds have absorbed the vinagre, and become soft (you can crush them between
your fingers). Mash themin a blender, and add as much vinagre as is needed to
obtain the desired thickness. Add salt and spices. Taste it, be sure there is
enough salt in it.
Keep the mustard in a well closing container in the refrigerator during at least
eight days, to let the taste mature.
To serve: In small dishes on the
table.
The recipe for hypocras:
| Pour faire ung lot de bon ypocras. Prenes une onches de cinamonde nommée longue canelle en pippe, avec unes cloche de gingembre et autant de garingal, bien estampé ensemble, et puis prenez ung livre de bon çuquere: et tout cela broyés ensamble et destrempés avec ung lot du milleur vin de Beaune que pourrés finer et le laissir tremper ungne heure ou deux. Et pus coullés parmy ung chause par plusieurs fois tant qui soit bien cler. | To make a lot (=liquid measure) fine hypocras. Take one ounce cinnamon called long cinnamon in sticks, with some pieces of ginger and as much galanga, grind well together. Have a pound of fine sugar, and grind together and mix with a lot of the best wine of Beaune you can get and let this stand for one or two hours. Then let it run through a sack several times until it is clear. |
For one bottle of wine:
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. ground galanga
100 gram (1/2 cup) sugar
1 bottle superb red wine
cheesecloth
Preparation in advance: If you want to use the spices afterwards to make mustard, pack the ground spices in a coffee filter, closed tightly. Just scoop out the dregs (that is what has become of the spices after two hours soaking in wine). If you just want to make hypocras, you can also mix the spices directly in the wine. It will be more work to get a clear wine, you will have to strain the wine several times. However, if the wine remains opaque, this will not affect the taste of the hypocras.
Preparation: Mix wine with sugar, and add the spices. Let stand for two hours. Strain the wine through a moistened cheese cloth and rebottle the wine. Keep the hypocras in the refrigerator, and wait a couple of days before pouring.
To serve: In summer this wine is delicious when slightly chilled, in winter you can warm the hypocras. But remember: the alcohol evaporates when heated. In medieval times this spiced wine was served as a "after dinner drink", with some sweets to nibble.
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