[Sca-cooks] Introduction and Question

[Stefan li Rous]

Kristianne said:
> I am an Artemisian who loves to cook and do needlework.  In an effort to be
> more period in my cooking I have been studing many on-line sources, have the
> Oxford guide to food by the bed for night-time reading and am drooling over
> the Cambridge set but can't afford it yet <sigh>

Welcome to SCA-Cooks! Home of much merriement and some talk on period
cooking.

> Now for the question.
>
> What hot drinks if any did people in the middle ages and rennaissance drink?
> I'm aware that tea, specifically camellia sinensis, didn't make it to
> Britain until approximately 1610 but could it have been imbibed perhaps in
> Italy before that?  Also is there a good period recipe for Chai or is that
> later still?

I believe you are correct on the chai, although there were infusions
in period that were not made with Chai. Perhaps these two files in the
BEVERAGES section of the Florilegium might be of interest:
infusions-msg     (24K)  3/26/02    Period infusions. Herbal "teas". Barley tea.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/BEVERAGES/infusions-msg.html
tea-msg            (7K)  9/15/98    Tea, cha. When it appeared in Europe.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/BEVERAGES/tea-msg.html

There were some period beverages that were drunk warm.
wassail-msg       (25K)  4/30/01    Spiced cider and ale drinks. Traditions.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/BEVERAGES/wassail-msg.html

Here are some egg thickened drinks that were also drunk warm:
caudles-art       (12K) 11/21/97    A medieval drink of warm wine or beer
                                       thickened with eggs by Tibor.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/BEVERAGES/caudles-art.html
caudls-posets-msg (13K)  2/12/02    Caudles and Possets. Thickened beverages.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/BEVERAGES/caudls-posets-msg.html

Also I believe some of the jalabs, generally Middle Eastern sugar or
honey syrup based drinks with vinegar, can be drunk warm or cold.
Whether they were drunk warm in period, I can't remember:
jalabs-msg        (51K)  1/23/01    Drinks with a sugar or honey-syrup base such
                                       as Sekanjabin (Persian Mint Drink).
http://www.florilegium.org/files/BEVERAGES/jalabs-msg.html

Since summer is fast approaching, why are you interested in HOT drinks? :-)

--
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris            Austin, Texas          stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****