[Sca-cooks] Cubebs

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Aug 25, 2006, at 8:45 PM, Stefan li Rous wrote:

> niccolo difrancesco commented back on August 6:
> :
>> Powder douce, powder forte, fine spice powder, black spices, Dry
>> BBQ rubs,
>> hypocras, Duke's Powder, etc., in addition to some more exotic
>> individual
>> spices.  These are all wonders that could catch on right now in the
>> real world food market.  Taking the historical to the masses.
>
> Which one is "Duke's Powder"?

Duke's Powder is a phrase used in somebody's (Powers'?) translation  
of Le Menagier, in a translated hippocras recipe. As I recall, it  
refers to the weighed-out spice mixture being mixed with a specific  
amount of sugar and then with wine to make the hippocras, but it also  
says, according to the translator, that the spice-and-sugar mixture  
is called The Duke's Powder.

Of course, some have argued that this should be translated as Powder  
Douce, or simply Sweetened Powder, and that it really has no relation  
to anyone of Ducal rank.

Adamantius