[Sca-cooks] Polish Beverage was Re: general info wanted

[Tomasia]

> 4th course - Germany/Poland/Russia:
> bread and butter - V
> mushroom pierogies, either baked or boiled - H
> herring in cream sauce or wine sauce or mackerel in
> mint sauce
> a soup? - borscht??
> a sweet - blini??
> a beverage (tea with lemon was suggested, but tea is
> not period, I think)
> 
> Devra the Baker
> 



I have a recipe for a beverage that falls under this
country category. I found it in Food and Drink in
Medieval Poland by Dembinska. I served it at a
handfasting at Aethelmearc War Practice last spring
and it was very well received...What little was left
was actually taken home by a non-scadian with Polish
roots.

CZEMIGA (Polish Hydromel)Her Recipe
3 cups spring water
3 T fennel seed
1/2 t ground cassia or 1T bruised cassia buds
1 cup honey

Bring water to a boil and pour over the fennel and
cassia in a large jar. Cover and infuse until the
liquid is room temperature. Strain through a filter or
fine sieve. Dissolve the honey in the clear liquid.
Store in a stoneware jug or wine bottle in the
refrigerator until needed.

What I did:
I found that this recipe was entirely too sweet for
me, so I doubled the amount of the other three
ingredients when I made the final batch. I used whole
cinnamon stick rather than ground. Also if at all
possible serve it cold, it tasted much better to me
(but then again, fennel is not my favorite)

Hope this helps, it sounds like it could be an
interesting feast.

Tomasia da Collivento


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