[Sca-cooks] Help! hot beverage problem

[JIMCHEVAL at aol.com]

Aside from hot water, the one Western hot drink I know of from the period  
is the chaudeau/chaudel/caudle, which however is very differently defined by 
 different writers (all of whom I suspect of guessing). The word itself 
means  "hot water" (chaud eau), but the drink was served to newlyweds and so 
probably  was more interesting than that. One guess is sweetened milk mixed 
with  eggs:

https://books.google.com/books?id=5ABaAAAAMAAJ&q=chaudel+boisson&dq=chaudel+
boisson&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiC2uq0kqLUAhXnyoMKHd5vDHM4ZBDoAQgwMAE
 
Another is a mixture of oatmeal, broth, spices, ale, etc
https://books.google.com/books?id=d6xaJWJFe1QC&lpg=PA100&dq=caudle%20drink&p
g=PA100#v=onepage&q&f=false
 
Otherwise, cider was known in Normandy by the fifteenth century and  
lemonade by the seventeenth and one could serve either hot, even with spices.  
Certainly hot spiced cider hits the spot if it's really cold.
 
jC
 
Jim  Chevallier
_www.chezjim.com_ (http://www.chezjim.com/)