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Mittelalterlicher Hypocras in Hattonchâtel

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Hypocras war das beliebteste Getränk auf Festen und Banketts im Mittelalter. Heute haben wir eine Gallone Hypocras im Schloss Hattonchâtel in Frankreich gemacht unter Verwendung der damals üblichen Gewürze.

Darf ich vorstellen: Dan Agerskov, der Cousin des Besitzers des Schlosses Hattonchâtel in Lothringen. Er hat ein Jahr lang in diesem Schloss gelebt. Dan und seine Frau haben unter meiner Regie eine Anzahl authentischer Mittelalterspeisen bereitet.

Heute haben wir Hypocras gemacht. 

Hypocras

1 Flasche Rotwein mit hohem Tanningehalt (75 cl/3 Becher)

125 gr Zucker

2 schwarze Pfefferkörner

1 Stange Zimt

2 Schoten Kardamom

1 Nelke

Langer Pfeffer

1/2 TL gemahlene Gewürzlilie

1/2 TL gemahlenen getrockneten Ingwer

1 TL  Paradieskörner

1 sauberes Baumwolltuch oder T-Shirt

Man braucht zunächst einen Rotwein mit viel Fülle und Körper, holzig und reich an Tannin, am besten aus einem Gebiet mit einer hohen Sonneneinstrahlung. In der Nacht davor haben wir  den Rotwein eines äußerst mutigen Winzers versucht, der sich als Einziger traut, Rotwein in Lothringen zu machen. Das funktioniert einfach nicht, der Wein war herb und als wir den Zucker hinzugaben war alles was übrig blieb nur ein honigsüßes, wässriges, Soft-Drink-ähnliches Gebräu. Wir warfen alles weg und besorgten und stattdessen einen kalifornischen Shiraz.

Man gieße den Wein in ein Gefäß oder Dekantierer (oder in eine Salatschüssel), hauptsache, man kann das Gefäß verschließen und den Wein so im Kühlschrank lagern.

Den Zucker hinzufügen.

Die Gewürze mit einem Mörser zermahlen. Man kann zudem etwas mehr Gewürze verwenden und sie ganz lassen, um zu verhindern, dass sich anschließend kleine Partikel im Wein befinden. 

In das Gefäß geben...

 

und riechen.

Mit einem Holzlöffel rühren, bis der Zucker sich aufgelöst hat. Dann abdecken und bis zum nächsten Tag an einem kühlen Ort verwahren. Wenn man es wirklich eilig hat, einfach 2 Stunden lang mehr Gewürze und Blätter verwenden.

Auf der nächsten Seite mehr über die Filtrierung, das Schmecken und Servieren.

 

Am nächsten Tag müssen wir den Hypocras probieren. Dan hat diesen Teil gerne übernommen...

...gefolgt von seiner Frau Hanne. Etwas süß oder zu viel Gewürz? Füge noch etwas Wein hinzu. Noch nicht süß genug? Füge etwas Zucker hinzu.

Man gieße anschließend den Wein über das Baumwolltuch. Wir brauchen ein solches Baumwolltuch, weil kein Sieb derart fein ist, dass kleinste Gewürzreste (wie Gewürzstaub) zurück gehalten wird. Das Original, ein Rezept aus dem 14. Jahrhundert, sagt: Passe your wyne throu a Socke nine tymes untille clear.

Man entferne das Tuch...

... und schenke sich ein paar Tropfen in ein Glas ein.

Die Belohnung eines Tages harter Arbeit. Der Wein schmeckt wesentlich besser als das Original, mit einem würzigen Geschmack und einem samtenen, Port-ähnlichen Körper. Ein perfektes Party-Getränk, der Zucker verdeckt den Geschmack des Alkohols; Leute verlieren langsam ihre Hemmungen, eliminieren dann den Effekt des Alkohols durch das Essen und fahren sicher und wohlbehalten zurück. 

Mein Hypocras wurde zu einer Auswahl an örtlichen Enchiladas serviert, darunter auch der Préfet de la Meuse (in der braunen Jacke), der persönliche Gesandte des französischen Innenministers des Meuse-Departements. 

Für amerikanische Leser: Stellt euch vor, all eure 50 Staaten wären zehnmal so klein und der Governor wäre vom Presidenten gewählt, damit er gewährleistet, dass der Staat die Gesetze richtig anwendet.

So jemand ist dann ein französischer Préfet. 

Hubert Cremel, Jäger im Ruhestand und der Bratmeister unserer Wildschweine, nimmt einen Schluck meines Hypocras'. Der Préfet ist gegangen, ohne jemals das Wildschwein auch nur angesehen zu haben, beklagte er sich später. 

Dann bleibt mehr für uns!, tröstete ich ihn.

Dies hier ist der erste Artikel von sieben weiteren über meine Abenteuer in Hattonchâtel.  Siehe den Hauptartikel für mehr Informationen über das, was als Nächstes kommt... 

Hattonchâtel ist ein mittelalterliches Dorf in der Nähe Verduns im Nordosten Frankreichs. Das Schloss Hattonchâtel kann man unter  Ritz Resorts abrufen um dort seine Hochzeit zu planen, oder einfach mal eine Nacht dort zu verbringen...


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34 Kommentare

What does it taste like?  Please describe.
Another great article btw.
Thanks
Dave
The faces of Dan are great!. Is he barely refraining from smiling in the first one?

I had thought Hypocras was going to be a hot beverage. Surprising to find it is a cold one.

Many thanks for the post, and indeed I look forward to the others, specially the goose-feather deseeded currants and manger-blanc, which sent me into a frenzy of reading. We have a "Manjar Blanco" here in chile but is more of a milk reduction-caramelisation.

Thanks again!
  • #3
  • Beantworted von fx
Rodrigo, thanks for visiting! Dan is a fun-loving person who smiles very naturally - I guess he was one of these babies who keep smiling all day and he just never stopped. And he makes a lot of tongue-in-cheek jokes - we have jolly good fun! Yes the hypocras still surviving in Europe are most warm and served around Christmas, but it works equally well with room-temperature wine. The manjar blanco you describe may be related to the same recipe via the Spanish peninsula.
  • #4
  • Beantworted von fx
Dave, I just added a bit about the taste, basically it's a bit like port with spice, very fragrant, intriguing taste with these uncommon spices.
  • #5
  • Von: Jason
What is it that the stuffy bureaucrat complained about? I mean, not that I'm surprised ;)
  • #6
  • Von: Sarah
Lovely! I wonder if they ever marinated anything in hypocras back then...?
Love Dan's smiling face and the instructions for the wyne!  I can't help thinking of POSH NOSH episodes (if you are a fan of Richard E. Grant look on youtube) at this chateau. Extraordinary food for ordinary people!
  • #8
  • Von: david
Having just come into acquaintance with galangal in the last five years, I am curious when did it come to Europe. It is a Thai spice as I am familiar with it.

Still it looks like a nice drink for a party.
  • #9
  • Von: Helena
Hmm ... nice, I could almost taste the hypocras.

If I recall correctly, I might have seen commercial versions of Medieval spiced wines around. (As in the product said it followed an old Medieval recipe, not that it was bottled and passed down from Medieval times.)

Had a lot more types of spices in it though, I wonder if it is the same stuff. Also as I recalled, it was de-alcoholed and sold in a health food store.

Sounds like a great alternative to mead and a Japanese tonic called Yomeishu that has been around since 1602. Now if I can only find a commercial brand that bottles this stuff for convinience.
  • #10
  • Von: Ariun
What a lovely cheerful person Dan is! I want to give him a BEEEEG HUG! (But will refrain -- presence of his honey Hanne noted).
  • #11
  • Von: Dan
Hello FX
It is me Dan. It was a pleasure to have you here, and we had a lot of fun. You say that you have taken more than 1800 pictures. Some of them must have been without my smiling face.
All the things we made for drinking and eating was very good and the taste was very fine. I hope that your readers can wait, they have to, until you have finished the 7 articles.
Ariun, who wanted to give me a beeeeg hug, may be we could arrange some thing!
FX - Hope to see you in Denmark one day.
  • #12
  • Beantworted von fx
Hello Dan and Hanne and thanks for your warm welcome in Hattonchâtel! As you can see you are already becoming quite popular with my readers, a lady even asked a print of your picture to put in her kitchen. For the beeeeeg hug we'll ask Hanne if she allows it of course! Hope to see you in Denmark some time soon. Hold on for the other articles, more is on the way.
  • #13
  • Beantworted von fx
Ariun, Dan agreed for the beeeeeg hug but will ask permission from his wife first!
  • #14
  • Beantworted von fx
Helena for the hypocras I have all sorts of very serious medieval recipes and all use a different combination of spices although always a limited number of different spices, not the whole spice shop. I really recommend that you try it instead of buying some bottled stuff, it's only a matter of mixing everything, leaving to steep, the filtering. That's all.
  • #15
  • Beantworted von fx
David, I asked my galangal when it arrived in Europe but this one was fresh out the boat. This being said medieval cuisine makes prodigal use of many spices we have come to associate with exotic Asian dishes, including ginger. The big difference is that we get way better spices way cheaper nowadays, and the hoi polloi like us gets to enjoy them too.
  • #16
  • Beantworted von fx
Callipygia, thanks for letting me know about Posh Nosh, this is great stuff! Dan didn't need much help to smile he is such a great person and I think he just liked the idea of making a gallon of spiced wine for a party.
  • #17
  • Beantworted von fx
Sarah, I don't think that hypocras has much been used to marinate anything but feudal lords' palates!
  • #18
  • Beantworted von fx
Jason, I did not speak much with the Préfet, but these guys never do less than three banquets a day, so by not staying more than an hour at each place they can make more of them. Many Préfet are formerly with the Gendarmerie and don't drink that much I guess.
  • #19
  • Von: Aaron
FX, I see that you have not posted my comment regarding Calamus.  I hope I did not offend--that was not my intention.
  • #20
  • Beantworted von fx
Aaron, I did not see your comment about Calamus - sorry.
Everything looks phenomenal. I think that hypocras would make a fabulous drink for the holidays here in Vermont!! Definitely adding that to my holiday recipe repertoire. Although I'm sure it's quite tasty any time of year!!
Hi FX,
I didn't get the chance to view the hypocras preparation, very intersting and very well pictured!! Even nicer with Dan's smile.
Looking forward to the next serie.
have a nice week.
FX Cremel.
  • #23
  • Beantworted von fx
FX, there is more to come also with Dan and his crew, and then some with your father, who was very photogenic. I hope he will like the pictures too, maybe a reader will offer a beeeeeg hug!
  • #24
  • Beantworted von fx
Laura, hypocras is cold so I guess you could serve it during most seasons, although Spanish sangria might have more success during the summer. If you make some, make a lot and keep it bottled, it should store forever!
  • #25
  • Von: Malto
It's hilarious to see all the women fight over Dan. Maybe FX can use it as a marketing point: "Be featured on FX, win youself hordes of female fans!" Dan... the new "face that launched a thousand ships"?
  • #26
  • Beantworted von fx
Malto, indeed I was much pleased to see that there is a market for mature manly appeal - I wonder what my readers will say about the gentleman who skinned, roasted and carved the wild boar!
  • #27
  • Von: Aaron
I think it's possible that galangal is not the correct ingredient.

For one thing, it's indiginous to Southeast Asia, so it's unlikely that it would have been available in medieval Europe.

There have been other situations where "calamus" was listed as an ingredient, but was mistakenly translated as galangal.  Look at the wikipedia entry on Abramelin Oil for an example.

Calamus was frequently used as an additive to wine in the middle ages.  Look at the wikipedia entry for calamus (a.k.a. Sweet Flag) for more information, including a citation regarding its use in wine.
  • #28
  • Beantworted von fx
Aaron, I just checked my book about Taillevent's viandier and ... it is galanga all right.

"Garingal is the name of the root of galanga. This plant is from the same family of the ginger with an eatable root. In the Middle Ages, people considered that the best one is the small galanga, reddish in color and coming from India, hard and heavy as opposed to the big galanga, white or greyish and coming from China. "

This spice appears twice in Le Viandier.
  • #29
  • Von: Aaron
The problem is that the word frequently gets confused when things are translated from one language to another or confused during a transription, and the error persists once it's made.

Please have a look at the two wikipedia articles I referenced (I tried to put links to them in my original comment, which is probably why you never received the comment).

It's possible that galangal was brought from Southeast Asia to Europe via the Silk Road in the Middle Ages, but it seems more parsimonious that it was actually calamus, an ingredient that is known to have been added to wine and that is known to have been mistranslated as galangal in other circumstances.
  • #30
  • Beantworted von fx
Aaron, I tried to email M. Taillevent but no answer ;) I guess we will never know if he used calamus but wrote galingal in his book. However I saw here http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/g/galang01.html that galanga was known in Europe for 7 centuries, since ginger is found in almost every medieval recipe and galanga is a cousin of it, it seems to be quite likely that indeed he used this spice and not another. If I can raise Taillevent on MSN I'll ask him to confirm, but in the meanwhile if you allow I'll use Ockham's razor and assume he wrote it right.
  • #31
  • Von: Catherine
FX, that sounds delicious. I would make some for my next party if I had the slightest idea where to get some of these spices, but I don't. Maybe someday!
  • #32
  • Beantworted von fx
Catherine, you can order most spices from the Internet and they are quite cheap nowadays.  
You can order all these spices (and many more) from www.penzeys.com
  • FX's answer→ Thanks for the link Cynthia!




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