"And once, when [Lucullus] was dining alone, and a modest repast of one course had been prepared for him, he was angry, and summoned the servant who had the matter in charge. The servant said that he did not suppose, since there were no guests, that he wanted anything very costly.
‘What sayest thou?’ said the master, ‘didst thou not know that to-day Lucullus dines with Lucullus?'"


M. Gavi Apici De Re Coquinaria Liber I - Epimeles

I. Epimeles - "The Careful Housekeep"

i. CONDITVM PARADOXVM - Surprisingly Excellent Spice Wine (Holiday Wine)


CONDITI PARADOXI COMPOSITIO - Recipe for Surprisingly Excellent Spiced Wine
Mellis in aeneum uas mittuntur, praemissis vini sextariis duobus, ut in coctura mellis vinum decoquas. Quod igni lento et aridis lignis calefactum, commotum ferula dum coquitur, si effervere coeperit, vini rore conpescitur, praeter quod subtracto igni in se redit. Cum perfrixerit, rursus accenditur. Hoc secundo ac tertio fiet, ac tum demum remotum a foco postridie despumatur. Tum mittis piperis uncias quattor iam triti, masticis scripulos III, folii et croci dragmae singulae, datilorum ossibus torridis quinque, isdemque dactilis vino mollitis, intercedente prius suffusione vini de suo modo ac numero, ut tritura lenis habeatur. His omnibus paratis supermittis vini lenis sextaria XVIII. Carbones perfecto aderunt. 
Into a bronze bowl are mixed two sextarii of honey and two sextarii of wine so that you boil down the wine while heating the honey. This is to be heated over a slow flame and dry wood, stirred by a whip while it is cooked – if the mixture begins to boil, it should be quenched by a dash of cold wine. After this, turn down the flame and allow to cool. Once it has cooled, it is to be heated again. Having done this a second or third time, it is at last ready to be removed from the stove and then skimmed on the following day. Then add 4 oz. of already-ground allspice, 3 scrupuli of mastic, a dragma of bay leaves and saffron each, 5 dried date stones, then the dates themselves, all softened by being steeped beforehand in an infusion of wine of the same sort and amount so that a light mash is produced. All these preparations done, add eighteen sextarii of light wine.Charcoal is used to filter the mixture.


Notes: sextarius (“a sixth”) = 18.47 US fl. oz or about ½ a liter
6 sextarii = 110.84 US fl. oz. = around 3.5 liters
2 sextarii = 36.94 US fl. oz. = around 1 liter
                    18 sextarii = 332.46 US fl. oz. = around 10 liters (9.8) 
          Roman uncia ("ounce") = 9.7 oz.
            scrupulus (“little stone, scruple”) = 24th of an oz. 
            dragma = drachma (“dram”) = 8th of an oz.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)