Kykeon, the Orator's Thick Drink
A thick drink, halfway between beverage and porridge: barley flour stirred into water or wine, with grated goat cheese and herbs. Tangy and filling, drunk fresh in one gulp.
A thick drink, halfway between beverage and porridge: barley flour stirred into water or wine, with grated goat cheese and herbs. Tangy and filling, drunk fresh in one gulp.
When I run from the Agora to the theater to supervise my choreuts, no time to sit at table! I stir my barley flour into fresh water, grate goat cheese into it, throw in a pinch of mint, and gulp — I stir and swallow! Some pour wine in, and I won't throw stones at them. It's the drink of Circe and Homer's heroes: if it nourishes demigods, it will nourish a comedian!
- •Roasted barley flour — a few spoonfuls (nourishing thickener)
- •Fresh water (or diluted wine) — a good bowl (liquid)
- •Grated goat cheese — a handful (body and tang)
- •Fresh mint or pennyroyal — a few leaves (herb)
- •Honey — a drizzle (optional) (sweetness)
Kykeon, the Orator's Thick Drink
A thick drink, halfway between beverage and porridge: barley flour stirred into water or wine, with grated goat cheese and herbs. Tangy and filling, drunk fresh in one gulp.
Why this dish? Kykeon — a mixture of barley, water, grated cheese, and herbs, sometimes spiked with wine — was the Greek on-the-go meal-drink, already mentioned by Homer. For Aristophanes, a busy city-dweller rushing from the Agora to the Theater of Dionysus, it was a liquid snack that stuck to the ribs without leaving his work.
When I run from the Agora to the theater to supervise my choreuts, no time to sit at table! I stir my barley flour into fresh water, grate goat cheese into it, throw in a pinch of mint, and gulp — I stir and swallow! Some pour wine in, and I won't throw stones at them. It's the drink of Circe and Homer's heroes: if it nourishes demigods, it will nourish a comedian!
Ingredients (period version)
- Roasted barley flour — a few spoonfuls (nourishing thickener)
- Fresh water (or diluted wine) — a good bowl (liquid)
- Grated goat cheese — a handful (body and tang)
- Fresh mint or pennyroyal — a few leaves (herb)
- Honey — a drizzle (optional) (sweetness)
Ingredients
- Toasted barley flour — 3 tbsp (nourishing thickener)
- Fresh water — 250 ml (liquid)
- Fresh goat cheese, crumbled or grated — 40 g (body and tang)
- Fresh mint — 4-5 leaves, chopped (herb)
- Honey — 1 tsp (optional) (sweetness)
Method
- Stir the barley flour into fresh water, whisking vigorously to avoid lumps.
- Add the goat cheese and whisk until smooth and thick.
- Add the chopped mint and, if desired, a drizzle of honey.
- Taste: the drink should be tangy and filling. Drink fresh, stirring occasionally as the barley settles.
How it was made : Kykeon (from *kykaō*, 'to mix') is one of the oldest Greek preparations: Homer has Circe and Hecamede serve it in the *Iliad*, with barley, Pramnian wine, and grated goat cheese. It was also used as a ritual drink in the Eleusinian Mysteries. Its composition varied from simple barley gruel to the wine-laced version of banquets.
The contemporary twist : Serve chilled in a tall glass, like an ancient protein smoothie — the unlikely ancestor of drinkable yogurt.
Aristophanes · Charactorium
