Ipocrasso — painter's spiced mulled wine
Red wine warmed, sweetened with honey, perfumed with cinnamon, ginger, and clove, then filtered until clear and velvety.
Red wine warmed, sweetened with honey, perfumed with cinnamon, ginger, and clove, then filtered until clear and velvety.
The Cremonese winter freezes your bones and congeals the colors on the palette. So when I received a patron who had commissioned an altarpiece, I would gently heat — never boil! — a good wine with honey, cinnamon, ginger, and clove. Then we strain it through the felt bag until it's clear as varnish. One goblet, and we talk painting with a warm heart; two, and the price of the painting is easier to discuss.
- •Red wine — a jug (base)
- •Honey — to taste (sweetness)
- •Cinnamon — a stick (spice)
- •Ginger — a piece (spice)
- •Clove — a few (spice)
- •Grains of paradise or long pepper — a pinch (spice)
Ipocrasso — painter's spiced mulled wine
Red wine warmed, sweetened with honey, perfumed with cinnamon, ginger, and clove, then filtered until clear and velvety.
Why this dish? Hypocras, a sweetened and spiced wine filtered through a felt bag, was the reception and comfort drink of the wealthy classes in the Renaissance. For a Lombard painter receiving a patron or warming himself in a freezing winter workshop, a goblet of ipocrasso perfumed with cinnamon and ginger was an accessible luxury.
The Cremonese winter freezes your bones and congeals the colors on the palette. So when I received a patron who had commissioned an altarpiece, I would gently heat — never boil! — a good wine with honey, cinnamon, ginger, and clove. Then we strain it through the felt bag until it's clear as varnish. One goblet, and we talk painting with a warm heart; two, and the price of the painting is easier to discuss.
Ingredients (period version)
- Red wine — a jug (base)
- Honey — to taste (sweetness)
- Cinnamon — a stick (spice)
- Ginger — a piece (spice)
- Clove — a few (spice)
- Grains of paradise or long pepper — a pinch (spice)
Ingredients
- Full-bodied red wine — 1 bottle (75 cl) (base)
- Honey — 4 to 6 tbsp (sweetness)
- Cinnamon stick — 1 (spice)
- Fresh ginger — 4 slices (spice)
- Cloves — 4 (spice)
- Long pepper or black pepper — 1 pinch (spice)
Method
- Pour the wine into a saucepan with the honey and all spices.
- Heat very gently without ever boiling (otherwise the alcohol and aromas escape), let infuse for 20-30 minutes at a light simmer.
- Filter through a fine cloth or coffee filter until clear.
- Serve warm in small goblets. (For adults; for children, make the same infusion with hot grape juice.)
How it was made : Hypocras (named after Hippocrates, due to the 'Hippocratic sleeve' used for filtering) was very fashionable in Europe from the 14th to the 16th century. Expensive spices signaled the host's rank. It was often drunk at the end of the meal, sometimes as a comforting remedy.
The contemporary twist : Serve warm in small glasses with a cinnamon stick, or, summer version, steep strongly then dilute with ice — and the grape juice variant for the whole family table.
Bernardino Campi · Charactorium
