flipAlmond Milk for Fast Days and the Sick
Almond Milk for Fast Days and the Sick
Why this dish? On lean days of Lent and during illness, meat and dairy were set aside from the noble table. They were replaced by almond milk, sweet and nourishing—a common care for lords bedridden after wounds or campaign fevers.
A milk obtained by grinding almonds with water, then filtering. Lightly sweetened and flavored, it replaced animal milk on lean days and nourished the sick. Drunk as is or thickened into a soft porridge.
In Lent, or when fever keeps me down after some hard campaign, my doctor forbids meat and dairy. Then almond milk is made for me: almonds peeled, pounded fine in a mortar with a little water, then passed through a cloth until it runs white as real milk. A little sugar, and here is a sweet drink that sustains the body without weighing it down. Warm, it soothes; cold, it refreshes. Many a lean day, I have had no better comfort.
- •Peeled sweet almonds — a good handful (base)
- •Water — as needed (liquid)
- •Sugar — a little (sweetness)
- •Rose water (optional) — a few drops (flavor)
Almond Milk for Fast Days and the Sick
A milk obtained by grinding almonds with water, then filtering. Lightly sweetened and flavored, it replaced animal milk on lean days and nourished the sick. Drunk as is or thickened into a soft porridge.
Why this dish? On lean days of Lent and during illness, meat and dairy were set aside from the noble table. They were replaced by almond milk, sweet and nourishing—a common care for lords bedridden after wounds or campaign fevers.
In Lent, or when fever keeps me down after some hard campaign, my doctor forbids meat and dairy. Then almond milk is made for me: almonds peeled, pounded fine in a mortar with a little water, then passed through a cloth until it runs white as real milk. A little sugar, and here is a sweet drink that sustains the body without weighing it down. Warm, it soothes; cold, it refreshes. Many a lean day, I have had no better comfort.
Ingredients (period version)
- Peeled sweet almonds — a good handful (base)
- Water — as needed (liquid)
- Sugar — a little (sweetness)
- Rose water (optional) — a few drops (flavor)
Ingredients
- Blanched almonds — 150 g (base)
- Water — 750 ml (liquid)
- Sugar or honey — 1-2 tbsp (sweetness)
- Orange blossom or rose water — 1/2 tsp (flavor (optional))
Method
- Soak the blanched almonds in hot water for 1 hour.
- Blend them finely with some of the water until a milky puree forms.
- Add the remaining water, mix, then strain through a fine cloth, pressing well.
- Sweeten lightly and flavor with a dash of flower water if desired.
- Serve warm to comfort, or chilled. Stir well before drinking.
How it was made : Almond milk was the quintessential lean-day ingredient of the Middle Ages and Renaissance: *Le Ménagier de Paris* and cookbooks abound with it. It replaced animal milk on lean days (Lent, Fridays) and was considered a healthy, easy-to-digest food, recommended for the sick by physicians.
The contemporary twist : Set it into a soft blancmange with a little gelling agent, flavored with orange blossom, served in chilled verrines—a white, light dessert of Renaissance inspiration.
Sources : Le Ménagier de Paris (c. 1393) · Bartolomeo Platina, De honesta voluptate et valetudine (1474)
Charles d'Amboise · Charactorium
