flipAlmond milk with rose water
Almond milk with rose water
Why this dish? When fever struck a relative or lean days forbade meat, almond milk was served, sweet and refreshing. For Mornay, whose Reformed faith held sobriety a virtue, this nourishing and moderate drink was the comfort for the convalescents in his household.
A 'milk' without milk: pounded almonds infused in water, pressed into a creamy drink, sweetened with sugar and perfumed with rose water. The comfort of the sick and of meatless days.
Si quelqu'un des miens tombe en langueur, Monsieur, je lui fais préparer ce lait d'amandes, car les médecins le tiennent pour bénin et nourrissant. On pile les amandes mondées, on les détrempe d'eau tiède, puis on presse au travers d'un linge pour en tirer un lait blanc comme neige. Un peu de sucre, quelques gouttes d'eau de rose, et le malade le boit sans dégoût. Il rafraîchit la fièvre et soutient le corps quand la viande lui répugne.
- •Blanched almonds — two handfuls (base)
- •Warm water — as needed (liquid)
- •Sugar — a little (sweetness)
- •Rose water — a few drops (flavor)
Almond milk with rose water
A 'milk' without milk: pounded almonds infused in water, pressed into a creamy drink, sweetened with sugar and perfumed with rose water. The comfort of the sick and of meatless days.
Why this dish? When fever struck a relative or lean days forbade meat, almond milk was served, sweet and refreshing. For Mornay, whose Reformed faith held sobriety a virtue, this nourishing and moderate drink was the comfort for the convalescents in his household.
Si quelqu'un des miens tombe en langueur, Monsieur, je lui fais préparer ce lait d'amandes, car les médecins le tiennent pour bénin et nourrissant. On pile les amandes mondées, on les détrempe d'eau tiède, puis on presse au travers d'un linge pour en tirer un lait blanc comme neige. Un peu de sucre, quelques gouttes d'eau de rose, et le malade le boit sans dégoût. Il rafraîchit la fièvre et soutient le corps quand la viande lui répugne.
Ingredients (period version)
- Blanched almonds — two handfuls (base)
- Warm water — as needed (liquid)
- Sugar — a little (sweetness)
- Rose water — a few drops (flavor)
Ingredients
- Blanched almonds — 150 g (base)
- Water — 750 ml (liquid)
- Sugar — 1–2 tbsp (sweetness)
- Food-grade rose water — 1/2 tsp (flavor)
Method
- Soak the almonds in hot water for 30 minutes to soften.
- Blend the almonds finely with the water until milky.
- Strain through a fine cloth (or cheesecloth), pressing well to extract all the milk.
- Sweeten lightly and perfume with a few drops of rose water.
- Serve chilled or lukewarm, stirred well (it settles on standing).
How it was made : Almond milk was ubiquitous in medieval and Renaissance cuisine: it replaced animal milk on lean days (when dairy and meat were forbidden) and nourished the sick, as humoral medicine deemed it mild and refreshing. Rose water, distilled and precious, perfumed both remedies and sweet entremets.
The contemporary twist : Served very cold over a few ice cubes, this is a homemade 'plant milk' with rose water, surprisingly close to today's almond drinks — but invented five centuries earlier.
Charles de Mornay · Charactorium
