Circe's island *kykeon*
A nourishing, ancient drink: barley flour mixed into scented wine, laced with honey and grated goat cheese. Thick, comforting, halfway between potion and meal.
A nourishing, ancient drink: barley flour mixed into scented wine, laced with honey and grated goat cheese. Thick, comforting, halfway between potion and meal.
You drank at the sorceress's, didn't you, before coming to tremble before me? That thick brew she handed you, barley and wine and honey melted together, with the goat cheese dissolving in it — that is what warms men's bellies before they dare my strait. Drink it slowly, mortal: it is sweet as the honey of Thrinacia and murky as my waters. For once past Circe's threshold, there is only Scylla, and me, and the whirlpool that awaits.
- •Roasted barley flour (*alphita*) — a good spoonful (nourishing thickener)
- •Wine (Pramnian, says Homer) — a cup (liquid base)
- •Honey — to taste (sweetness)
- •Grated goat cheese — a little (roundness and body)
Circe's island *kykeon*
A nourishing, ancient drink: barley flour mixed into scented wine, laced with honey and grated goat cheese. Thick, comforting, halfway between potion and meal.
Why this dish? Before facing Charybdis, Odysseus and his men stay with Circe on the nearby island of Aeaea. It is there that the sorceress serves the famous *kykeon* — a drink of barley, wine, and honey — to the crew. The brew that precedes the passage of the strait.
You drank at the sorceress's, didn't you, before coming to tremble before me? That thick brew she handed you, barley and wine and honey melted together, with the goat cheese dissolving in it — that is what warms men's bellies before they dare my strait. Drink it slowly, mortal: it is sweet as the honey of Thrinacia and murky as my waters. For once past Circe's threshold, there is only Scylla, and me, and the whirlpool that awaits.
Ingredients (period version)
- Roasted barley flour (*alphita*) — a good spoonful (nourishing thickener)
- Wine (Pramnian, says Homer) — a cup (liquid base)
- Honey — to taste (sweetness)
- Grated goat cheese — a little (roundness and body)
Ingredients
- Roasted barley flour — 2 tbsp (thickener)
- Full-bodied red wine (or grape juice for non-alcoholic version) — 200 ml (liquid base)
- Honey — 1 to 2 tbsp (sweetness)
- Fresh goat cheese, crumbled — 30 g (body)
- Water — 50 ml if too thick (adjustment)
Method
- Mix the barley flour with a little warm wine to avoid lumps.
- Add the remaining wine, heat gently without boiling, stirring.
- Stir in the honey and crumbled goat cheese; whisk until smooth and thick.
- Thin with a little water if necessary to achieve a thick drink consistency.
- Serve warm in a bowl or cup, to be drunk slowly.
How it was made : The *kykeon* (from the verb *to mix*) is described in the *Odyssey* and *Iliad*: a mixture of barley, Pramnian wine, honey, and grated goat cheese. Both a ritual and nourishing drink, it also appears in the Eleusinian Mysteries. Its cloudy texture made it as much a food as a drink.
The contemporary twist : Served chilled as an *ancient smoothie* in summer, in a stemmed cup, sprinkled with crunchy puffed barley.
Charybdis · Charactorium
