Hippocras of Burgundy Wine
Red Burgundy wine cold-infused with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and grains of paradise, sweetened with sugar, then filtered until clear. A warm, fragrant drink to close the meal.
Red Burgundy wine cold-infused with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and grains of paradise, sweetened with sugar, then filtered until clear. A warm, fragrant drink to close the meal.
Between us, reader, I confess a weakness that sobriety struggles to correct: Burgundy wine, that nectar which warms the blood of a scholar chilled by Basel winters. Come evening, I have it spiced with cinnamon and ginger, sweetened with a little sugar, then run through the straining bag until it is clear as spring water. Drink one cup, not two — for Folly, as I have well said, lurks at the bottom of the pitcher! May it bring sweetness to your belly and light to your mind.
- •Red Burgundy wine — one pitcher (base)
- •Cinnamon — one stick (sweet spice)
- •Ginger — one piece (warming spice)
- •Cloves — a few (spice)
- •Grains of paradise (melegueta pepper) — a pinch (mild peppery spice)
- •Sugar — generous (sweetness)
Hippocras of Burgundy Wine
Red Burgundy wine cold-infused with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and grains of paradise, sweetened with sugar, then filtered until clear. A warm, fragrant drink to close the meal.
Why this dish? Erasmus "appreciated Burgundy wine": it is one of the few gourmet pleasures clearly attested for him. Hippocras, a sweetened spiced wine filtered through a cloth, closed meals and was thought to soothe the stomach. For a fragile man who loved this wine, it is the quintessential souvenir drink.
Between us, reader, I confess a weakness that sobriety struggles to correct: Burgundy wine, that nectar which warms the blood of a scholar chilled by Basel winters. Come evening, I have it spiced with cinnamon and ginger, sweetened with a little sugar, then run through the straining bag until it is clear as spring water. Drink one cup, not two — for Folly, as I have well said, lurks at the bottom of the pitcher! May it bring sweetness to your belly and light to your mind.
Ingredients (period version)
- Red Burgundy wine — one pitcher (base)
- Cinnamon — one stick (sweet spice)
- Ginger — one piece (warming spice)
- Cloves — a few (spice)
- Grains of paradise (melegueta pepper) — a pinch (mild peppery spice)
- Sugar — generous (sweetness)
Ingredients
- Red Burgundy wine (Pinot Noir) — 1 bottle (75 cl) (base)
- Cinnamon stick — 1 (sweet spice)
- Fresh ginger, sliced — 3 rounds (warming spice)
- Cloves — 3 (spice)
- Cardamom or melegueta seeds — 1 pinch (aromatic spice)
- Sugar — 60 to 80 g (sweetness)
Method
- Pour the wine into a container, add sugar, and stir to dissolve.
- Lightly crush the spices and add to the wine; steep cold for 1-2 hours (traditional method, without boiling).
- Filter carefully through a fine cloth (the old "Hippocras bag") until perfectly clear.
- Gently warm without boiling before serving, or serve chilled depending on the season.
- Present in small cups — moderation is key.
How it was made : Hippocras takes its name from the filter used, a "Hippocrates' sleeve," a conical cloth bag. It was traditionally cold-infused to preserve aroma, then clarified by repeated filtering. Served at the end of the meal with preserves and comfits, it was believed to aid digestion and "gladden the heart."
The contemporary twist : Served warm in small stemmed glasses with a cinnamon stick stirrer, presented as a "scriptorium digestif" — the medieval ancestor of mulled wine.
Sources : Le Ménagier de Paris (c. 1393) · Platine, De honesta voluptate (1474)
Erasmus · Charactorium