First course — a light pottage (milk pottage)
Milk and Oatmeal Pottage with Nutmeg
EverydayReconstruction🍯 🧂facile25 min
A creamy oatmeal long-cooked in milk, lightly sweetened, with a hint of grated nutmeg. The quintessential sober breakfast of industrious and learned England alike.
First course — a light pottage (milk pottage)
A creamy oatmeal long-cooked in milk, lightly sweetened, with a hint of grated nutmeg. The quintessential sober breakfast of industrious and learned England alike.
I am not, you will see, one of those people who burden their stomach with heavy meats and strong wines; my chest would hardly forgive me. Upon rising, I cook the oatmeal very gently in milk until it thickens to the spoon, and I grate a hint of nutmeg—no more, for excess in all things corrupts the constitution. Take it warm, not boiling: thus it nourishes the body without heating it, and the mind remains clear for morning study.
Ingredients
- •Oatmeal — a handful (nourishing base)
- •Whole milk — a pint (cooking liquid)
- •Nutmeg — a grated pinch (signature spice)
- •Sugar — a little, to taste (light sweetness)
- •Salt — a pinch (balance)
How it was made : Milk pottage and water gruel were the basic porridges of 17th-century England, eaten from labourer to gentleman. They were cooked slowly in a cauldron over the hearth, flavoured with nutmeg, mace or cinnamon—costly spices made common by trade. Physicians, including Locke, recommended them for delicate stomachs.