hypocras : Hypocras is an ancient alcoholic drink made of wine sugar and flavored. It is a drink known throughout medieval Europe. Legend attributes its invention to the Greek physician Hippocrates (around 460 BC-377 BC) (*), in the XNUMXth century BC. In reality, the name “hypocras” was encountered for the first time in the middle of the XNUMXth century.
(*) Hippocrates: Greek physician and philosopher from the century of the Athenian statesman and strategist Pericles (c. 495 BC – 429 BC). Hippocrates is traditionally considered the “father of medicine”.
Presentation: Hypocras is a wine strongly sugar with some miel, at a rate of approximately 200 grams for three liters of wine, to which we add the spices called “royal”. The preparation is left to rest then filtered before being bottling process. The hypocras will keep for several years.
There are multiple ways to make hypocras. Medieval sources lack precision, but the cannelle and Ginger are essential. Others aromatic plants And the others spices are optional and in variable proportions. Whether or not to heat the liquid is controversial.
Etymology: The first wine recipes spice appear at the end of the 13th century (recipes from claret as well as pimento in the Tractatus de Modo) or at the beginning of the 1390th century (chili pepper recipe in the Régiment de Sanitat of Arnaud de Villeneuve). Chili recipes mainly come from Catalan or Langue d'Oc countries. From XNUMX, chili recipes were called Ipocras or Ypocras, probably in homage to Hippocrates, and used the Spanish spelling "Ipocras". From the XNUMXth century onwards, the word was generally spelled "Hypocras".
History: According to Pliny the Elder (**) (23 AD - 79 AD) and Apicius (around 25 BC - around 37 AD) (***) , the Romans were already drinking wines spices.
(**) Pliny the Elder: Roman writer and naturalist of the 77st century, author of a monumental encyclopedia entitled Natural History (around XNUMX).
(***) Apicius: Marcus Gavius Apicius is a figure of Roman high society, whose existence is reported during the reigns of the Roman emperors Augustus (63 BC-14 AD). ) and Tiberius (42 BC-37 AD).
As early as the 12th century, a spiced wine called “pimen” (or “chili pepper”) was cited by Chrétien de Troyes. In the 13th century, the city of Montpellier was famous for trading spiced wines with England. The drink was very popular throughout the Middle Ages. It's a aperitif or a digestive, often prescribed by doctors to increase the appetite or aid digestion. Sugar was then considered a medicine and, in the Middle Ages, honey was reserved for the people. Hypocras was served at most banquets. It was the favorite drink of Baron Gilles de Rais (around 1405-1440), who apparently drank several bottles every day. Later, Louis XIV was also fond. It was then offered as a valuable present, in the same way as the jams.
In truth, the intensive use ofspices expensive was not only a fashion but also a way of hiding the taste an wine oxide or deviant, given that wine keeps very poorly as soon as it is no longer sheltered from the air. Any wine made syrupy and saturated with spices could be preserved much better and saw its price increase considerably, which was a significant aspect in the Middle Ages. Many old cooking treatises proposed many techniques to give a 'second life' to foodstuffs and drinks: the 'Ménagier de Paris' contains recipes for this purpose as well as several versions of hypocras, some of which are called 'clarets'.
Recipes for hypocras can be found up to the 19th century. From the 17th century, the wine Asked spices is generally made with fruits (apples, oranges, Almonds). From the 14th century, certain extremely expensive ingredients such as musk,ambre (this is ambergris as it is called today, a fixative of animal origin just like musk, both giving a aroma particular and sought after), the cardamom, long pepper, the 'seeds of paradise' (or maniguette) and the macis were an integral part of the best recipes..
Anecdote: Hypocras is the drink that d'Artagnan orders to have time to spy on Bazin, the lackey of his friend Aramis, in Twenty Years After by the writer Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870).