Poudre Forte
by Lady Scholastica Joycors
STRONG POWDER, also known as Poudre Fort, Powder Fort, or Powdour Fort is one of the spice blends which was prominent in the Middle Ages and generally contained cinnamon, clove, ginger, and black pepper. I suspect then as now that each cook tweaked the blend to their own likings for I know that I found many variations at every site I visited. Medieval recipes did not have exact measurements for spice blends rather a dusting of ingredients for you to figure out the precise amounts. This is just one of several blends that were common in period there was also Poundre Douce a sweet powder, Poudre Blanche a white powder and Poundre Fine a fine powder. Poudre Forte is a strong and warm spice blend whose scents are reminiscent of holiday baking except for that bit of a bite in the back of your throat.
Powder-fort ... feems to be a mixture likewife of the warmer fpices,
pepper, ginger, &c. pulverized. The Forme of Cury - 14th Century
Redaction
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground mace
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground grains of paradise*
Combine equal parts of all spices and store in a small airtight bottle.
*Grains of Paradise or Aframomum melegueta is a species in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. This spice, commonly known as ossame, grains of paradise, Melegueta pepper, alligator pepper, Guinea grains, fom wisa, or Guinea pepper, is obtained from the ground seeds; it imparts a pungent, peppery flavour with hints of citrus
References:
©2019 MyLinda Butterworth (scholastica.ppa@gmail.com) This article originally appeared in The Yeoman- November 2019
Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited and receives a copy.
Comments