For those of you that attended my class on 18th Century Beverages and asked for recipes, here are my notes and recipes for the class. Let me know if you have any questions!
Beverages of the 18th Century
Syllabubs and Juleps, Flip and Bumbo, Broth, Beer and Cocoa. Chef Christy toasts the flowing bowls of 18th century life on the farms, at sea, and in the great manor houses. Explore the influence of the New World and Old World alike, including the rising popularity of Tea, Chocolate and Coffee and the Coffee Houses that were the breeding grounds of revolution!
Non-alcoholic beverage samples will be passed around in class. Please notify teacher of any food allergies.
Beverages for Class:
Broth
Switchel
Shrub
Southern Spiced Tea
Fresh Limes
Diseases were misunderstood, water was sometimes considered an unhealthy drink. (Fresh water springs sometimes took on spiritual aspects for their purity)
Brewing both provided healthy drinks and helped to preserve grain and fruit harvests.
Broth
Bone broth, slow cooked in a pot near the fire, preserves the water in which the meat has been boiled for broth
Poor People’s Broth – broken victuals or leftovers are saved for broth and alms for the poor
Plate scrapings go to the hogs
Milk
From local livestock – cow, sheep, goat
Servants were allotted a mutchkin (1/2 liter) of beer at every meal, except when they get milk, when there is milk, and then they get beer only with their dinner
Vinegar Based Drinks
Shrub – great way to preserve fruit harvest, especially berries
Switchel – “haying” drink, natural electrolyte balancer
Coffee, Tea and Chocolate
Coffee – pour boiling water over fresh roasted and ground coffee powder, stir and
let settle. Pour off of sediment for the coffee pot for the table.
– Abigail Adams quote
Southern Spiced Tea
“Scotch Coffee” burnt biscuit ground up in hot water
Chocolate – demonstrate molinillo for creating a froth
– variety of chocolate recipes with ingredients from egg yolks to flour to every sort of liquor imaginable.
Life at Sea
Fresh Limes
Shrubs
Alcohol
Wassail
Punch
Grog – rum & water
Arrak
Rum
Wine – Thomas Jefferson kept meticulous records on the types of wines he bought for his entertaining as President and at Monticello
Bumbo – Rum, water sugar, nutmeg
Flip – rum or brandy w/ beer and sugar, heated with a hot iron
Beer & Small Beer
Ginger Beer, Spruce Beer
The Butler superintended the brewing of ale, small beer, cordials, juleps and aromatic waters for the stillroom
Switchel or Haying Water – Colonial Fireplace Cooking
There are several variations of this beverage. However, the original form was made almost like this using ingredients that were always readily available. This drink was always welcomed by the men working in the fields, especially when made with cold water pumped fresh from the well. This refreshing thirst quencher served to cool a man’s dusty throat and the natural sugars restored his energy.
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. vinegar
½ c. molasses
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
1 qt. cold water
Southern Spiced Tea – Colonial Fireplace Cooking
This is a very popular refreshment around Charleston, SC. It can be served hot in winter or iced in summer.
4 c. boiling water
3 Tbsp. tea leaves
Juice of ½ lemon
Juice of 3 oranges
1 tsp. whole cloves
1 c. sugar
4 c. cold water
Pour boiling water over the tea leaves. Let stand for a few minutes, then strain. Boil together sugar, whole cloves and water until it becomes a thin syrup. Strain this into tea, add orange and lemon juice. Serve with lemon slices. Makes about 2 quarts.
Posset – a British hot drink of milk curdled with wine or ale, often spiced, which was popular from medieval times to the 19th century.
Syllabub – an English sweet dish described by the OED as “A drink or dish made of milk (freq. as drawn from the cow) or cream, curdled by the admixture of wine, cider, or other acid, and often sweetened and flavoured.”
Wassail, from the Saxon phrase “Wass Hael” or “Good Health” is a custom carried on from Christmas through the New Year. A Wassail bowl filled with a variety of festive drinks would be present at any good celebration. ‘Lambswool’, a mixture of ale, roasted apples, sugar, spices, eggs, thick cream and snippets of bread was a standard. Also found were ‘Egg-Hot’ (cider heated and mixed with spices and eggs), and ‘Posset’ (hot milk, ale, sugar, and spices). In the Shetland Islands, the traditional drink was ‘Whipcoll’, egg-yolks beaten with sugar and cream with brandy added (the closest to what we call ‘Egg Nog’).
The Housekeeping Book of Susanna Whatman – 1776 – 1800
Colonial Fireplace Cooking
Thomas Jefferson’s Cookbook
Feeding Nelson’s Navy
Colonial Fireplace Cooking
Hot Cider Toddy
Mulled Wine
Wassail
Sangaree
Southern Spiced Tea (Charleston, SC)
Red Wine Punch
Irish Lemonade
Switchel or Haying Water
Thomas Jefferson’s Cook Book
Coffee pg 10
Tea pg 11
Holland –Hyson’s Tea pg 13
Vanilla pg 13
Wine pg 14
List of wines bought pg 15,16, 21
Syllabub pg 113
Coffee, Cocoa or Chocolate Custard pg 118
Feeding Nelson’s Navy
Rum, Wine, Beer pg 11
Beer and Small Beer pg 40
Wine fortified w/ Brandy pg 41
Brandy, Arak Rum, Pg 42
Grog – rum & water “
Bumbo – Rum, water sugar, nutmeg
Flip – rum or brandy w/ beer and sugar, heated with a hot iron
Punch – hot water, lemon juice + __
Water pg 43
Tea
Cocoa
Scotch Coffee: burnt biscuit pg 44
ground up in hot water
Lemon & Lime Juice