Caudle
Encyclopedia
A caudle is a British thickened and sweetened alcoholic hot drink, somewhat like eggnog. It was popular in the Middle Ages
for its supposed medicinal properties.
The OED cites the use of the word to 1297. The earliest surviving recipe, from 1300–1325, is simply a list of ingredients: wine
, wheat starch
, raisins, and sugar
to "abate the strength of the wine".
Another recipe from the late 14th century has more ingredients and more details on the cooking procedure: mix breadcrumbs, wine
, sugar
or honey
, and saffron
, bring to a boil, then thicken with egg yolks, and sprinkle with salt, sugar, and ginger
.
A 15th-century English cookbook includes three caudle recipes: ale
or wine
is heated and thickened with egg yolks and/or ground almonds, then optionally spiced with sugar
, honey
, saffron
, and/or ginger
(one recipe specifically says "no salt").
A related recipe for skyr
appears in the early 13th century.
In a description of an initiation ceremony at Merton College, Oxford
in 1647, caudle is described as a "syrupy gruel with spices and wine or ale added".
The word caudle also appears in the 14th century in another sense: as a fish soup.
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
for its supposed medicinal properties.
The OED cites the use of the word to 1297. The earliest surviving recipe, from 1300–1325, is simply a list of ingredients: wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
, wheat starch
Starch
Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...
, raisins, and sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
to "abate the strength of the wine".
Another recipe from the late 14th century has more ingredients and more details on the cooking procedure: mix breadcrumbs, wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
or honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
, and saffron
Saffron
Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel...
, bring to a boil, then thicken with egg yolks, and sprinkle with salt, sugar, and ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
.
A 15th-century English cookbook includes three caudle recipes: ale
Ale
Ale is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste...
or wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
is heated and thickened with egg yolks and/or ground almonds, then optionally spiced with sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
, saffron
Saffron
Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel...
, and/or ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
(one recipe specifically says "no salt").
A related recipe for skyr
Skyr
Skyr is an Icelandic cultured dairy product, similar to strained yogurt. Technically it is a very soft cheese. It is very popular in Icelandic cuisine. Skyr was originally discovered by accident. A group of farmers in Iceland in the early settlement days poured skim milk over barrels of meat to...
appears in the early 13th century.
In a description of an initiation ceremony at Merton College, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
in 1647, caudle is described as a "syrupy gruel with spices and wine or ale added".
Etymology
Some scholars trace the verb "coddle" to "caudle", but others assign them different derivations.The word caudle also appears in the 14th century in another sense: as a fish soup.