Powder-douce (also poudre-douce, Catalan: poluora de duch, literally "sweet powder") is a spice mix used in Medieval and Renaissance cookery.[1] Like modern spice mixes such as "Italian seasoning," "garam masala," "taco seasoning," etc., there was not a set ingredient list, it varied from cook to cook.[2] The author of the 14th-century manuscript Le Ménagier de Paris suggested a mix of grains of paradise, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and galangal.[3]

The 16th-century Catalan cookbook Libre del Coch gives two recipes for polvora de duch:[4] The first is made with ginger, cinnamon, cloves and sugar, all finely chopped and sifted with a cedaç (a fine sieve made of horsehair[5]), while the second adds galangal and long pepper.[6]

There is a related mixed spice called powder-forte,[1] literally "strong powder".

References

  1. ^ a b The Gentleman's Magazine. Early English newspapers. F. Jefferies. 1905. p. 325. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  2. ^ Breverton, T. (2015). The Tudor Kitchen: What the Tudors Ate & Drank. Amberley Publishing. p. pt268. ISBN 978-1-4456-4875-0. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  3. ^ The Goodman of Paris (Le Menagier de Paris): A Treatise on Moral and Domestic Economy by A Citizen of Paris, c.1393
  4. ^ Schully, Terence (1997). The Vivendier:A Critical Edition with English Translation. p. 37. ISBN 9780907325819.
  5. ^ "GLOSSARY OF MEDIEVAL & RENAISSANCE CULINARY TERMS". Thousand Eggs. Archived from the original on 2021-04-15. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  6. ^ Libre del Coch, Recipes 29-30


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