Þorfinnr Hróðgeirsson

Challenges Entered: Non-Alcoholic Medieval Beverages

Project: Two ~1400 CE Chinese Cinnamon Medicinal "Syrups"

I searched through the circa 1400 household manual Jujia Biyong for non-alcoholic recipes to match the challenge, and decided to try these two - even though one of them wound up being weakly alcoholic. Both of these are medicinal.

Cinnamon "Syrup"

"Drink this in summer months. It quenches thirst and eliminates phlegm. Do not drink with alcohol."

Ground cassia cinnamon: 12g

Wolfiporia extensa, ground: 12g

Finely ground yeast cakes, the kind used to make rice wine: 32g

Ground malted wheat or barley: 2g

Almond flour: 12g

Honey: 190g

Boiled water: 950mL

Boil water and let cool to room temperature or a little above. Mix ingredients thoroughly and then place in an inert vessel. Cover mouth with wax paper and tie with string. Leave in a cool place (I used a semi-broken refrigerator compartment) for 5 days. Separate a cotton ball or two, place them gently in a funnel, decant liquid into funnel and filter. Keep refrigerated.

To drink, dilute 1:3 in water

"Lychee" syrup

Ground cassia cinnamon: 30g

Cloves: 0.2g

Dried Prunus mume, the asian sour plum: 79g, boiled with the juice taken

Ground Amomum villosum (a cardamom relative) seeds: 30g, boiled down to 238 mL, taking the juice

Fresh ginger juice: 12.5mL

Rock sugar: 396g

Vigorously boil the Amomum villosum in ~300ml of water until it reduces a bit. Boil the Prunus mume in enough water to cover them until they soften, then take them out cut them into a few pieces and keep boiling until they are flavorless. Mix everything together and boil until thick, or until a candy thermometer reads 230 degrees F / 110 degrees C. Loosen one or two cotton balls and place them as a filter in a heatproof funnel over a heatproof vessel. Swiftly but carefully pour the hot syrup into the funnel and let drain. If it stops flowing, microwaving the apparatus will quickly loosen the syrup, at the cost of authenticity.

Results

Having the syrups side by side was interesting. They both have strong cinnamon notes, but are different.

The cinnamon "syrup" is not at all thick. When diluted, it has an odd mushroom aroma that may be from the Wolfiporia extensa, but I have also gotten it from misadventures with the yeast cakes before so that may be the source. A red-hot cinnamon aroma accompanies the mushrooms. There's no grit in it at all. It's lightly sweet and sour in a pleasant way, with a faint cinnamon heat. The mushroom smell persists on the palate, along with a slightly unpleasant medicinal smell. Overall: 4/10, would not totally regret drinking but this is clearly a medicine and not a casual drink.

The "lychee" syrup is very different when diluted. It has a strong cinnamon nose, with some additional complexity that isn't cinnamon (I blame the Amomum villosum). The drink is quite sweet, but not cloying, balanced with a mild acidity. Interestingly, it has a very rich mouthfeel, which I think is from the Prunus mume - the broth from the plums had a rich thickness, and also the acidity that I think is making this drink work. That richness and acidity provides a slight reminiscence of lychee fruit. There's a slight amount of grit from cinnamon that didn't get filtered out, and a slight warming feel. On the palate, there's a round cinnamon aroma, plus a bit of camphor from the Amomum villosum. Overall: 7/10, would drink, will experiment with it in cocktails.

Discussion

The challenge asks me to consider the appropriateness of these drinks for use at a reenactment event. I think the cinnamon "syrup" is not really the right thing: it is not pleasant enough, is slightly alcoholic, requires obscure mushroom powder, and feels like medicine. The "lychee" syrup would work decently, especially if filtered better, although ingredient access is a problem. A version using cardamom instead of Amomum villosum would be interesting to try, although it would be quite different. The ginger and cloves can probably be omitted, and table sugar instead of rock sugar will probably produce identical results. Because it's so sweet, I think there's little challenge to the modern palate.

See https://brewing.alecstory.org/2021/05/medicinal-cinnamon-syrups-from-jujia.html for more details!