I’m feeling under the weather, so the topic today is medicine and the kinds of recipes people used to make for medicinal purposes.

Back in the 1800s, most cookbooks had a section on sickbed recipes.  There were lots of different kinds of recipes: some for plasters which were smeared on the person’s body, some for foods for sick people (which were usually things like gelatin or Cream of Wheat), and some for actual medicines that were consumed in some way.

The medicines, by today’s standards, were pretty weak in terms of actually curing the patient, but they certainly tried.  An example of medicine from the period is this recipe, from 1869’s Domestic Cookery, by Elizabeth Lea:

Warner’s Cordial for Gout in the Stomach

Take one ounce of rhubarb, two drachms of senna, two of fennel seed, two of coriander seed, one of saffron, and one of liquorice; stone and cut half a pound of good raisins, and put all in a quart of good spirits; let it stand in a warm place for ten days, shaking it every day; then strain it off and add a pint more spirits to the same ingredients; when all the strength is extracted, strain it and mix the first and last together. Take from two to four spoonsful of this cordial in as much boiling water as will make it as hot as you can take it; if the pain is not removed in half an hour, repeat the dose, and if your stomach will not retain it, add 10 drops of laudanum. (page 248)

Really, it’s a number of spices infused in liquor for a week and a half, then strained.  While it wouldn’t cure gout, it probably would make the sufferer feel better (especially after adding the laudanum, which was from the same poppy plants that heroin comes from).

While I wouldn’t try Warner’s Cordial for gout, I certainly have tried a modern day variant of the recipe, and it’s quite good.  It does seem to help a sore throat, and since it’s mostly liquor, it does make you feel good.

Ginger Honey Cordial

Makes 6 cups – takes 1 month to make

1/2 oz fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced into rounds, about 1 tablespoon
2 cardamom pods (discard papery membrane) (I’ve never actually found
cardamom pods at the store, I always use about 1/2 teaspoon of ground
cardamom)
2 whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 tablespoon raisins
1 quart brandy
1 1/2 cups honey

Put ginger root, cardamom, cloves, pepper and raisins into a clean,
dry bottle with a tight-fitting cap.  Add the brandy, cap the bottle
and shake well.  Let steep for one week, shaking every few days.

After the week, filter the cordial into a clean bottle using a funnel
lined with a coffee filter.  Add honey and shake well.  Let cordial
mature 2-3 weeks, then filter again.  This doesn’t need to be
refrigerated and will keep for well over a year.