Preparing and serving this robust dish required the combined efforts of many people. The beleaguered cook might spend more than a week skinning, soaking, salting, preserving, and finally cooking this awkward piece of meat. In the final stages the cook garnished the boar's head with rosemary and inserted an apple, orange, or lemon in its mouth. In rich and noble houses much ceremony surrounded the presentation of this dish.
MEDIEVAL HIPPOCRAS based on the 1393 French recipe from Le Ménagier de Paris
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Grains of Paradise
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Galingale
- 1/2 cup White Sugar
- 1 bottle Red or White wine
Whisk the sugar into the wine until dissolved. Mix the spices spices, well ground, into the wine (or put them in a coffee filter floating in the wine if you don't have a good cloth for straining). Let the spices stand in the wine for at least 3 hours (preferably overnight), then strain the wine through fine cheesecloth or muslin until the wine is as clear as you can get. This wine is best served after a day or two.
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