Category: Spices

Poudre Dulce – Sweet Spice Blend

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Le Viandier was one of the first “haute cuisine” cookbooks, offering a framework for its preparation and presentation at table (1). Taillevent was a master cook to Charles V, and to please his patron, Taillevent goes into detail on the spices that should be used for various dishes. Poudre Dulce is but one of his sweet spice blends.

Ingredients

2 ½ tsp (10g) ground cinnamon
½ tsp (2g) ground ginger
½ tsp (2g) ground Grains of Paradise
¼ tsp (1g) ground nutmeg
¼ tsp (1g) ground Galangal
1 cup (201g) sugar

Directions

Combine all parts of spices, mixing well and store in an airtight jar.

From Le Viandier de Taillevent, 14th century

(1) Trubek, Amy B. (2000). Haute Cuisine: How the French Invented the Culinary Profession. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 4–6. ISBN9780812217766.

Poudre Douce Spice mix

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14th century recipe from The Forme of Cury

Before the discovery of the New World and the vast assortment of spices that existed there, those that returned from the crusades obtained a taste for well spiced foods. Poudre Douce is one of many spice blends medieval chefs developed to enhance the flavor of various meats. It is great with pork, beef, and chicken, especially in stews and slow cooking.

  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground mace
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tsp ground long pepper1
  • 1 tsp ground grain of paradise (optional)
    Combine equal parts of all spices mixing well and store in an airtight bottle.

1Long pepper is extremely hard to grind in a mortar, therefore I used an electric spice grinder.