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'{{Short description|Drink of spiced, sweetened wine}} {{Infobox beverage | name = Hippocras | image = Ypocras.jpg | caption = Hippocrates's sleeve being used to make hippocras wine | type = Wine mixed with sugar and spices | abv = | proof = | manufacturer = | distributor = | origin = Roman Empire | introduced = | discontinued = | colour = | flavour = | ingredients = Wine, cinnamon, spices, sugar | variants = | related = | website = | region = }} {{more citations needed|date=March 2013}} '''Hippocras'''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hippocras |title=hippocras |publisher=Merriam-Webster}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=hippocras definition - Dictionary - MSN Encarta |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861618052 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426111401/http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861618052 |archive-date=2009-04-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ({{lang-ca|Pimentes de clareya}}; {{lang-lat|vīnum Hippocraticum}}),<ref>{{cite book |title=Pedralbes |publisher=Universidad de Barcelona |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BDF9IlUOaP8C&pg=PA103}}</ref> sometimes spelled '''hipocras''' or '''hypocras''', is a drink made from [[wine]] mixed with sugar and spices, usually including [[cinnamon]], and possibly heated. After steeping the spices in the sweetened wine for a day, the spices are strained out through a conical cloth filter bag called a ''manicum hippocraticum'' or Hippocratic sleeve (originally devised by the 5th century BC Greek physician [[Hippocrates]] to filter water), from which the name of the drink is derived.<ref name="The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets" >{{cite book |last1=Goldstein |first1=Darra |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199313617|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R1bCBwAAQBAJ&q=Hippocras|page=333 }}</ref> ==History== Spiced wine was popular in the [[Roman Empire]], as seen in the writings of [[Pliny the Elder]] and [[Apicius]]. In the 12th century, a spiced wine named "pimen" or "piment" was mentioned by [[Chrétien de Troyes]]. During the 13th century, the city of [[Montpellier]] had a reputation for trading spiced wines with England. The first recipes for spiced wine appeared at the end of the 13th century (recipes for red wine and piment found in the [[Tractatus de Modo]]) or at the beginning of the 14th century (recipe for piment in the Regiment de Sanitat of [[Arnaldus de Villa Nova]]). Since 1390, recipes for piment have also been called ''ipocras'' or ''ypocras'' (''[[Forme of Cury]]'' in England, ''[[Ménagier de Paris]]'' or ''[[Viandier]]'' de Taillevent in France), probably with reference and tribute to Hippocrates. In the [[Catalan cuisine|Catalan]] cookbook ''[[Llibre del Coch]]'' (1520) the recipe is given as ''pimentes de clareya''. The drink became extremely popular and was regarded as having various medicinal or even [[aphrodisiac]] properties. In the 16th century, food was classified along two axes: cold or hot, dry or wet. People at that time believed in pursuing “balance” between these, for instance by stewing dry ingredients like root vegetables and roasting wet foods like suckling pig. Wine was considered to be cold and dry, and so to this warm ingredients like sugar, ginger and cinnamon were added, creating ''hypocras''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Laudan|first=Rachel|title=Birth of the Modern Diet|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/birth-of-the-modern-diet-2006-12/|journal=Scientific American|year=2006|language=en|volume=16|issue=4|pages=4–11|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1206-4sp}}</ref> Cookbooks and pharmacological manuals both provide recipes. This traditional recipe goes back to 1631: Take 10 lb. best [[Red wine]] or [[White wine]], 1½ oz. [[cinnamon]], 2 scruples cloves, 4 scruples of each [[cardamom]] and grains of paradise (''[[Aframomum melegueta]]''), 3 drams [[ginger]]. Crush the spices coarsely and steep in the [[wine]] for 3 or 4 hours. Add 1½ lb. whitest sugar. Pass through the sleeve several times, and it is ready.<ref name="The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets" >{{cite book |last1=Goldstein |first1=Darra |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199313617|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R1bCBwAAQBAJ&q=Hippocras|page=333 }}</ref> Since the 16th century, the word has been generally spelled ''hippocras'' or ''hipocras'' in English and ''hypocras'' in French. Original recipes for hippocras were made until the 19th century, when it fell out of favor. This wine is made with sugar and spices. Sugar then was considered to be medicine and the spices varied according to the recipes. The main spices are: [[cinnamon]], [[ginger]], [[clove]], [[grains of paradise]] and [[long pepper]]. An English text specifies that sugar was uniquely for the lords and honey was for the people. Since the 17th century, spiced wines, in France, have been generally prepared with fruits (apples, oranges, almonds) and musk or [[ambergris]]. In England, in 1723, there was a recipe for red hippocras containing milk and brandy. The drink was well liked during medieval and Elizabethan times. Moreover, doctors prescribed it to aid digestion. It was served at most banquets all over Europe. The drink was highly prized during the high and late [[Middle Ages]]. In France, it has been noted as the favorite drink of notorious baron [[Gilles de Rais]], who reportedly drank several bottles every day and had his victims drink it prior to assault. Later, King [[Louis XIV of France]] was also known to enjoy it. In those times, the drink was a highly valued gift item, in the same vein as [[jam]] and fruit preserves. Hippocras fell out of fashion and was forgotten during the 18th century. In France, ''hypocras'' is still produced in the [[Ariège (department)|Ariège]] and [[Haute Loire]] areas, though in very small quantities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hypocrasdesvieillesterres.com/presentation-de-la-cave.html|lang=fr |title=Accueil boutique / NOTRE CAVE|quote=''Today, Frédéric Bayer has taken over from his father. We are based in St Germain Laprade (in Haute-Loire, 7kms from Puy en Velay) and we are always faithful to our original recipes''}}</ref> Since 1996 the population of [[Basel]] celebrate on New Year's morning the so-called "Aadringgede" (a drinking cheer). The "Dreizack"-fountain in the "Freiestrasse" will be filled with hippocras, spelled in the Swiss German of Basel, "Hypokras". In Basel it is a tradition in winter to drink Hypokras and eat the famous Basler [[Läggerli]] (biscuits) with it. The drink may have eventually inspired the Spaniards in their creation of [[sangria]]. While sweeter than hippocras, sangria is still often made with spices, including cinnamon, ginger, and pepper. ==See also== * [[Ancient Greece and wine]] * [[Mulled wine]] * [[Culinary Heritage of Switzerland]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== *{{OED|hypocras}} ==External links== * {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Hippocras}} * [http://www.oldcook.com/en/medieval-hippocras Hippocras ] {{Portal bar|Food|Switzerland}} [[Category:Ancient wine]] [[Category:Swiss wine]] [[Category:Cocktails with wine]] [[Category:Medieval wine]] [[Category:Culinary Heritage of Switzerland]]'