Tag Archives: honey

Posca

Posca is an Ancient Roman drink very similar to sekanjabin, frequently mentioned as something soldiers drank, and as an ingredient in cooking. Soldiers would carry Posca with them, and add it to water when they found it. The vinegar would act as a disinfectant, making the water safer to drink. In its most basic form, it consists of vinegar (most likely red wine vinegar), and water, though honey and herbs and spices were sometimes added.

I experimented quite a bit with the ratios of vinegar and water, but my sweet tooth was not happy until I added the honey. Lots of honey. I added the mint and coriander to make the drink even more refreshing on a hot summer day.

Ingredients (makes enough for 4-5 gallons of water)

1.5 c Honey
.5   c Vinegar (Red wine vinegar, White wine vinegar, or Apple Cider vinegar)
1 T Ground Corriander
Mint to taste

Directions:

  1. Put all ingredients into sauce pan, and bring to a boil.
  2. Remove from heat and let cool
  3. Store mixture in glass bottle or other sealed container.
  4. For one glass:
    Add 1-2 T to 12-16oz of water and stir.For 5-gallon water cooler
    Fill water cooler with 4-5 gallons of water. Pour in entire Posca mixture (2 c.).
    Make sure lid is sealed on cooler, and shake cooler to mix.

Honeyed Dormice

“The dishes for the first course included… some small iron frames shaped like bridges supporting dormice sprinkled with honey and poppy seed.” – Petronius, Trimalchio’s Feast, The Satyricon

I have seen and heard many references to Romans eating dormice. And I have seen many different recipes online for this, some of them getting quite complicated. I decided to make mine super simple. Brushing the chicken with olive oil before baking gives the chicken skin a wonderful golden brown color when cooked, and makes the skin a little crispy.

Ingredients

Chicken thighs and drumsticks
Olive Oil
Honey
Poppy Seeds

Directions

  1. Preheat Oven to 350
  2. Leave skin on chicken pieces. Rinse and pat dry.
  3. Place chicken pieces on greased baking sheet or baking dish
  4. Brush chicken pieces with Olive Oil
  5. Bake chicken until skin is crispy and juices run clear (about 40 minutes)
  6. While chicken is baking, warm honey in small pan, until it is thin and runny (do not boil)
  7. When chicken is done, brush each piece with honey and sprinkle with poppy seeds.