Medieval Lemon and Ginger Syrups for Feasts and Event Drinks
Originally published: May 16, 2022 Updated: May 13, 2026
Lemons illustrated in the Tacuinum Sanitatis, a medieval health and horticultural manuscript tradition rooted in Arabic medical writing.
Drink syrups are one of my favorite practical ways to bring flavor to a feast, camping event, or outdoor gathering. They are easy to transport, take up very little room, and can be diluted “to taste” with plain water. They also solve one of the ongoing feast-planning problems: how to offer something more interesting than water without hauling gallons of finished beverage.
These syrups are especially useful at events because refrigeration is not absolutely necessary for short-term use. The high sugar content helps preserve the syrup, and the syrup is carried as a concentrate rather than as a ready-to-drink beverage. I still refrigerate mine when I am storing them at home, but for day events, camping weekends, and feast tables, they are wonderfully portable. They are, in practical terms, little bottles of sunshine and spice.
The lemon syrup below comes from the drink section of Cariadoc’s Miscellany, where it is identified as a recipe from a 13th-century Andalusian cookbook. The original recipe is beautifully simple: lemon juice and sugar cooked together until syrupy. The ginger syrup included here is one I have used at events for many years, though I am still uncertain of its original source. If anyone recognizes the attribution, please let me know so I can credit it properly.
Compost – Medieval Pickled Vegetables (The Forme of Cury, c. 1390)
A beautiful dish of Compost—a sweet-sour, mustard-kissed medley of pickled vegetables. Original adaptation courtesy of Daniel Myers at Medieval Cookery.
Originally published 10/21/2017. Updated 9/19/2025.
Compost is a vibrant “composition” of roots, cabbage, and pear, dressed with vinegar, wine, honey, and spices. Although the modern ear hears “garden compost,” in medieval cookery compost meant a mixture (from Latin componere—“to put together”). The recipe appears in The Forme of Cury (c. 1390), a royal English cookbook compiled by the cooks of King Richard II.
Historical & Cookbook Context
The Forme of Cury is among the earliest English culinary collections, written in Middle English for a professional court kitchen. Richard II’s table favored spice, color, and spectacle—dishes like Compost fit that world perfectly: bright, sweet-tart, and meant to awaken the appetite at the start of a course.
Etymology:Compost = “mixture/compote,” not soil. Cognates appear across Europe (composte in Italian/French) for sweet-sour preserves.
Preservation: Vinegar + honey + wine weren’t just flavors; they extended shelf life before refrigeration—ideal for travel, fasting days, and feasts.
🍽️ Menu Placement
Compost works beautifully in the first course with other cold dishes: sallets, pottages, and small bites. It’s a make-ahead dish that holds safely, scales easily, and offers welcome acidity between richer foods. Serve in shallow bowls with a draining spoon so guests can take vegetables without over-brine.
Humoral Theory (Balance & Digestion)
Medieval diners aimed to balance foods’ hot/cold and dry/moist qualities. Sharp pickling and mustard were considered “warming” and digestive; honey and currants added moist sweetness, while pear cooled and softened the heat of spice.
Ingredient
Humoral Tendency (period belief)
Balancing Note
Vinegar
Hot & dry
Stimulates appetite/digestion
Mustard
Hot & dry
Warming; use sparingly for choleric temperaments
Honey & currants
Warm & moist
Round out sharpness; “comforting”
Pear
Cool & moist
Tempers heat of spices and vinegar
Ingredient Notes & Modern Substitutions
Parsley root: Traditional but scarce in U.S. markets—sub parsnip or celery root.
Greek wine: The text specifies “wyne greke,” likely sweet. Good subs: Muscat, Marsala, or a sweet white. Dry white works in a pinch.
Powder douce: A mild sweet spice blend (often sugar + cinnamon + ginger). Use your house blend to match other Curia dishes.
Lombard (Lumbarde) mustard: Strong, sweetened mustard with spice—modern “sweet–hot” or honey mustard is close; add a pinch of ginger for warmth.
Currants: Zante currants (dried Corinth grapes), not fresh currants. Small raisins are a last-resort sub.
Saffron: Optional but period-correct for color and aroma. For budget or camping: a tiny pinch of turmeric for color only.
🥕 Dietary Notes
Vegetarian ✅
Vegan ✅ (swap honey for date syrup or agave)
Gluten-free ✅
Allergens: Mustard is common; omit or reduce, or sub a small pinch of prepared horseradish.
Camping/Feast friendly: Make 1–2 days ahead; keeps well chilled. Transport brine separately and dress on site for best texture.
Original Text — The Forme of Cury (c. 1390)
Take rote of parsel. pasternak of rasenns. scrape hem waisthe hem clene. take rapes & caboches ypared and icorne. take an erthen panne with clene water & set it on the fire. cast all þise þerinne. whan þey buth boiled cast þerto peeres & parboile hem wel. take þise thynges up & lat it kele on a fair cloth, do þerto salt whan it is colde in a vessel take vineger & powdour & safroun & do þerto. & lat alle þise thinges lye þerin al nyzt oþer al day, take wyne greke and hony clarified togider lumbarde mustard & raisouns corance al hool. & grynde powdour of canel powdour douce. & aneys hole. & fenell seed. take alle þise thynges & cast togyder in a pot of erthe. and take þerof whan þou wilt & serue forth.
Kitchen scene from Bartolomeo Scappi’s Opera (1574). Library of Congress.
Polpettoni alla Romana – Renaissance Beef Skewers (Scappi, 1570)
Updated with historical context, vegetarian/vegan alternatives, and TOA interlinks.
At my Tournament of the Arts (2024) luncheon, these went fast. Adapted from Bartolomeo Scappi’s Opera (1570), they’re not meatballs but “fingers”—chunky strips of lean beef, larded, marinated in sweet–sour must and rose vinegar with warm spices, then skewered with sage and bacon and roasted. They’re dramatic, portable, and perfect for camp kitchens, dayboards, or a roast platter. Think Renaissance barbecue—minus the smoke ring, plus saffron glaze.
Original Recipe (Scappi, Opera 1570)
Per fare polpettoni alla romanesca di lombolo di boue, o di uaccina
Get the leanest part of the tenderloin… sprinkle with ground salt and fennel flour or coriander with common spices. Set four lardoons of marbled salt pork in each piece. Place them in a press with that mixture and a little rose vinegar and must syrup for three hours. Then mount them on a spit with a rasher of bacon and a sage or bay leaf between each piece; cook over a moderate fire. When done, serve hot with a sauce of their drippings together with what exuded from them in the press, somewhat thick and saffron-coloured.
