Powder Douce & Powder Forte – Medieval Spice Mixes
Medieval-style spice blends: sweet poudre douce and strong poudre forte.
Quick context: In medieval English and Italian sources, powder mixes are pre-made spice blends used much like modern garam masala or pumpkin spice. The two most common names are Powder Douce (sweet, sugar-forward) and Powder Forte (pepper-forward, “strong”). Exact formulas weren’t standardized—each cook adjusted to taste, budget, and what was on hand.
Powder Douce (aka douce/“sweet”/white powder): typically sugar-heavy with warm spices like cinnamon and ginger; sometimes nutmeg, mace, cloves.
Powder Forte (aka strong powder): pepper-based, sometimes with long pepper, cubebs, grains of paradise; may include cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, coriander/caraway.
Torta Bianca – White Tart (Maestro Martino → Redon, 1998)
“The Feast in the House of Levi” (detail), Paolo Veronese — banquet context for Renaissance tortes.
Torta bianca (“white tart”) was a dish of status and symbolism. Appearing in Maestro Martino’s Libro de arte coquinaria (c. 1465), it used fresh white cheese, egg whites, sugar, butter, and milk — baked gently, then perfumed with rosewater and sprinkled with sugar. In Renaissance Italy, white foods carried associations of purity, refinement, and health. By Scappi’s time (1570), torte bianche included versions with provatura (fresh stretched-curd cheese) or ricotta blended with Parmigiano.
How this post is structured
Below: (a) Martino’s original Italian text, (b) a literal English translation, (c) Redon’s modern adaptation summary, then a modern tested recipe. Afterward you’ll find 🥕 dietary notes, 📖 menu placement, substitutions, historical notes, cross-links, sources, labels, schema, and ⚖ humoral theory.
Original & Translated Recipes
Maestro Martino (c. 1465) — Italian
Per fare torta biancha. Togli del bono cascio frescho, et biancho, et pistalo molto bene nel mortaro, et metigli del zuccaro, et qualche quarta parte di butiro; et se vi mettessi un poco di lardo tanto meglio serà; poi mettivi alquanti chiari d’ova, et un poco di latte; et mettile sopra lo fuoco piano, et mescola spesso col cocchiaro. Et quando sarà ben mescolato, impastalo con fior di farina, et fa’ la torta cum lo crusto di sopra et di sotto. Et ponila a cocere in lo testo, o al forno, cum fuoco lento di sopra et di sotto; et quando serà cotta, gettagli di sopra un poco di zuccaro et acqua rosata; et serà bona.
Modern English (literal)
To make a white tart. Take good fresh white cheese and pound it very well in a mortar; add sugar and about a quarter part of butter (a little lard is even better); then some egg whites and a little milk. Set it over a gentle fire, stirring often. When well mixed, work it with fine flour, and make the tart with a crust above and below. Bake with gentle heat above and below; when cooked, sprinkle with sugar and rosewater, and it will be good.
Modern Adaptation (Redon)
A baked pie shell filled with a mixture of cream cheese, egg whites, sugar, butter, and milk. Baked until pale, finished with sugar, rosewater, and candied cherries.
Diriola – Maestro Martino’s Custard Tart (Libro de arte Coquinaria)
“The Feast in the House of Levi” (detail), Paolo Veronese. Used here as period context for Renaissance custard tarts like Martino’s diriola.
Maestro Martino da Como (c. 1465) was one of the most influential cooks of the Renaissance. His Libro de arte Coquinaria includes Diriola, a delicate custard tart scented with cinnamon and rosewater. The dish straddles the line between medieval spiced creams and the refined Renaissance custards we’d recognize today. Redon, Sabban, and Serventi’s The Medieval Kitchen (1998) provides a modern adaptation faithful to Martino’s cues.
Original Recipe (Martino, c.1465)
Italian (15th c.)
“…un poca d’acqua rosata, et volta bene collo cocchiaro. Et quando sarà fornita di prendere, sera cotta. Et nota che non vole cocere troppo et vole tremare como una ionchata.
Per la Quadragesima: Habbi del lacte de le amandole con del zuccharo, et dell’acqua rosata, et de la canella. Et per fare che si prenda gli mettirai un pocha di farina d’amitto, observando in le altre cose l’ordine del capitolo sopra ditto.”
Translation
“…add a little rosewater and stir it well with a spoon. When it begins to set, it is cooked. Note that it should not be over-baked; it should quiver like a junket.
For Lent: take almond milk with sugar, rosewater, and cinnamon. To make it set, add a little starch flour, following the same method as above.”
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