Medieval Cookery - Powder Fine

Recipe by Daniel Myers

Many medieval recipes call for spice mixtures without detailing the exact spices. While it is tempting to assume that each particular spice mixture had a consistent reccipe, there is evidence of substanial variation for different times, regions, budgets, and cooks. The recipe below is for one of the more commonly called for spice mixtures. I strongly encourage altering it to suite your own tastes.

Powder Fine

1 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon (canelle)
1 tsp. cloves
3 Tbsp. ginger
1 tsp. grains of paradise
2 Tbsp. sugar

Source [Le Menagier de Paris, Janet Hinson (trans.)]: FINE POWDER of spices. Take an ounce and a drachma of white ginger, a quarter-ounce of hand-picked cinnamon, half a quarter-ounce each of grains and cloves, and a quarter-ounce of rock sugar, and grind to powder.