Grandfather's Nightcap

Ingredients

• the yolk of 1 egg
• ^ teaspoonfiil of allspice
• i gill of rum
• a tablespoonful of sugar
• 1 cup of boiling water

Method

1. 1

   Beat the yolk with allspice and rum, then add melted sugar in boiling water.

2. 2

   Whisk well, strain into a hot glass, and place the beaten white on top, dusted with nutmeg.

As published

This recipe was extracted from With a saucepan over the sea (1902) by Adelaide Keen, page 74. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

GRANDFATHER'S NIGHTCAP. {Old English.) Fifty or a hundred years ago every middle-aged gentleman, and a great many ladies, took a hot drink before retiring at nine or ten o'clock. Nowa- days, the same class of people are apt to sit up very late and to depend upon drugs for a good night's sleep. Beat the yolk of i e^ with ^ teaspoonfiil of allspice and i gill of rum, a tablespoonful of sugar melted in i cup of boiling water. Whisk this well and stir ; strain into a hot glass, placing the beaten white on top, dusted with nutmeg. BROWN BETTY (an old Oxford drink). Melt I pound of sugar in i pint of water ; add, when boiling, a pinch of cloves, pounded, some cinnamon, J^ pint of brandy and i quart of good ale. Add a little ginger and nutmeg. Serve it in glasses, ice-cold in summer, and very hot in winter. 228 With a Saucepan over the Sea LAWN SLEEVE. (Old English.) Roast a lemon, stuck with 3 cloves ; add ^ cup of water, a pinch of mace, allspice, and cinnamon. Stir on the fire, add i quart of sherry and 4 spoon- fuls of melted calf's foot jelly, the lemon cut in slices, and 6 lumps of sugar, and after boiling, some nutmeg. Serve hot, in a bowl. MARIGOLD WINE. (England.) Boil 6 pounds sugar, i pound honey, 2^ gal- lons water, and the beaten whites of 2 eggs, for i hour. Add, skimming often, 3 quarts of marigold flowers and i pound of stoned raisins. Cover and stir often, for three days ; add the chopped rinds of 2 oranges, ^ pound sugar, 2 tablespoon- fuls yeast, and ^ pint of brandy. Strain and keep nine months before using. METHEGLIN. (Old German and English.) Mix j4 gallon currant juice, 4 gallons of boil- ing water, yj^ pounds of honey, ^ ounce of cream of tartar, for ^ hour. Let it ferment, add i quart of brandy, strain, and bottle. Use in 3 months time. BITTERS FOR COCKTAILS. (England.) Infuse I ounce cardamom seeds, 4 ounces gen- tian root, 2 ounces sliced orange peel, in 2 quarts 229 With a Saucepan over the Sea of rectified spirit for i week. Then strain for use and bottle. ATHOLB BROSB (for a cold). (England.) Boil I tablespoonful ground oatmeal, ^ pint water, a tablespoonful honey, and one of cream. Add 3 glasses of whiskey punch; strain it into glasses and serve hot. OXFORD BISHOP. Rub the zest of a lemon on 3 ounces of loaf sugar; add the juice of the lemon and a spoonful each of cloves, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and mace, and cook with ^ pint of water for yi hour, slowly. Add a pint of good port wine, heat it together and serve, without straining, very hot. GIN SLINQ. Mix I pint of sugar syrup, a glass of brandy, the same of gin, a slice of lemon, and a pint of soda water. Serve cold. ROMAN PUNCH. Mix I pint of champagne, i pint of rum, the juice of 12 lemons, the grated rind of the lemons, and the whites of 12 eggs beaten to a froth. Freeze this and serve in cups. 230 With a Saucepan over the Sea CAUDLE CUP. This is old English, a drink offered to callers upon a new baby. To i pint of thin oatmeal gruel, add yolk of i egg,, i glass of sherry or port, the grated rind of a lemon, 4 lumps of sugar, and a little nutmeg. Heat it on the fire, stir, and serve hot. CHRISTMAS BOWL. Break up 9 small sponge cakes and ^ pound of macaroons in a bowl. All must be stale. Add I pint of malaga or sweet raisin wine, 2 table- spoonfuls of sherry, 2 ounces of sugar, and some nutmeg, also i^ pints of thin custard. Stir well; serve cold with a wreath of holly around the edge. WASSAIL. This is another Christmas drink, but quite dif- ferent. To I pint of ale add }i ounce of grated ginger, j4 ounce of grated nutmeg, a pinch of cinnamon, and ^ pound of brown sugar. Heat it and stir, but do not boil. Add 2 more pints of ale and j4 pint of sherry or malaga, the zest of a lemon, rubbed on a piece of sugar, and, finally, 6 cored and roasted apples. It must be served hot in a bowl, each person taking an apple in a cup, too. 231 With a Saucepan over the Sea SACK POSSET. (Sir Walter Raleigh's recipe.) Heat ^ pint of sherry and ^ pint of ale, add I quart of boiling milk or cream, sugar to taste, and some grated nutmeg. Let it stand on the back of the fire an hour, and add, just before serv- ing, the yolks of 2 eg

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.