Ein Köstliche Larier

This recipe hails from the heart of Baroque Vienna, where the intertwining of culinary and medicinal arts was the delight of noble courts. Compiled by Eleonora Maria Rosalia, Duchess of Troppau and Jägerndorf, the book is both a cookbook and medical manual, reflecting the era’s holistic approach to health and nourishment. Recipes like this were crafted as both refreshments and gentle remedies, intended to balance the humors, cool the body, and aid digestion in the sweltering city or at grand table. The use of floral, herbal, and even medicinally purgative waters exemplifies the sophistication and ingenuity of 17th-century health drinks.

Preparation would have called for ceramic or glass vessels for blending, a wooden spoon or paddle for stirring, and possibly a mortar and pestle for macerating blossoms or seeds. A fine sieve or linen cloth was used to strain juices and infusions. For hydrosols, an alembic or simple distillation setup might have been employed in more advanced kitchens or apothecaries.