Recipe Manuscript

Autre Oignement Fort Bon

Name: Autre Oignement Fort Bon
Prep time: PTPT30M
Cook time: PTPT1H
Yield: 10
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 500 g pine turpentine; 8 g frankincense (or high-quality olibanum resin); 8 g mastic gum; 8 g myrrh resin; 4 g grated nutmeg; 4 g whole cloves; 4 g dried galangal root; 4 g dried zedoary root or similar ginger; 4 g juice of nightshade (substitute: juice of safe black nightshade or omit for safety); 4 g juice of wild cucumber (substitute: bitter melon or omit if ingredient is entirely unavailable)

"Another Very Good Ointment"

1564

From the treasured pages of Les secrets du seigneur Alexis Piemontois

Written by Girolamo Ruscelli

Renaissance (1400 - 1700)European Advanced Other

Original Recipe • 1564

Original Manuscript(circa Renaissance, 1400 - 1700)

As inscribed by the original author's hand, transcribed with care by Lost Kitchen Scrolls

Autre Oignement Fort Bon

"PREN vne liure de terebentine: d'encens, maſtic, mirrhe, de chacun 2. drach. noix muſcate, clous de girofle, galanga, zedoaria, de chacun drach. & demie: jus de hyebles, jus de concombre ſauuage de chacũ 1. ʒ, ce qui ſe peut pulueriſer ſoit pulueriſé, & le tout mis en alebic pour en diſtiller l'huile, de laquelle en oindras tout le vētre. C'eſt vn remede ſouuerainement bon, non ſeulement pour r'abaiſſer l'enflure du ventre en maladie d'aſcites, mais auſſi pour ôter toute tumeur pituiteuſe, en quelque membre que ce ſoit. Voire meſmes auſſi pour la douleur des jointures, & autres membres venue par froidure."

English Translation

"Take one pound of turpentine: of frankincense, mastic, myrrh, each 2 drachms; nutmeg, cloves, galangal, zedoary, each a drachm and a half; juice of mallows, juice of wild cucumber, each 1 scruple. Whatever can be powdered, let it be powdered, and put everything into an alembic to distill the oil, with which you will anoint the whole belly. This is a sovereignly good remedy, not only to reduce swelling of the belly in cases of ascites, but also to remove any phlegmatic tumor, in whatever member it may be. Even also for pain in the joints, and other limbs caused by coldness."

Note on the Original Text

The recipe draws from the technical language of Renaissance pharmacopoeia. Measurements like 'liure' (pound), 'drachme' (about 3.9 grams), and 'ʒ' (scruple, roughly 1.3 grams) demand some conversion for modern cooks. Spellings show 16th-century French orthography: for example, 'oignement' for ointment, 'terrebinte' for turpentine, and letters like ſ (the 'long s'). Instructions assume the reader’s familiarity with basic alchemical technique, such as distillation, and do not elaborate on dangerous ingredients (like deadly nightshade). Such ambiguities point to the recipe’s professional readership—those with experience in early modern pharmacy or household medicine.

Modern Kitchen Interpretation

Recipe's Origin

Les secrets du seigneur Alexis Piemontois - Click to view recipe in book

Title

Les secrets du seigneur Alexis Piemontois (1564)

You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome

Writer

Girolamo Ruscelli

Era

1564

Publisher

Christophe Plantin

Background

Unlock the culinary alchemy of Renaissance Europe with "Les secrets du seigneur Alexis Piemontois"—a tantalizing trove of recipes, formulas, and household secrets distilled by the esteemed Girolamo Ruscelli and his illustrious contemporaries. Divided into six convenient books, this delightful compendium reveals the flavors, remedies, and ingenious practices of a bygone gourmet age.

Kindly made available by

Library of Congress

Historical Background of the Recipe

Learn about old traditions

This potent ointment, attributed to the 16th-century compendium 'Les secrets du seigneur Alexis Piemontois', represents the marriage of Renaissance curiosity and early modern pharmacology, gathering wisdom from both 'ancient' and 'proven' authors. Penned in an age when pharmacy and cookery overlapped, it was intended for medicinal rather than culinary use. The recipe comes from a time when swelling, joint pain, and abdominal distension were thought to arise from 'humors'—excess of fluids or cooling of bodily regions—requiring topical embrocations as much as internal tonics. Printed by Christophe Plantin, a famed Antwerp pressman, in 1564, this book aimed to organize household, medical, and technical remedies for those seeking to harness 'secret' knowledge to heal and improve life at home.

Culinary Tools when the Recipe was Crafted

Tools and techniques from kitchens of old

The original recipe called for an alembic—a proto-distillation still forged of glass or metal, used to gently heat ingredients and condense volatile oils. Mortars and pestles of wood or stone would be used to pulverize resins and spices. Linen or muslin cloths might help in straining juices, while glass vials or clay pots stored both ingredients and the final precious oil. Today, a modern kitchen could replicate the process with spice grinders, a double boiler or bain-marie for gentle heating, and a rotary evaporator or small distillation set for capturing aromatic oils.

Modern Kitchen Adaptation

Ingredients and techniques for today's cooks

ounces, cups, Fahrenheit

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Servings

Ingredients

18 oz pine turpentine
0.28 oz frankincense (or high-quality olibanum resin)
0.28 oz mastic gum
0.28 oz myrrh resin
0.14 oz grated nutmeg
0.14 oz whole cloves
0.14 oz dried galangal root
0.14 oz dried zedoary root or similar ginger
0.14 oz juice of nightshade (substitute: juice of safe black nightshade or omit for safety)
0.14 oz juice of wild cucumber (substitute: bitter melon or omit if ingredient is entirely unavailable)

Instructions

Begin by preparing approximately 18 ounces of pure pine turpentine.
Measure out 0.28 ounces each of frankincense (incense), mastic gum, and myrrh.
For the aromatic spices, grind together 0.14 ounces each of nutmeg, cloves, galangal root, and zedoary root.
Carefully collect 0.14 ounces each of juice from deadly nightshade (for safety, substitute with the juice of black nightshade or omit entirely) and juice from wild cucumber (substitute with bitter melon or omit if unobtainable).
Pulverize or finely powder all the dry ingredients.
Combine all with the turpentine and freshly pressed juices in a heatproof distillation apparatus (an alembic is best, but a modern rotary evaporator or gentle bain-marie setup could substitute).
Slowly distill to collect the essential oil.
This fragrant embrocation would then be gently rubbed onto the abdomen, or on swollen or painfully cold joints and limbs, as a remedy for swelling, phlegmy humors, ascites, or cold-induced pain.

Estimated Calories

5 per serving

Cooking Estimates

Preparing the resins, spices, and juices takes about 30 minutes. The distillation process takes about 1 hour. This recipe makes about 500 ml of embrocation. The calories are very low since this is a topical remedy and not eaten.