Powder-douce facts for kids

Powder-douce (pronounced "POW-der DOOCE") was a popular spice mix used long ago. People used it in their cooking during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Think of it like the spice mixes we use today, such as "Italian seasoning" or "taco seasoning."

What Was Powder-Douce?

Just like modern spice mixes, there wasn't one single recipe for powder-douce. Different cooks had their own special blends. It was a sweet-smelling powder, and its name literally means "sweet powder."

Ingredients in Powder-Douce

Recipes for powder-douce changed over time and from cook to cook. For example, a book from the 14th century called Le Ménagier de Paris suggested a mix of several spices. These included grains of paradise, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and galangal.

Another cookbook, from 16th-century Catalonia, was called Libre del Coch. It gave two different recipes for polvora de duch, which is the Catalan name for powder-douce.

Two Recipes from the Libre del Coch

• The first recipe used ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and sugar. These ingredients were ground very finely and then sifted. Sifting means pushing them through a fine screen, like a cedaç (a sieve made from horsehair). This made the powder very smooth.
• The second recipe added two more spices to the mix: galangal and long pepper. These extra ingredients gave the powder a slightly different flavor.

Powder-Forte: A Related Spice Mix

There was also a similar spice mix called powder-forte. The word "forte" means "strong." This suggests that powder-forte might have had a stronger or more intense flavor compared to the "sweet" powder-douce.