To preserve the memorie

Mixology is back! This time, we are taking our cue from the late 17th-century recipe book Folger MS V.a.619, The Receipt Book of Margaret Baker, to explore the themes of memory and preservation as part of “Searching for Shakespeare: Celebrating 400 years of Shakespeare’s First Folio.” This manuscript includes a fascinating set of instructions for creating a potion of coriander seeds intended to “helpe the memorie…by comforting of the braine” when ingested after dinner. In case you missed it, be sure to check out Dr. Lucy Mookerjee’s recent deep dive into this recipe on Shakespeare & Beyond! 

Just as the First Folio serves as a memory capsule for Shakespeare’s stories and legacy, early modern recipe books similarly capture the experiences, anecdotes, and expertise of their authors, who were often women. In some cases, there is evidence that a recipe book was passed down through generations of a family, with each new caretaker adding their own notes and new instructions based on personal observations and experimentation. The value of this kinship-affirming, accumulated knowledge may have provided, as Vi puts it in the Folger-commissioned play Our Verse in Time to Come, “the lessons we need…the strength, the wisdom and integrity to proceed.” 

In the play, memory is also an important compass that provides (or denies) the protagonist SOS with a sense of personal orientation. As he begins to lose memories of himself and his family to the onset of dementia, SOS laments: 

This evocative reference to memory as a tangible thing, “the ink that held my story,” speaks to the impulse to preserve personal and family legacy in written form that was shared by early modern recipe book authors. Perhaps they too felt a similar sense of being “certain who I am” by participating in this tradition of memory keeping.  

To help you create your own recipe-inspired stories, the Folger Institute has partnered with two DC mixologists, Britt Fox and Andrea Tateosian, to bring you cocktail and mocktail recipes featuring the key memory enhancing ingredient from Mrs. Baker’s recipe book: coriander. Download and print the recipe cards below to make these drinks at home, then let us know if they succeeded in “comforting the braine” by tagging @FolgerLibrary with #EarlyModernMixology!

Apricot Coriander Syrup

Yields approx. 2 cups (16oz) of syrup for use in 30 cocktails 

Ingredients: 

• 13g (3 tbsp) whole coriander seeds 
• 4g (1 tsp) whole cumin seeds  
• 140g (5 oz) apricot nectar or juice  
• 140g (5 oz) filtered water  
• 280g (1.5 c) granulated sugar 

1. Toast coriander and cumin seeds over low heat until fragrant. Remove from heat and allow to cool, then break down with a mortar/pestle or spice grinder. Set aside.  
2. In a small saucepan, heat the liquid ingredients gently over low heat (do not boil) and add sugar when warm. Stir until dissolved.  
3. Remove from heat and combine liquid with ground spices. Allow to cool, then place in the refrigerator for 24 hours to infuse.  
4. After 24 hours, strain through a fine strainer and the syrup is ready for use. Keep for no more than 2 weeks. 

Coriander Confect (a memory spritz)

Ingredients: 

• 0.5 oz Apricot Coriander Syrup  
• 0.75 oz Salers Gentian Aperitif  
• 1 oz Lillet Blanc sparkling wine to top  

For garnish: 

• Fresh cilantro 
• Grapefruit peel 

1. In a wine glass, combine the Apricot Coriander Syrup and aperitif.  
2. Add ice to fill the glass just over halfway, then top with sparkling wine.  
3. Garnish with a bundle or sprig of fresh cilantro, tied with a long twist of grapefruit peel. 

Coriander Confect (a mocktail memory spritz) 

Ingredients: 

• 1.5 oz Apricot Coriander Syrup  
• Sparkling water to top  

For garnish: 

• Fresh cilantro 
• Grapefruit peel 

1. In a wine glass, measure the syrup.  
2. Add ice to fill the glass just over halfway, then top with sparkling water.  
3. Garnish with a bundle or sprig of fresh cilantro, tied with a long twist of grapefruit peel. 

Toasted Coriander Syrup

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 8 oz (1 cup) water
• 12 oz (1.5 cup) sugar

1. Heat a pan on medium heat on a burner.
2. Add coriander seeds, toast until golden and fragrant.
3. Add water, bring to a boil, and lower heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, then take off heat and strain. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Syrup should be a golden-brown color.

Remembrance Highball 

Ingredients:

• .3oz (1tsp) Toasted Coriander Syrup
• 1 thick lemon coin
• 3 rosemary sprigs
• 1.5oz good quality gin
• club soda

1. Slice a thick coin off of a lemon, leaving a good amount of flesh on it.
2. Add 1 sprig rosemary, lemon coin, and 1tsp syrup to a shaker tin or a wide mouth jar, and muddle using the back of a large spoon.
3. Add gin, swirl around, and pour everything into a wine glass or your glassware of choice.
4. Add ice, top with club soda, and stir to incorporate. Top with a bountiful sprig of rosemary, and your choice of sliced fruit and spices.