Name: Medicinal, Herbaceous, and Other Drinks for Invalids, Etc
Ingredients: one ounce of gum arabic; a large handful of bran in a quart of water; a quart of water; a good spoonful of honey

Medicinal, Herbaceous, and Other Drinks for Invalids, Etc

Ingredients

one ounce of gum arabic
a large handful of bran in a quart of water
a quart of water
a good spoonful of honey

Directions

Make the tea

Boil a large handful of bran in a quart of water for ten minutes.
Strain off the water into a jug.
Sweeten it with one ounce of gum arabic and a good spoonful of honey, and stir all well together.

Serve

Give this drink in all cases of affections of the chest, such as colds, catarrhs, consumption, etc., and also for the measles.

By Charles Elme Francatelli. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Bran: Simmering in water releases its soluble material, giving the liquid its base flavour.
Gum arabic: Adds body and a smoother mouthfeel to the liquid as a thickening agent.
Honey: Provides sweetness to balance the plain, earthy taste of the bran liquid.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.