It’s still against federal law to brew beer or ale in your home. The Pilgrim housewife, however, was under no such restriction and made enough for each member of her family to have one-half to one gallon daily. It was dark, sweet, and mildly alcoholic. The best substitute is a bottle of good dark beer or porter mixed with a spoonful of malt extract, which is sold as a powder or syrup. Or you can make your own extract by boiling a cup of crystal or caramel malt (obtainable in stores that sell wine- and beer-making supplies) in a quart of water. Ale was drunk both cold and hot, the latter with chunks of apples and spices often put in for additional sweetening. Homemade ale may take some getting used to, but it has a rewarding honesty that’s lacking in the thin, artificial stuff concocted by the big breweries.

Frumenty

The closest modern counterpart to frumenty is old-fashioned rice pudding—rich, creamy, and aromatic with spices. Many regional variations of it still exist in England—a tribute to its popularity. Begin by boiling two cups of cracked or whole wheat in two quarts of water for ten minutes. Then cover and leave it in a warm place (an unlit oven is perfect) for a day. The wheat will congeal or “cree”—or turn to a jelly in which the inner, golden-red husks are visible. This was eaten on its own or with milk and honey as a cold porridge—nutritionally, it is an almost perfect food.

To make frumenty from creed wheat, simply simmer it with an equal amount of milk or cream and whatever spices, fruits, and sweeteners you prefer. In Plymouth, mace, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves were common, along with berries, currants and apples, and a little porter or dark beer in place of honey or sugar. Egg yolks were also added if the frumenty was too thin. And brandy. It was served hot or cold and was the symbolic harvest dish. The fourteenth verse of Leviticus 23 in the English 1551 Bible, for example, admonishes: “And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor frumenty of new corne, untill the selfe same daye that ye have brought an offeringe unto your God.” Frumenty has soul.

This Plymouth version is not as rich but still is soulful. Mix two cups of roasted or parched corn meal with an equal amount of milk. Slowly pour this into a quart of boiling water and simmer for at least half an hour, stirring and adding fruits and spices all the while. Eat it hot, or let it cool and congeal.

—Jay Anderson.

Transcriber’s Notes