In an old blog post about treating urinary conditions we included a remedy made of snail shells. Mary Fleetwood’s sunburn recipe also contained snail. Snails perhaps because they were easily accessible animal products, were a regular ingredient in early modern medicines. Snail Water Snail water was a remedy for a
Soothing Sunburn
Mary Fleetwood has a recipe for easing sunburn in her manuscript recipe book. ‘A Water for Sun Burning’ Take a still full of snails, put to it 1 quart of Creame, 1 pint of white wine vinegar, 1/2 pound of bitter almonds, 6 limons, 1 handfull of white lilly roots,
Managing Melancholy
In 1621 the scholar Robert Burton published The Anatomy of Melancholy. In this weighty tome Burton presented a medical discussion of the disease Melancholy (what would now cover a range of conditions including depression). The English translation of Lazare Riviere’s medical text outlined that ‘Melancholly is a Doting or Delirium
The Benefits of Juniper Berries
Today pubs and bars are filled to the brim with wondrous varieties of Gin. The spirit has been resurgent in recent years becoming the fashionable drink of discerning customers. Its varied flavours created through the use of different botanical blends broadens its appeal, but the crucial ingredient in this tempting
Fox Flesh
The self-styled ‘Professor of Physick’ and prolific publisher of medical texts William Salmon (1644-1713) was described by some as the ‘King of the Quacks’.1 While I’m sure he did not see himself in that light he was an empiric, a man who gained his medical knowledge through experience. One of