According to Dr Kate Loveman of the University of Leicester, the famous Earl of Sandwich was not the only member of his family with a keen culinary eye. Researchers have uncovered what is arguably the first English recipe in a collection of this grandfather, the earlier Earl of Sandwich. It turns out dessert came first in the family with recipes for chilled chocolate treats in 1668.

The Earl’s own recipe reads: “Prepare the chocolatti [to make a drink]… and then putt the vessell that hath the chocolatti in it, into a jaraffa [i.e. a carafe] of snow stirred together with some salt, & shaike the snow together sometyme & it will putt the chocolatti into tender curdled ice & soe eate it with spoons.”

It should be noted that the use of ice was a distinct luxury in the 17th Century. Loveman notes

“Chocolate was first advertised in England around 1640 as an exotic drink made from cacao beans. In the 1660s, when the Earl of Sandwich collected his recipes, chocolate often came with advice about safe consumption. One physician cautioned that the ingredients in hot chocolate could cause insomnia, excess mucus, or haemorrhoids. People worried that iced chocolate in particular was ‘unwholesome’ and could damage the stomach, heart, and lungs. There were ways round this, however. Sandwich thought the best way to ward off the dangers of eating frozen chocolate was to ‘Drinke Hott chocolatti ¼ of an houre after’ it.”

Also located was King Charles II’s prized recipe for spiced and perfumed chocolate. A dish that cost £200.

Thus it turns out that, while every Subway can claim John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, as an inspiration, it is Admiral Sir Edward Montagu, the 1st Earl of Sandwich, that showed the sweet tooth of the Montagu clan. Of course, it is a bit more dignified to be known for the Sandwich than the Slurpee.

Source: Sci-News