Brewer: THL Carrick MacSeáin, CoM, OSW
Recipe Name: Bochet
Recipe Source: Le Ménagier de Paris, with additional guidance from a 2021 article by Gemma Tarlach in Gastro Obscura, and the Tasting History Cookbook by Max Miller.
OSG: 1.045
Expected abv: 5.9%
Bochet is a type of mead made from honey that has been caramelized. The earliest known complete recipe for bochet is in the 1393 French book Le Ménagier de Paris, which is the source for this recipe. Le Ménagier de Paris has Bochet listed as a medicinal beverages ( “Buvrages pour malades”)
Original Recipe
Related category: Authenticity, Exploration
Le ménagier de Paris has Bochet listed under “BUVRAGES POUR MALADES.” or “DRINKING FOR THE SICK.”
Bochet. Pour faire six sextiers de bochet, prenez six pintes de miel bien doulx, et le mettez en une chaudière sur le feu et le faites boulir, et remuez si longuement que il laisse à soy croistre, et que vous véez qu’il gette bouillon aussi comme petites orines qui se creveront, et au crever getteront un petit de fumée aussi comme notre: et lors faites-le mouvoir, et lors mettez sept sextiers d’eaue et les faites tant boulir qu’ils reviengnent à six sextiers, et tousjours mouvoir. Et lors le mettez en un cuvier pour refroidier jusques à tant qu’il soit ainsi comme tiède; et lors le coulez en un sas, et après le mettez en un tonnel et y mettez une choppine de leveçon de cervoise, car c’est ce qui le fait piquant, (et qui y mettroit levain de pain, autant vauldroit pour saveur, mais la couleur en seroit plus fade,) et couvrez bien et chaudement pour parer. Et se vous le voulez faire très bon, si y mettez une once de gingembre, de poivre long, graine de paradis et cloux de giroffle autant de l’un que de l’autre, excepté des cloux de giroffle dont il y aura le moins, et les mettez en un sachet de toile et gettez dedans. Et quant il y aura esté deux ou trois jours et le bochet sentira assez les espices et il piquera assez, si ostez le sachet et l’espraignez et le mettez en l’autre baril que vous ferez. Et ainsi vous servira bien celle pouldre jusques à trois ou quatre fois.
Bochet. To make six six sextiers of bochet, take six pints of honey very sweet, and put it in a boiler on the fire and boil it, and stir so long that it leaves to soy croistre, and that you see that it also gets broth like small orineswhich will crack , and at the crever get a little smoke also like our: and then make it move, and when put seven sextiers of water and make them boil so much that they return to six sextiers, and always move. And then put it in a cuvier to cool until it is so warm; and when you pour it into a sas, and thenput it in a barrel and put a choppine of leveçonof cervoise, because that’s what makes it spicy, (and that would put bread leaven, as much worth it for flavor, but the color would be more bland,) and cover well and warmly to parry. And if you want to do it very well, if you put an ounce of ginger, long pepper, paradise seed and cloves as much of one as the other, except for cloves of which there will be the least, and put them in a canvas bag and get in it. And when there are two or three days and the bochet will smell enough of spices and it will sting enough, if you put the bag and spray it and put it in the other barrel that you will make. And so you will serve the poult up to three or four times.
Redaction
Related category: Authenticity, Complexity.
To make 45.6 litres (12 gallons) of Bochet, boil 5.7 litres of honey on a fire and stir until it smokes and cracks. Then add 53.2 litres of water, and reduce to 45.6 litres. Constantly stirring. Move to a barrel and allow to cool. Add ½ litre of ale yeast starter. Cover well. Add spices; such as ginger, long pepper, grains of paradise, and some clove; if you wish, using a spice bag. Allow the spices to infuse for several days then remove once the Bochet is spiced. Save the spice for another batch, if you wish.
Original terms
Bochet
Yield: 6 sextiers
6 pintes of sweet honey
7 sextier of water
½ pinte ale yeast starter
fresh ginger,
long pepper,
grains of paradise,
clove, less than the other spices
In modern terms
Bochet
Yield: 45.6 litres
5.7 litres of honey
53.2 litres of water
½ litre of ale yeast starter
fresh ginger,
long pepper,
grains of paradise,
clove, less than the other spices
Original recipe reduced to one US gallon
Bochet
Yield: 4 litres (~1 gallon)
½ litres of honey (about a pint)
4 litres of water
¼ litre of ale yeast starter (about a cup)
1tbs fresh ginger
1tbs long pepper
1tbs grains of paradise
2 tsp clove
1 tsp gypsum for water hardness
Boil the honey until the steam is black, stirring constantly
Add water, slowly, and reduce to the original volume.
Allow to cool, then move to the fermentation vessel,
Add the yeast starter.
Add spices in a spice bag, and steep for several days
The following calculations were used for measurements in this recipe:
1 sextire – 8 pintes
1 pinte = .95 litre
1 choppine = ½ pinte or .47 litres
1 sextier = 8x.095 or 7.6 litres
6 sextiers = 45.6 litres or 12.05 gallons
Ingredient Sources
Related category: Complexity, Exploration
- Raw Honey from Supermarket
- Tap water – filtered to 0 TDS
- Ale yeast starter using Nottingham Ale Yeast™
- Fresh ginger, from a local market
- Long pepper, ground coarse, from Auntie Arwen’s
- Grains of paradise, ground coarse, from Auntie Arwen’s
- Clove, crushed, from a local market
Period processes
Related category: Complexity, Exploration
Given the extraordinary danger of working with boiling honey, all care was taken to eliminate accidental burns. Therefore, the cooking was done on a stovetop with a large stainless steel brewpot (“Ridiculously oversized” (Miller))
“Finding a vessel that’s big enough can be a challenge, however, particularly for commercial-scale bochet. “Honey can double, possibly triple, in volume when heated to certain temperatures. For safety, the vessel would have to be four times larger than what you think you would need,” says Ricky Klein, head meadmaker at Vermont’s Groennfell Meadery. ” (Tarlach)
Period Measures
This recipe is to make six sextier of bochet(Pour faire six sextiers de bochet, to make six sextier of bochet), but what is a sextier? Looking at several sources, I found that in period France, weights and measures were somewhat tied to an area. What would be a gallon in one town may be half of same in another. Using British measures for French volumes would be inconceivable! However, a consensus seems to be that a sextius is either roughly a modern US pint (473.176 milliliters), or, from the previous recipe in Le ménagier de Paris, eight pintes.
Sans doute le setier de huit pintes plutôt que celui d’une demi-pinte (ou chopine).
(Translated) Probably the eight-pinte setier rather than that of half-pinte (or chopine).
This gives us a good guide that a sextier is 8 pintes. Therefore, 6 sextier is 48 pintes.
The recipe also calls for 6 “pintes de Miel”, so what’s a pinte?
A pinte is roughly 19/20th of a litre.
La pinte de Paris ne diffère du litre que d’un vingtième envîron, dont elle est moindre. Ainsi lors-qu’on a la contenance d’un vase ou tonneau en pintes de Paris, il suffit d’en retrançher ¹⁄₂₀, et on a à trèspèu près sa contenance en litres : si on veut plus d’exactitude, on se servira de la table.
The pinte of Paris differs from the liter only by a twentieth part, being less. Thus, when one has the capacity of a vase or barrel in pintes of Paris, it suffices to subtract ¹⁄₂₀, and one has very nearly its capacity in liters: if one wants more accuracy, one will use the table.
Tables de Comparison entre les Mesures Anciennes et celles qui les remplacent dans le Noveau Système Métrique, avec leur explication et leur usage; Publiées par l’Agence temporaire des Poids and Mesures.
Paris: L’Imprimerie de la République, Germinal an VI (1798).
Page 35. This publication gives the pinte as 0.951206 liters, on table XII, page 15.
Period equipment
Related category: Complexity, Exploration
In the interest of safety and sanitation, no actual period equipment was employed, save my wooden charismatic spoon.
- A stainless steel brew pot was used in lieu of a copper kettle. Presentation
Related category: Aesthetics
- Served in an earthenware pitcher.
- Decanted to a period drinking vessel
- Served with a hand-made French Baguette and hand-made cheese
What was learned through this exercise
Related category: Authenticity, Exploration, Complexity
My observations:
- When boiling wort for ale, it will foam and rise until the heat is cut. Reapplying heat does not cause wort to re-foam. Honey will foam as long as there is an adequate heat source.
- Stirring constantly isn’t required, but one must pay attention as the honey is boiling. Don’t let it get out of control.
- I took the precaution of boiling the water before adding it to the caramelized honey. When I did add it, it was by ladleful and very slowly. I poured the boiling water down a glass lid so to protect me from splatter and to observe how the honey reacted. Once I had added several ladles, the honey was sufficiently cooled to allow adding the remaining water directly.
- The flavor of the final beverage is very “clovey”. It tastes like the spiced wafers from Halloween. Next time I will adjust the amount of cloves to allow for the more delicate grains of paradise to show up.
Information
Related category: Authenticity, Exploration
Traditional French Measurements
| Unit | Relative value (pintes) | SI value | U.S. value | Imperial value | Notes |
| roquille | 1⁄32 | ~29.75 ml | One quarter of a poisson. | ||
| poisson | 1⁄8 | ~119 ml | A measure equal to a half a demiard. There were different sizes based on the commodity measured: poisson de vin (wine), poisson de eau de vie (brandy), or poisson de lait (milk).[Dictionnaire de l’Academie Francais (8th edition)] | ||
| demiard | 1⁄4 | ~238 ml | ~0.5 pint | demi in French means “half”: in this case, half a chopine, and – coincidentally – also approximately half a US pint [237 ml]. | |
| chopine | 1⁄2 | ~476.1 ml | ~1 pint | ~0.84 pint | |
| pinte | 1 | ~952.1 ml | ~2.01 pint | ~1.68 pint | Although etymologically related to the English unit pint, the French pint is about twice as large. It was the main small unit in common use, and measured 1⁄36 of a cubic pied du roi. |
| quade | 2 | ~1.904 L | ~0.5 gallon | ~0.42 gallon | |
| velte | 8 | ~7.617 L | ~2.01 gallon | ~1.68 gallon | a velte was a measuring stick that was inserted into a cask or barrel to determine its depth. |
| quartaut | 72 | ~68.55 L | 9 veltes, or two cubic pieds du roi. | ||
| feuillette | 144 | ~137.1 L | |||
| muid | 288 | ~274.2 L | Eight cubic pieds du roi. | ||
| cubic | |||||
| pouce cube | 1⁄48 | ~19.84 ml | The French cubic inch. | ||
| pied cube | 36 | ~34.28 L | The French cubic foot. In ancient times, a cubic foot was also known as an amphora when measuring liquid volume. | ||
| Unit | Relative value (boisseaux) | SI value | Imperial value | U.S. value (Dry gallon) | Notes |
| litron | 1⁄16 | 793.5 cm3 | 0.1745 imp gal | 0.1801 | 1⁄4 of a quart. The litre is etymologically related to this unit. |
| quart | 1⁄4 | 3.174 dm3 | 0.698 imp gal | 0.721 | 1⁄4 of a boisseau. |
| boisseau | 1 | 12.7 dm3 | 2.8 imp gal | 2.9 | Although etymologically related to the English unit bushel, the French bushel is about one third the size. A boisseau was defined as 10⁄27 of a cubic pied du roi. |
| minot | 3 | 38.09 dm3 | 8.38 imp gal | 8.65 | |
| mine | 6 | 76.17 dm3 | 16.76 imp gal | 17.29 | |
| setier | 12 | 152.3 dm3 | 33.5 imp gal | 34.6 | |
| muid | 144 | 1.828 m3 | 402 imp gal | 415 | |
| cubic | |||||
| pouce cube | 1⁄640 | ~19.84 cm3 | ~1.211 cu in | The French cubic inch. | |
| pied cube | 2 + 7⁄10 | ~34.28 dm3 | ~2,092 cu in | The French cubic foot. Exactly 2.7 boisseaux. | |
Water Hardness
Paris has hard tap water, with a hardness generally 80−120mg/L calcium, which is considered on the higher side. This is due to a high concentration of minerals like calcium and magnesium, which makes the water safe to drink but can lead to scale buildup in appliances and may affect skin and hair for some individuals.
Specific historical data on Paris’s water hardness is not readily available, but it is safe to assume that hardness has been a consistent issue for the city over a significant period.
I added ¼ tsp gypsum for water hardness. The hardness of the water was 93ppm.
Bibliography and Glossary
Related category: Exploration
Glossary
Bochet (pronounced boh-shay) is a type of mead, or honey wine, made from honey that has been caramelized by heating it before fermentation. This process gives the resulting beverage a distinct, dark color and complex flavor profile with notes of caramel, roasted marshmallow, and toffee.
choppine – The chopine was sometimes called a setier, in which case a setier was about 466 milliliters.
con·gi·us /ˈkänjēəs/
noun
noun: congius; plural noun: congii
- an ancient Roman liquid measure of one eighth of an amphora, equal in modern terms to about 6.4 pints (3.6 liters).
sextarius
“a Roman unit of liquid volume. The word means “sixth”, and the unit was equal to 1/6 congius. The sextarius held about 530 milliliters, roughly the capacity of the British and U.S. pints (568.261 and 473.176 milliliters, respectively).”
setiers In France, at least as early as the 13ᵗʰ century – 19ᵗʰ century, a unit of dry capacity with many regional variations. It comes from the Latin sextarius, meaning a sixth (of a conge). Also spelled cestier, sester, setiere, sextiere, sextier, sextere, sestier, sestiere, sestaire, sesterot, sesterium, septier, septarius, septerium.
Bibliography
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Le ménagier de Paris (v. 1 & 2) https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/44070/pg44070-images.html#page_vol-2-239
Tasting History with Max Miller, Miller, Max, https://www.tastinghistory.com/recipes/bochet?rq=mead
The Quest to Recreate a Lost and ‘Terrifying’ Medieval Mead, Tarlach, Gemma, Gastro Obscura ©2021, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-to-make-medieval-mead-bochet
Sizes.com, Setier, Copyright © 2005 Sizes, Inc. https://www.sizes.com/units/setier.htm
“Traditional French units of measurement” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_French_units_of_measurement
HOW MANY? A DICTIONARY OF UNITS OF MEASUREMENT, pASIG CITY, 20 MArCh 2013 https://alltootechnical.weebly.com/uploads/4/0/7/5/4075543/dict_units.pdf
“Congius.” Merriam-Webster.com Medical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/congius Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
EKBG Panel Categories Defined
- Documentation (15 pts): The extent to which the entrant demonstrates knowledge of the beverage’s creation and history in the Middle Ages/Renaissance.
- Authenticity (15 pts): The extent to which the beverage is representative of a Middle Age/Renaissance beverage.
- Complexity (15 pts): The involvement of the procedures that the brewer has undertaken in an effort to simulate the processes used in Middle Age/Renaissance brewing. The level of difficulty of the process used in the creation of the entry.
- Exploration (15 pts): The degree to which the artisan digs into and investigates the example(s) that inspires their work in order to develop their process.
- Workmanship (30 pts): The extent to which the entry matches what we know of the characters of the beverage or style
- Aesthetics (10 pts): The extent to which the entry is presented appropriately and pleasantly, and the drinkability of the beverage itself.
Carrick of Nordenhal 