This adventure proves some of the best travels are right there in the kitchen! Have you tried making limoncello? It's less exotic but much simpler. And homemade is way better than store-bought. Thanks for this delightful column!
Yes, that is definitely a benefit of living in the frozen tundra! I am going to make it down there one day--hopefully, sooner rather than later--to see you and Charleston, where I've never been.
Wonderful and interesting write up . This was a fine rabbit hole to go down. Can’t believe they sell this stuff. Regardless, how fun to go back in time:)
Kathleen, I am so glad that you brought this up! While I did not come across any mention of poison in the drink alchermes, poisons were being used by Venetian dyers during the Renaissance in their kermes-based dyes--specifically, arsenic "to heighten the brilliancy of their dyes." I gleaned this info from the book A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire by Amy Butler Greenfield, which is an interesting historical/cultural read. And, of course, arsenic was also used in making wallpaper until well into the 19th century.
This adventure proves some of the best travels are right there in the kitchen! Have you tried making limoncello? It's less exotic but much simpler. And homemade is way better than store-bought. Thanks for this delightful column!
Thank you so much, Sara! I do love Limoncello, and it's so unpredictable out of the bottle. Perhaps that will be February's infusion project.
Enjoyed your blog, Christina! Living in Charleston and longing for snow days, that wonderful excuse to do nothing!
Yes, that is definitely a benefit of living in the frozen tundra! I am going to make it down there one day--hopefully, sooner rather than later--to see you and Charleston, where I've never been.
What a fascinating bit of history! And thanks for taking one for the team. I’ll steer clear of this liquer!
Wonderful and interesting write up . This was a fine rabbit hole to go down. Can’t believe they sell this stuff. Regardless, how fun to go back in time:)
Are you sure this stuff isn't poison? Wasn't there a lot of that during the Renaissance?
Kathleen, I am so glad that you brought this up! While I did not come across any mention of poison in the drink alchermes, poisons were being used by Venetian dyers during the Renaissance in their kermes-based dyes--specifically, arsenic "to heighten the brilliancy of their dyes." I gleaned this info from the book A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire by Amy Butler Greenfield, which is an interesting historical/cultural read. And, of course, arsenic was also used in making wallpaper until well into the 19th century.
"mud season" :)