KYKEON | The Drink of Greek Heroes

A healing potion in The Iliad & The Odyssey, and a drink to commune with the Gods in secret Greek Mysteries, Kykeon has a fascinating history. But my questions is, how does it taste?

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KYKEON
ORIGINAL "RECIPE" (From The Odyssey)
"...and made for them a potion of cheese and barley meal and yellow honey with Pramnian wine."

MODERN RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 Cup (100g) Barley Meal
- 1 Cup or more (235ml+) Dry Red Wine
- 1/3 Cup (50g) Goat Cheese crumbled
- 2 Tablespoons Honey

METHOD
1. Add all of the ingredients to a small sauce pan and mix together.
2. Set pan over low heat and, stirring continuously bring to a simmer until thickened. (If the kykeon has thickened too much, stir in more wine until you achieve the desired consistency.
3. Remove the pot from the heat and pour into a glass and allow to cool a bit. Then serve. (The drink can congeal if allowed to sit too long. If that happens, reheat the drink.)

PHOTO CREDITS
Dionysus - © Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons

#tastinghistory #greekfood #ancientgreece #kykeon

[TastingHistory]

If you are hero enough to make your own Kykeon, please share a pic on Instagram and Twitter with the #tastinghistory

[erikn]

Trojans HATE this. Try this ONE DRINK that ACHILLES drinks EVERY DAY.

[c-money]

You should do a potions miniseries focusing on historical beverages that were considered magical potions.

[Hoio]

I have the feeling this was meant as a medicinal calorie bomb, and not like some recipe to enjoy drinking.

[javbooficial]

In my country, Chile, we have a similar "drink". Is called "chupilca" and is made with wine, toasted flour and sugar (optional), no cheese, no cooking. It was really common until the 90s and it was mainly drank by poor people and rural farmers. Its main purpose was to get drunk and a full stomach, because it was really cheap. So if you don't have the money to buy lunch, you might aswell drink a thick, sweet chupilca

[drewrobinson]

Literally wine fortified protein shake, is what this is. Or rather in modern terms a wine fortified workout recovery shake.

[ColdNorth]

KYKEON is basically "hey you want a brunch smoothie to heal your wounds?" Like it is literally just a smoothie of brunch type of stuff

[sagarroy]

What I thought I would get: Delicious Greek Berry Smoothie 😁🤗
What I got: Ancient Alcoholic’s Oatmeal 🥴🤢

[julscatten]

I am rewatching this much later, after the iconic fish pudding episode, and thinking Max should make a playlist of “Oh God No”.

[stevenryan]

My grandmother used to make a version of this. The mistakes you made.... Dry wine (yuck) instead use a fortified dessert wine like Port. Second cook your barley meal separately... Should cook up like malt-o-meal.... Mix port and meal to desired thickness. Top with with feta and honey. A few toasted pine nuts goes well as a garnish.

[scouttyra]

The perfect thing to share with your "best buddy"/"cousin" when he is sulking in his tent and refusing to fight

[AlphaDingo]

The man just literally drank a cheeseboard, for culinary science.

[LeagueOfGaming]

It doesn’t sound overtly bad, you know? It’s kind of like putting a charcuterie board in a blender.

[khakimzhanmiras]

In 2000 years people will be like “meth: the aether of heroes”

[KraftyKittenz]

"It smells like wine..." *makes skeptical face*

And that was the extent of the emotional preparation. *dissolves into giggle fit*
("I made chewy cheese wine, ") "...It's not good, it's not good."

[Leviathis_Krade]

homer's ghost in the distance: "it's just a prank bro"

[alexanderhood]

My mythology teacher mentioned you and this video in particular when talking about Ancient Greek mythology and talked about how this is like those ancient smoothies and is the ancient equivalent of those drinks you drink instead of getting up from your gaming chairs to grab yourself a complete meals. Basically a meal replacement drink similar to Soylent which my mythology teacher happened to mention Soylent as modern day equivalent of this drinks.

[mikebaker]

"Oh, wow, um... uh... mmm... that is a... thing... I have drunk just now... thanks, Hecamede, for this... potion.... I don't need any more. Look! I already feel much much better!"

(Mysterious healing properties of Kykeon solved.)

[isyeetboi]

Wine in cheese: tasty, good, delectable
Cheese in wine: gross, bad, why

[Cypherwraith]

Max, you burst into laughter after drinking it, and I have it on good authority that laughter is the best medicine. That potion was a resounding success