Experimental archaeology
Banckes breath freshener

under construction

Making and testing recipes for skincare and health from medieval manuscripts.
A breath freshening powder to rinse one's mouth from Richard Banke

RYCHARDE BANCKES
A Boke of the propreties of herbes called an herball.
"Here begynnyth a newe mater, the whiche sheweth and treateth of ye vertues & proprytes of herbs, the whiche is called an herbal"
London. Date 25 March 1525
London: Printed by William Copland for Richard Kele, by 1552. (sig. A1r)

"For the stinking of the mouth and filth of the gums and of the teeth, wash thy mouth and gums with vinegar that mints have been sodden in; after that, rub them with the powder of mints or with dry mints."

I have recreated this powder to use in my MEDIEVAL BATH DISPLAY and have included a step by step guide to my approach, including my expectations and how it really worked out.

The prep:

There were a number of things to think about before I started.

- Where can I get the ingrediants?
- What kind of vinegar should I use?
- Drying the ingredients or buying them pre-powdered or using them fresh?
- Air dry or oven dry the grown ingredients?
- How much of which ingredients should I use?
- Will it actually make any real difference to the end result if I use fresh or pre-dried?
- If it works, how long will it last?
- Do any of the plants have benefits associated with them which make them particularly useful?

What you need: Ingredients Vinegar 1 oz Mint Kitchen things Spoon Bowl for mixing Mortar and pestle Glass jar for storage
	Vinegar This is easy to find and purchase and is very cheap. Vinegar can be bought from any supermarket or grocery shop.
	Mint Fresh leaves or dried leaves? The recipe doesn't say exactly which for what, but I feel like fresh leaves for the mouthwash would be good sodden, and dried leaves would powder down better than fresh ones, so I am using both fresh and dried mint leaves from my own herb garden.
	Mortar and pestle To make the "dry mints" for afterwards. I have a really great stone set which is sturdy enough to work well on most substances.

Step by step for the mouth freshener:

1. Measure out the ingredients. In this case, the exact amounts are NOT given, so it's just about deciding how big a finished quantity you want to make

2. Using the mortar and pestle, bruise some of the fresh mint leaves. This means crushing the leaves but not destroying them entirely.

3. No other steps are needed for this.

The resultant mouthwash smells minty.

 

Step by step for the mint powder:

1. Measure out the ingredients. In this case, the exact quantities are NOT given, so it's just about deciding how much you want to make.

2. Using the mortar and pestle, grind some of the dried leaves into to a powder.

3. No other steps are needed for this.

The resultant powder smells minty.

The results:

The taste really is what you'd expect. It's, well, it's mint sauce!

I expected this to work because of the mint, and expected a minty taste,

Overall, this recipe did work. My mouth felt refreshed for an extended amount of time. The end result is a positive. It is palatable, and it works.

The audience results:
This has yet to be tested in my circle of friends. Results will follow.

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