Dear readers and friends, Italian version in centro olistico kokoro
Today I present to you a very interesting practical herbal medicine article: The mead.
Mead, the Drink of the Gods
At least two years are needed for the maturation, but the longer the period is prolonged the more the mead improves. We can have very dry meads, or fortified meads, with a low alcohol content, or with a very high alcohol content or even sparkling. Normally the taste of mead is enhanced by a large quantity of residual sugars and a high alcohol content.
THE RECIPE 1
Ingredients
– 5 liters of water, possibly from a spring;
– 1.5 kg or 2 kg of neutral honey, possibly acacia or millefiori;
– Wine yeast (white);
– Flavors (of your choice, not mandatory).
Tools
– Slotted spoon;
– 5 liter glass bottle;
– Gauzes;
– Bubbler.
Method
Stir over medium heat until the honey is completely dissolved;
Add the desired aromas;
Lower the heat and cook for about half an hour, bringing it almost to the boil and continuing to skim off the residue that emerges on the surface;
Once the flame has gone out, remove the residues of the aromas (such as leaves or berries);
Transfer the mixture into the large glass bottle, taking care before filtering the liquid;
Add the yeast according to the quantities indicated on the package, approximately 1g for the quantities listed. (add cold);
Mix vigorously;
The compound must now rest for about four weeks and in this period it should be shaken daily, or at least moved, so that the yeasts do not settle on the bottom but remain always active. Thanks to the bubbler, it will be possible to notice the fermentation process and make sure that this process is finished, or at least, visibly less than the days immediately following preparation. After the four weeks you can move on to bottling.
The maturation of the mead takes place over a very long period: after six months it can, in theory, be tasted even if it will still be very immature. The ideal would be to let it reach a year of maturation, even if each additional day spent in the cellar will only improve its flavour. Obviously store in a cool, dry and strictly dark place.
RECIPE 2
Preparing the mead is a homemade process, obviously it takes a little experience and experimentation, but the basic recipe is very simple and sophisticated equipment is not required. In practice, honey and water would be enough because yeasts are naturally present in honey and also in the air, it just takes a little more time for fermentation to start compared to adding a specific starter, with natural fermentation it is necessary to stir several times the preparation in order to favor the multiplication of the yeasts. In Brittany, apple juice is added to increase the alcohol content.
Ingredients for five liters of mead :
-2 kg of unpasteurized honey (it goes without saying that if you want to produce a "historic" mead you shouldn't use acacia honey as the tree arrived in Europe only after the discovery of America)
-2 lemons (or a pinch of citric acid)
- a teaspoon of brewer's yeast (or winemaking yeast)
- a teaspoon of cane sugar
-3 lt spring water (by adding more water you get a less sweet and lower alcohol content mead) it is better to use oligomineral waters (the exact doses are 320 g of honey per liter of water, and if you increase the dose of honey, the mead tends to become sweeter
- a 5 liter glass bowl (as always to avoid plastic) as an alternative to the classic metal fermenter
Method:
Heat 3 liters of spring water in a well-washed saucepan. (on hygiene standards, we never stop suggesting the precaution of sterilizing well, therefore as Guido Gowen Pecorelli underlines - and as our fathers did - it is necessary to use potassium bisulphite). Before the water comes to a boil, lower the heat and start pouring the 2 kg of honey into the pot. (It is in this phase that the more expert add the nutrients for the yeasts and the spices). Raise the heat but always remain below the boiling point (i.e. up to 80°) and mix for about 10-15 minutes (to kill "wild" bacteria and enzymes without spoiling the aroma of the honey) then put out the flame and let everything rest,
This is the most delicate phase of the preparation: pour the "must" into a carefully sterilized 5-litre demijohn, add the juice of two lemons (it is a natural and flavor preservative). Guido Gowen Pecorelli suggests putting the lemon juice first and then lukewarm must in doses of 1 lemon per liter of must).
Dissolve the yeast in half a glass of warm water with a teaspoon of cane sugar (which helps the fermentation process, but it's not that essential since honey is full of sugar!) rightly the temperature is essential for the activation of the yeast as when preparing bread if it is too cold the yeast acts very slowly or falls asleep if it is too high the yeast dies, as soon as the yeast starts to foam pour it into the demijohn, (if necessary add water but not up to the neck of the bottle
Or cork with the special bubbler (which is the curious contraption that you see in the photo).
During the fermentation - very violent - the compound releases a lot of carbon dioxide and therefore there is the need to let the air out but at the same time protect the liquid from dust.
Well the whole fermentation process must take place in the dark or in any case away from direct light!
Here the recipes diverge and the flavors of mead too.
It is advisable to leave it to ferment in a closed and dark place at a temperature between 18 and 24-30 degrees for 4 weeks (but also up to 40 days) we see that the "must" from turbid and dense clears up and forms on the bottom a deposit layer. It's time to transfer it into another bottle, filter it and then continue with the refinement. Once the refinement took place in the barrels (the barricading is also used for other alcoholic beverages using small wooden barrels that allow greater oxygenation of the content and the release of the so-called typical tertiary aromas) even for many years.
Let it age: at 3-4 months the mead is already drinkable, sweeter and less alcoholic, a taste is enough and if we like it bottled (but I suggest you let it age a little longer); if it is left up to seven to nine months the mead becomes drier and more alcoholic, improving in flavour.
Bottle and close with cork stoppers, do not use other types of stoppers, because the liquid always continues to ferment even if slowly.
Once in the bottle, the mead will keep for about a year, and once the bottle has been opened it must be consumed for two to three days (keeping it in the refrigerator).
Other recipes include the addition of various natural flavorings such as spices - cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg - fruit - raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, grape juice - and herbs such as hops, lavender, chamomile, heather... the human imagination and as vast as the offers that nature gives us..
The flavor variety with a flavored mead ranges from sweet to bitter. The alcohol content ranges from 8% to 18% but can reach the strength of a distillate (it depends a lot on the starter used).
As mentioned at the beginning, if you leave the mead thus prepared in the open air (like any good wine) it becomes vinegar (there are bacteria in the air which are called acetobacteria .. ) if we want to speed up the process, it is enough add a little wine vinegar as a starter. The ideal temperature for fermentation in vinegar is 15°.
SWEET OR DRY?
Mead tends to get drier as it matures, and in home brewing it's impossible to interrupt the fermentation, so you rely on the type of yeast!
As Davide Bertinotti explains (see) "You have to rely on the tolerance of the yeast to alcohol, playing on the water/honey ratio: for a sweet mead it is better to use less attenuating yeasts and increase the quantity of honey, arriving at a product of 9/ 10 degrees. For a dry product, use very attenuating yeasts, such as those for wine or champagne, reaching an alcohol content of 13/14 ABV".
The mead should be drunk chilled (8-10°C) in my opinion it is a drink to be enjoyed after a meal, but there are those who combine it with blue or seasoned hard cheeses (I prefer to combine them directly with honey).
La Green Weez offers a different version directly from France: Saffran - Mead and Saffron definitely worth trying.
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