Mead is a honey-based drink. There are 2 types of mead: boiled, which is boiled from honey with the addition of herbs and spices, and put, obtained after fermentation. Boiled mead can be stored for a very long time (up to 10 years), and the set drink is essentially honey kvass.
It is necessary
- Old Mead Recipe:
- • honey - 1.25 kg,
- • water - 8 l,
- • hops - 2 tablespoons,
- • gelatin - 1/2 teaspoon,
- • cardamom and ginger to taste.
- Cranberry mead:
- • 1 kg of honey,
- • 2.5 liters of water,
- • 1 liter of cranberry juice,
- • cinnamon and cloves to taste,
- • 100 g of yeast.
- Pink mead:
- • 5 l of water,
- • 2 kg of honey,
- • 300 g dried blueberries,
- • 2 tablespoons of yeast,
- • 10 g of gelatin,
- • 4-5 drops of rose oil.
- Homemade mead:
- • honey - 1.5 kg,
- • water - 10 l,
- • hop cones - 10 g,
- • yeast - 3 g.
- Old mead with cherries:
- • honey - 2 kg,
- • water - 4 glasses,
- • cherry - 4-5 kg.
- Suzdal mead:
- • 300 g of honey,
- • 2 liters of water,
- • 5 g hop cones,
- • 1 tablespoon yeast,
- • a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Instructions
Step 1
There are a lot of options for preparing mead, with different methods, in addition to honey, all kinds of spices, herbs, roots, yeast, hop cones, berries can be included in the recipe. It is important to understand that the taste of a freshly brewed or freshly fermented beverage is highly enjoyable, but tastes better with age. The longer the mead is stored, the tastier it becomes and the more it looks like a noble wine.
Step 2
Old Mead Recipe
This old Russian culinary recipe invites you to cook mead using various seasonings. To prepare a drink, put honey in an enamel bucket, fill with boiling water and leave for a day. Then bring the mass to a boil and cook over low heat for an hour.
Add hops to the bucket, bring to a boil again and simmer for 1 hour, then turn off the heat and cool the mass. Repeat this procedure 4-5 times. When finished, chill the honey one last time, pour into a large wooden barrel, add the cardamom and gelatin diluted according to the instructions. Close the barrel well and let the drink stand for 2-3 weeks.
If fermentation does not start or is weak, add yeast to the mass. After the end of the initial stage of fermentation, pour the mead into bottles, close them tightly, put them in a cool place for 3 months, cover with sand if desired. The readiness of the mead can be checked by holding a burning match over it. If fermentation is still going on, the fire of the match will go out.
During the fermentation period, it is better to use a water seal so that vinegar does not accidentally form instead of mead. To do this, you need to pour the drink into a jar, seal it with a lid. The cover should have a hole in which to insert the hose. All connections must be sealed. The end of the hose in the vessel must be above the liquid level, and the other is lowered into the container with water.
Step 3
Cranberry mead
This is one of the quickest mead recipes. Dissolve honey with water in a deep container, boil. Remove the foam, pour the drink into a bottle, add cranberry juice, yeast, spices and put in a warm place for 2 days. After that, seal the bottle well and remove it for 20 days to infuse in a cold place (cellar or refrigerator).
Step 4
Pink mead
Dissolve honey in warm water and cook for an hour, remembering to remove the foam. Add yeast and dried blueberry infusion, then leave to ferment for a week. At the end of this stage, strain the mass, add the gelatin dissolved according to the instructions, rose oil, mix everything. Cap the drink tightly and leave in a cool place for 2 months. After that, you can taste the mead.
Step 5
Homemade mead
Pour water into a large saucepan and put on fire, boil. Add honey to boiling water, mix well so that it completely dissolves, and boil for another 5 minutes, remembering to remove the foam. When the foam stops appearing, add the hops to the drink, cover and remove from heat.
In a separate container, dissolve the yeast in sweetened water (3 grams equals approximately 1 teaspoon). When the yeast mass swells, it is ready. After the honey drink has cooled to about 50 ° C, add the yeast mass to it, cover with a lid and remove for 5 days in a warm place, during which time the contents should ferment.
After the fermentation process stops, remove the hops from the pan and strain the drink through cheesecloth. Pour the resulting liquid into bottles and place in a cool storage area. After a week, homemade mead is ready to eat.
Step 6
Vintage mead with cherries
Put honey in a deep saucepan, cover with water and boil the syrup. While cooking, stir the mixture periodically and skim off the foam until it forms. When the process is complete, turn off the heat and leave the syrup to cool.
Prepare the cherries: rinse well, remove the pits. Place the berries in a clean, long-necked bottle and pour over the cooled honey syrup. Cover the neck of the bottle with a piece of raw cloth and leave in a warm place to ferment for 3 days.
As soon as the contents of the bottle begin to ferment, close the neck with a rolled-up canvas cork and leave to mature for 3 months. After this time, the old cherry mead will be ready for consumption. However, the taste of the mead will be better if the aging period is 6-9 months.
Step 7
Suzdal mead
Pour 2 liters of water into an enamel pot and add honey. Stir the mixture thoroughly over low heat, periodically skimming off the foam. After boiling, cook the mixture for 5 minutes. Add a small hop cone and a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg each.
Dissolve the yeast in water, leave it for 1 hour until it swells and add to the mixture. Then put the homemade mead to ferment. After 3 days, pour the drink into bottles, cork tightly and remove to infuse in a cold place for a month.
