Mead and Honey:
Mead is a long story between men and gods.
And bees too.
And also birds.....
..... in the Vedas (sacred books of the Hindus, -1500 to -200) Indra's eagle steals honey from heaven.
For Greeks it is Zeus' eagle who took honey, and for Vikings it is Odin himself in the shape of a bird.
Aristotle (IVth century) in Greece as well as Virgil in Rome thought honey came from heaven as dew that bees gather from flowers.
Honey was seen as a panacea so it was used for healing.
The bible says this in Proverbs 24:13
"My son, eat honey because it is good, And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste."
Historically, some kinds of mead have also been medicines and the choice of the herbs was related to their medicinal properties.
Although the famous nectar and ambrosia of the gods on Olympus were honey and mead, Greeks made mead using seawater and egg white...Who would drink such things if they were not "medicines"?
Extract from Medieval monk Cadfael:
Cadfael shook his head. "I will give you a little poppy juice mixed in some mead, but no more."
"It's good medicine though."
"It is. however like all medicine it is intended to be used in moderation."
Sipping the mead, and eyes already closing, Hugh simply allowed himself to be drawn into the heavy slumber that would undoubtedly occupy most of the day.
Mead is still a regular part of the Ethiopian tradition, where it is known as T'ej. Ethiopian mead has the bark of a plant called gesho added to it, giving it a somewhat hop-like taste and making it similar to the beer-like mead known as braggot.
Many people trace the English word honeymoon to a practice of fathers to supply their daughters with enough mead to last a month as a dowry.
Drinking this mead throughout the first month of marriage was meant to ensure that the firstborn child would be a male...can't hurt anyway..
In Valhalla, the heaven of Vikings warriors, Valkyries gave mead to the newcomers.
In the celtic heaven ran a river of mead.
Other holidays, such as the Yule festivals, also included drinking mead as part of the festivities.
Man eventually switched to Wine and Beer, but Mead is a hazy afternoon magical sophormorphic beer, or refreshing light pint in the evening setting sun.
Yellowhammer's delicious mead recipe to fill one demijohn
5-7 pots runny honey, warmed in microwave to enable easy pouring.
[Keep Jars for autumn chutneys.]
3/4 carton pear juice
2 lemon slice
Water
~ heat water first and pour in honey as you can to big pot.
~ add irish moss if bringing to boil, but no longer. Swirl and ladel. Give blessings if you like to.
~ remove lemon. Dont stew it.
~ add pear juice. Stir. Lid.
Cool overnight, stir in more cold water (ltr?) to help.
In the morning or when mildly warm to embrace, add :
~ max 1tsp/1/2 sachet champagne (or wine) yeast and pinch of yeast nutrient.
~ Stir with clean spoon very well.
That should be last big dose of air.
Sanitise demijohn well and siphon or even funnel filter liquid in mead.
Airlock DJ with Vodka.
Let it Bubble in dry warmish place until stops, 1-3 months my pref.
Siphon to clean bottles and cork.
...You should get a swig or two at this stage and get initial impression - often yeasty but promising...
Make nice labels and rem date of brew amd potential drinking dates.
Refrigerate only on evening of consumption. If too strong / sweet then use less honey and yeast next time, leave for longer, rack after initial fermentation - or simply serve watered down with tonic or dry cider this time.
Brew now and have 5 bottles for Solstice in June !
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