HERB - Projects

[Thea & Jeff]

This is an excerpt from a paper I presented last year at an Arts &
Science weekend. If anyone wants a complete copy with the background and
references, please respond privately and I'll foreward a copy.

Thea

Basic Recipe

This is a general outline for one gallon of wine. For equipment you will
need the standard wine making stuff.

1 - plastic pail ( 5-6 gallons) preferably food grade with lid  (primary
fermenter)
1 - plastic pail or glass carboy fitted with a fermentation lock
(secondary fermenter)
1 - fermentation lock and rubber stopper
4 to 6 feet of plastic hose
Hydrometer - this tells us if the brew is ready to bottle. Available at
Brewing Supply Store.
1 - bottle brush
litmus paper for wine making (acid blend)

Remember to thoroughly sanitize all of your equipment before starting.



***2-4 lbs fruit or vegetables / 3-4 qts. flower petals / 2-3 pints
fresh herbs or plant shoots / 2-3oz. dried herbs/ 4 lbs. dried rose hips
***

7 pts. water                                           2-2 ½ lbs. white
sugar/ 2-3 lbs. honey

½ to 3 tsp. acid blend (.50 to .65 %)     ½ tsp. pectic enzyme

1 tsp. yeast nutrient                               1 Campden Tablet
                                                    (sulfites, kills
                                                       wild yeasts)
1 pkt. Wine yeast 
 
Method:

Herbs, flowers, roots and shoots need to be steeped 24 to 48 hours in
the water before brewing starts. Vegetables can be steamed or boiled in
the water then crushed or mashed to make a must. Sometimes it is
necessary to dilute the liquid below the recommended acid level, then
add acid blend back to minimize the overpowering flavor of some of the
ingredients. If after fermentation has completed and you would like it
sweeter, add a fermentation stabilizer then add additional sweetner to
taste.

Partial List of Ingredients - there are MANY others available!!!!!!
* = used in Medieval recipes

 Flowers:                           
Roots:                                Shoots and Herbs:
                                                                                     
*Burnet
*Elder flowers                   *Turnips                               
Chicory
*Roses                              
*Parsnips                             *Caraway
*Lavender                          
Carrots                               *Mints
*Calendula                         
Onions                                 Mustards
*Primroses                          Potatoes                            
*Sage
*Violets                              
Beets                                  *Horehound
*Dandelions                       
Leeks                                  Catnip
*Honeysuckle                     Ginger                               
*Thyme
 Spirea                                Jerusalem Artichokes         
*Rosemary
*Hawthorn                        Garlic                                 
*Nettles
*Cowslips                         *Horseradish                       
*Burdock
*Daisy                                                                          
Agrimony
*Chamomile                                                                
*Angelica
 Red
clover                                                                  
*Walnut leaves
*vervain                                                                       
Oak leaves

Goldenrod                                                                 
*Blackberry
leaves                                                                
*Scotch Broom                                                           
*Raspberry leaves
*St. John’s Wort                                                       
 Mullein
*Tansy
*Yarrow

Non - Common Fruits:

 Pyracantha ( Firethorn)
*Rowanberry (Mt. Ash)
*Sumac
 Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)
 Bearberry ( Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
*Hawthorn Berries
*Juniper Berries
 Salal Berries (Gualtheria Shallon)
 Checkerberries
 Oregon Grape
 Serviceberry (Shadbush)
 Barberry
 Beautyberry


If you are unsure of the edibility of any plant or plant part PLEASE
check a 
reliable herbal or call your county extension office for info.

Many of the plants mentioned above can also be used in making cordials.
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