SC - Something I got off the web

[Sara A Vaughn]

Well okay this is my posting for all the teachers out there I am not
really sure how period it is because I got it off the web. But the end
result of making the drink is very good.

Weak Honey Drink
( More Commonly called Small Mead)

	Take nine pints of warm fountain water, and dissolve in it one
pint of pure White honey, by laving it therein, till it be dissolved. 
then boil it gently, skimming it all the while, till all the scum be
perfectly scummed off; and after that boil a little longer, peradventure
a quarter of an hour.  In all it will require two or three hour before
you cease boiling, and take it from the fire put to it a little spoonful
of cleansed and sliced Ginger; and almost half again as much of the thin
yellow rind of Orange,when you are even ready to take it from the fire,
so as the Orange boil only one walm in it.  Then pour it into a
well-glazed strong deep great galley-pot, and let it stand so, till it be
almost cold, that it be scarce Luke-warm.  Then put to it a little
silver-spoonful of pure Ale-yeast, and work it together with a ladle to
make it ferment: as soon as it beginneth to do so, cover it close with a
fit cover, and put a thick dubbled woollen cloth about it.  Cast all
things so that this may be done when you are going to bed.  Next Morning
when you rise, you will find the barm pathered all together in the
middle; scum it clean off with a silver-spoon and a feather, and bottle
up the Liquor, stopping it very close.  It will be ready to drink in two
or three days; but it will keep well a month or two.  It will be from the
first very quick and pleasant.

11 pints water
1T peeled sliced fresh ginger (~ 1/4 oz)
½ t yeast
1 pint honey = 1 ½ lb
½ T orange peel
Dissolve the honey in the water in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Let
it boil down to 2/3 the original volume (8 pints), skimming periodically.
 This will take about 2 ½ to 3 hours; by the end it should be clear. 
About 15 minutes before it is done, add the ginger.  At the end, add the
orange peel, let it boil a minute or so, and remove from the heat.  The
orange peel should be the yellow part only, not the white; a potato
peeler works well to get off the peel.  Let the mead cool to lukewarm,
then add the yeast.  The original recipe appears to use a top fermenting
ale yeast, but dried bread yeast works.  Cover and let sit 24 to 36
hours.  Bottle it, using sturdy bottles; the fermentation builds up
considerable pressure.  Refrigerate after three or four days.  Beware of
exploding bottles.  The mead will be drinkable in a week, but better if
you leave it longer.

This recipe is modified from the original by reducing the portion of
honey and lengthening the  time of fermentation before bottling.  Both
changes are intended to reduce the incidence of broken bottles.  Using 2
liter plastic soda bottles is unaesthetic, but they are safer than glass.






[This is an article from Cariadoc’s Miscellany.  The Miscellany is
Copyright (c) by David and Elizabeth Cook, 1988, 1990, 1992.  For copying
details, see the Miscellany Introduction.]

One variations I like it to take 3 sticks of cinnamon and 3 large pinches
of whole cloves instead of the ginger.

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