[Sca-cooks] mead

[Elaine Koogler]

I didn't mean to imply that the pellitory concoction was alcoholic...just
meant to counter the statement that alcohol was not made/consumed in Muslim
societies.

Kiri

On Mon, Nov 1, 2010 at 9:21 PM, <lilinah at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Kiri wrote:
>
>> However, there was usage of alcohol in Muslim societies...to be honest, I
>> have no details, but one of my apprentices has found a number of
>> references
>> and, IIRC, recipes. It appears that they made beer and, I believe, wine.
>> Much of the beer was exported to other countries. She is currently working
>> on a CA about alcohol production in Islamic cultures.
>>
>
> Alcohol WAS made in Muslim countries... legally by Christians and Jews, who
> were also the only people to sell it legally, generally speaking. In areas
> to the East, for example, in what is now Iraq, Armenians - who were
> Christians - were well known for making wine.
>
> And alcohol WAS consumed... by Christians and Jews, and by SOME Muslims,
> especially the nobility and upper classes. But that is not evidence that
> Muslims produced the wine nor that wine was commonly consumed by all classes
> of Muslims throughout Dar al-Islam.
>
> The Persian nobility is well documented to have drunk wine. Visiting
> Europeans were often shocked to discover that their Muslim hosts were
> drinking UNWATERED wine, when the custom in Europe was to mix it, often half
> and half, with water.
>
> And i have read that at least some Janissaries were infamous for frequently
> drinking to point of drunkenness.
>
> But that is not sufficient to assume that a medicinal mixture of honey
> water and pellitory root infusion was fermented (i suspect that with
> pellitory root it just would not taste too good...)
>
> Aelina wrote:
>
>> I know they also distilled as well. Many of those references are based on
>> cosmetics and perfumes.
>>
>
> Yes, they distilled things... like rose water and orange flower water.
>
> Again, i have seen nothing to suggest they were distilling hard liquor, for
> example, making brandy out of wine.
>
> Some guy in the SCA, whose name i have forgotten wrote an article that was
> published on his website and, i think, in TI that jumped to the conclusion
> that liquids from Arabic recipes made with honey were forms of mead,
> especially if they sat for a day or two before use. As a brewer/vintner HE
> wanted that to be so, but i have read those recipes and there is nothing to
> suggest they went through fermentation. And i had a boyfriend who regularly
> made mead and even in hot weather it took longer than 24 hours to have a
> highly alcoholic beverage.
>
> Finally, people, PLEASE EDIT BEFORE YOU HIT SEND! I am getting tired of
> receiving an entire threaded set of messages plus all the concomitant
> footers and clever sig lines when all that is needed is the few lines of one
> message to which you are responding. If this keeps happening, i will name
> names.
> --
> Urtatim [that's err-tah-TEEM]
> the persona formerly known as Anahita
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