Simple Mead
Ingredients
Directions
Make the must
Dissolve honey in water.
Boil over moderate heat until reduced to two-thirds of the original quantity.
Skim the mixture.
Pour it into a full barrel.
Allow it to sit for 3-4 days.
Ferment and bottle
Add a little yeast to the strained liquor.
Let it ferment for a few days before bottling.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Honey
- Provides the sugar that yeast ferments into alcohol, and the main flavour of the mead.
- Yeast
- Converts the sugars in the honey liquid into alcohol and carbonation during fermentation.
The step that matters
Boiling until reduced to two-thirds. Boiling concentrates the honey and water mixture and drives off impurities, so the liquid has the right sugar level and clarity before fermenting. Skimming removes the foam that rises during boiling.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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