How to make mead at home: a classic recipe

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Historically, mead is a traditional "homemade drink" that was usually served to guests at mass events.

About how to make mead at home, almost everyone knew in the old days. The secret of its preparation is that during the natural fermentation of honey and water, a liquid of a characteristic shade and with a specific smell is obtained. It should be noted that, having excellent taste characteristics, mead is an excellent remedy. And if now it is customary to treat colds with a large number of drugs, then many years ago this particular drink was used instead.

How to make mead at home? To do this, we need clean filtered water (better buy the highest quality in the supermarket). Of course, our ancestors used pure spring water (or from a well), but in this case there is not much choice. You will also need 5 liters of water. You need about 1 kg of honey, one teaspoon of yeast, 2 six-liter pots (you can have a larger capacity), 1 sieve, a five-liter container and thinrubber medical tubes.

When making a drink, it is permissible to add a little coriander and barberry to give a special flavor (only 1 tbsp each). Some people add more orange peels, but this is overkill as they "blur" the true flavor.

So, from the theory of how to make mead at home, let's get down to practice. Set aside 7-8 tablespoons of the total amount of honey to use later. We put most of the honey in a saucepan, then fill it with water and put it on fire. Stir until completely dissolved. When it is completely dissolved, add the rest of the water and wait until the liquid boils (the mead should boil over low heat!). Periodically remove the film with a spoon. After 20 minutes of boiling, add barberry and coriander (if desired).

After 1 hour of boiling, remove the pan. The resulting liquid must be drained through a sieve into another similar saucepan and put on fire again, bring to a boil.

Next, pour 350 grams of wort into a pre-prepared container. We cover the dishes with a lid and wait until it cools down to 30 degrees. Can be put in cold water to speed up cooling. After that, add the yeast, mix with the wort and wait 15-20 minutes. Then pour the resulting mixture into the pot with the wort and mix everything well again.

The principle of how to cook mead further is already clear to most. We take pre-prepared rubber tubes and a 5-liter bottle. We pierce a hole in the bottle cap, put it intubule. The other end is placed in a jar of water. It is clear that for a very long time there were no cans or tubes like that. And when asked how to make mead at home, we would have received slightly different instructions. But the result will be the same.

Next, we simply transfer the mead for 2 weeks to a dark, cool place to ferment the wort. Then you need to take the bottles and another tube, with a weight tied to it. We insert this end with a weight into the container with the wort, and put the second one in the mouth and pull it in a little. As soon as the wort runs, we bottle it. Having tested the strength of the prepared honey, you can dilute it with water and boil it. After bottling the finished drink, put it in a dark room for another 2 weeks.

Here are all the tricks on how to make mead at home.