In ancient times, in many places where there were no grapes, instead of wine, mead was made - a light, low alcohol, healthy drink, the basis of which was honey and bee bread (bee bread). The oldest recipe is considered the most correct, suggesting the absence of heat treatment, since boiling destroys useful trace elements in honey products. How to prepare a homemade drink correctly - read below.
Selection and preparation of ingredients
Today on the market there are a large number of types of honey. For the preparation of mead, only buckwheat, lime or heather is suitable.
Important! When buying honey products, require a veterinary and sanitary passport from the seller - the apiary owner is indicated in it, the results of veterinary inspection of bees and sanitary examination of the products. This document — The main guarantee that you are not trying to sell a fake.
Criteria for choosing quality honey:
- aroma - characteristic, sweet, pronounced;
- color - homogeneous, golden, without inclusions and layers of a darker or lighter shade;
- consistency - liquid in summer, dense in autumn and winter, with distinct candiedness;
- high-quality honey products do not completely dissolve in water, but make it slightly cloudy.
When choosing bee bread, it is better to pay attention to the products offered immediately in the comb, i.e. it is impossible to fake their shape. Granular products will be many times more expensive. To extract such a bee bread, the beekeeper needs to be able to carefully remove it from the honeycombs so as not to damage them. A high-quality natural product must have a hexagonal shape, fully repeating the design of honeycomb cells. Special preparation of products is not required. The main condition is that it be used in its original form.
Cooking recipes
First you need to prepare the container. One of the features of the drink in question, which determines its taste, is long-term infusion. Based on this, it is not worth taking containers from plastic.
It is better to use a glass jar or bottle. Before use, the container must be thoroughly washed with soda and allowed to dry.Did you know? In England, mead is still used to treat colds. It is heated, herbs are added and 30 ml are drunk before meals.
Antique, no heat treatment
4 l60 min.
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- Boil water, cool to a temperature of + 30 ° C.
- Make honey syrup by adding honey to the cooled water.
- Pour the berries with the resulting syrup.
- To sustain 3 days at a temperature of +23 ... + 25 ° C.
- Filter the drink through cheesecloth, remove the berries.
- Close the lid of the liquid container tightly.
- Insist 4 months at a temperature of +3 ... + 6 ° C in a dark place.
Important! Before using cherries in the recipe, they should not be washed. Otherwise, the fermentation process will not start.
With lemon, raisins and cinnamon
2 L 30 min.
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- Boil the water. Cool to + 30 ° C. Squeeze juice out of lemons.
- Mix all ingredients with lemon juice, add to water. Mix well.
- Insist 3 days at a temperature of +23 ... + 25 ° С.
- Strain, pour into a container for storage. Insist for another 4 months at a temperature of +3 ... + 6 ° C in a dark room or refrigerator.
Features of the storage of the drink
Storage conditions for the drink:
- lack of contact with light;
- temperature +3 ... + 6 ° С.
If these conditions are observed, products can maintain quality for more than 2 years. The main thing is that the longer the drink is brewed, the better its taste will be.
Did you know? One bee is capable of producing 12 tsp. honey per day.
Mead was popular in the past, but today, old recipes are not forgotten. Making a drink at home is easy. The main thing is to strictly follow the recommendations and proportions in the formulations.
