Lady Auicia le Redde
Made for A&S Competition at Border War AS XLIX
Mead has been consumed for thousands of years using relatively simple equipment, and utilising herbs, fruits and spices that were readily available to add flavourings. Using this basis it could be expected that in the south of France fresh figs were added to mead, as they would have been growing in this area.
Crush the honeycomb into a pulp, and then progressively strain it through smaller and smaller holes (I used a colander then a sieve). Once the honey has been extracted, mix it with water in a ratio of one honey to two volumes of water, thus creating the musk. In a small bowl combine the yeast with warm water, stirring until combined, and then add to the musk (I used 7g of yeast for 11L of musk). Puree some green grapes then filter the mixture to extract grape juice, and then add to the musk (this provides food for the yeast). Pour the mead into clean bottles.
Meanwhile puree and sieve the figs to extract a juice. Add the fig juice to the musk at a ratio of 2 tsp to 250 ml, and shake gently to combine. Once combined place a balloon over the neck of the bottle so as to allow the carbon dioxide created from fermentation to expand, but not escape, thus creating a carbonated beverage.
As recipes from the medieval period are more an example of what ones chef could create rather than an instruction manual for the kitchen, mead recipes are scarce. The majority of those who wished to make mead, would have known how to do so, thus recording it in writing when few could read was pointless, and mead was hardly a showy drink used to delight guests with its genius. One recipe does exist however, being in the thirteenth-century Tractatus de Magnetate et Operationibus eius, found on fol. 20r:
Ffor to make mede. Tak .i. galoun of fyne hony and to þat .4. galouns of water and hete þat water til it be as lengh þanne dissolue þe hony in þe water. thanne set hem ouer þe fier & let hem boyle and ever scomme it as longe as any filthe rysith þer on. and þanne tak it doun of þe fier and let it kole in oþer vesselle til it be as kold as melk whan it komith from þe koow. than tak drestis of þe fynest ale or elles berme and kast in to þe water & þe hony. and stere al wel to gedre but ferst loke er þu put þy berme in. that þe water with þe hony be put in a fayr stonde & þanne put in þy berme or elles þi drestis for þat is best & stere wel to gedre/ and ley straw or elles clothis a bowte þe vessel & a boue gif þe wedir be kolde and so let it stande .3. dayes & .3. nygthis gif þe wedir be kold And gif it be hoot wedir .i. day and .1. nyght is a nogh at þe fulle But ever after .i. hour or .2. at þe moste a say þer of and gif þu wilt have it swete tak it þe sonere from þe drestis & gif þu wilt have it scharpe let it stand þe lenger þer with. Thanne draw it from þe drestis as cler as þu may in to an oþer vessel clene & let it stonde .1. nyght or .2. & þanne draw it in to an oþer clene vessel & serve it forth And gif þu wilt make mede eglyn. tak sauge .ysope. rosmaryne. Egre- moyne./ saxefrage. betayne./ centorye. lunarie/ hert- is tonge./ Tyme./ marubium album. herbe jon./ of eche of an handful gif þu make .12. galouns and gif þu mak lesse tak þe less of herbis. and to .4. galouns of þi mater .i. galoun of drestis.
Whilst this recipe requires boiling of the musk, which I did not do, it shows the ease with which mead could be made using everyday kitchen equipment. It also shows the flavouring of mead with the additional recipe, eglyn, using herbs that were readily available in England. My recipe, a melomel or fruit flavoured mead, using fresh figs, is highly unlikely to have been made in England, as figs require a slightly warmer climate, such as that of the French Riviera, and therefore were an imported dried item, which was outside the affordability of lower classes. My recipe also closely follows that of Cedric of the Floppy Hat, who taught me years ago in the Shire of Flintheath, however I cannot find where he found his documentation.
With the lack of specialist equipment and the ease with which it is made, fygge melomel could have been made on the campaign trail in warmer areas of Europe using freshly sourced honey and figs, despite the lack of direct evidence. It also ferments quickly so would have been a readily available source of alcohol.
Phoenix Rise