Mead is an ancient Slavic drink thathas an extremely rich history and is rooted in the distant past. In itself, this name is relatively young - in those ancient times the Slavs called it simply "medoc". This is not surprising, because honey has always been considered in Russia as one of the main sweet products. Mead at home is prepared quite difficult, but we will help you in this difficult matter.
Classical mead
List of ingredients, which is necessary for its preparation:
- Water - 2 liters;
- Honey - 300 g;
- Hop cones - 5 g;
- Nutmeg and a pinch of cinnamon;
- Yeast - 1 tsp.
Preparation: In an enamel saucepan, boil 2 liters of water. As soon as it starts bubbling, gently pour in all the honey, while stirring gently with a spoon. To prevent honey from burning, it is necessary to monitor the boiling liquid. After 5 minutes, remove the formed on the surface of the foam. Once it has been cleaned, you can fall asleep with cones of hops, nutmeg and a small pinch of cinnamon. Remove the dishes from the fire, you must immediately cover it with a lid. In the resulting liquid, we dilute a teaspoon of yeast - they can be either ordinary store or beer. But first the drink needs to cool down to 50 degrees. If the temperature is higher, the yeast may just die. Then the pan should be placed in a place where the temperature is constantly maintained at 25 degrees. As soon as the fermentation process begins, foam will form on the surface of the solution. If you do not want to get real vinegar instead of a delicious mead, fermentation should take place in a bowl with a hydraulic seal. One of the best examples of this capacity is the most common glass jar. It is in it and it will be necessary later to pour the fermented liquid. The lid is closed very tightly, the container must be tight. On its surface, make a small hole, we place in it a small plastic tubule or a soft hose. One end of it must be above the surface of the future mead, and the other is immersed in a container full of water. In order to determine whether the fermentation process is completed or not, we light the usual match and bring it to the liquid. If the fire does not inflame, then the mead is ready. Be sure to strain the resulting drink through gauze, folded in several layers. After that, the liquid must be poured over previously prepared plastic bottles. To keep their original taste for a long time, place them in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf. Usually a mead cooked at home is prepared in just five days. If this drink was prepared in compliance with all the rules, to taste it will resemble soft sparkling champagne. The quality of the mead directly depends on the type of honey, its color, sweetness and other parameters. Today, this drink can be bought even in stores, but it is unlikely that it will be similar to a drink created at home. The main advantage of this low-alcohol product, made personally, are natural products, which, unfortunately, can not be said about the store drink. 
Dry mead
There are many ways to prepare this old drink. One of these is a non-yeast recipe for mead at home. It will need the following ingredients:
- Water - 1 l .;
- Honey - 2 kg .;
- Cherries - 4 kg.
Preparation: Take the enamel pot, pour water into it, bring to a boil. As soon as the first bubbles begin to appear, carefully add honey, while stirring with a spoon. When you have a fairly homogeneous mixture, reduce the fire and cook for about 15 minutes. During cooking, foam will constantly appear. It must be removed, otherwise the taste and color of the drink will be spoiled. The resulting syrup is cooled to a temperature of 50 degrees. Now you need to prepare a cherry. To begin with, you need to thoroughly wash it, remove the bones. When these actions are performed, pour the berries into a pre-prepared container and fill them with syrup. Do not close the tight lid, just cover the neck with a wet towel and leave in a warm place. As soon as the first signs of fermentation begin to appear, we very tightly clog the bottle with liquid and put it in a dark cool place. The mead will be ready only in three months. The recipe of the drink at home without the use of yeast is simple enough, as soon as the drink is ready, you can enjoy the unmatched original taste of this ancient Slavic elixir. A mead made at home is undoubtedly a very useful drink if consumed in moderation. Its fortress can range from 5 to 16 degrees - it all depends on the selected recipe used to make it. In ancient times, drinking a honey drink was equated with a ritual, because then people believed that in the world of gods honey and milk rivers flow. Having tasted mead, it was believed that a man tasted the divine delicacy and himself became a little purer in spirit. As it was said before, many kinds of this drink are known. The most common and often prepared from them is stavlenaya and boiled mead. They differ from each other in the degree of sterilization of honey. An ancient drink is divided into two types and by the time of addition of its main ingredient. In the first of these honey is added after the drink is almost ready, in the second - much earlier. 
Spicy mead
A very delicious recipe, for the preparation of which spices are used. Ingredients necessary for mead spicy:
- Honey - 750 g;
- Water - 3 liters;
- Yeast - 10 g;
- Egg white - 1 piece;
- Carnation - 2 pieces;
- Ginger ground - 1 pinch;
- Nutmeg - 1 teaspoon;
- Cinnamon is on the tip of the knife.
Preparation: Gently mix honey and protein, bring to a homogeneous mass, then fill it with water and put the mixture on fire. After everything boils intensely, reduce it and cook for 10 minutes, without covering the pan with a lid. Then you need to add all the spices to the mixture - you can pre-mix them in one bowl. After adding spices, cook the mixture for about 50 minutes, do not cover with a lid. When the mixture is ready, in appearance it will become almost transparent, its mass will decrease almost twofold. Remove the pan from the fire, let the drink cool down well. After which it must be filtered through a fine sieve. After that, we pour the drink into a three-liter jar and add the yeast. Next, you need to stir thoroughly with a deep spoon or a small saucer and cover with a clean gauze napkin. In order to start fermentation, we move the can to a warm place. In a day, you need to close the lid tightly and remove it for half a year in a cold room. After the mead is filled with the required time, it can be bottled and stored in a refrigerator or a cool cellar. Now you know how to make mead at home. This ancient drink can not only quench your thirst well, but also raise your spirits, giving you a charming taste and excellent aroma. If the hostess gives me a mead at the festive table, all guests will be pleasantly surprised. It is unlikely that there will be a person who does not want to try a drink with such a rich, centuries-old history. We advise you to read:
