Making Medieval Mead like a Viking
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 พ.ย. 2020
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MEAD
ORIGINAL 12TH/13TH CENTURY RECIPE (From Tractatus Manuscript: Folio 20r)
For to make mead. Take 1 gallon of fine honey and to
that 4 gallons of water and heat that water til it be as
“lengh” then dissolve the honey in the water. then set them
over the fire & let them boil and ever scum it as long as
any filth riseth there on. and then take it down off the fire
and let it cool in another vessel till it be as cold as milk
when it cometh from the cow. then take dregs
of the finest ale or else barme and cast it into the water
& the honey. and stir all well together but first look before
thou put thy barme in that the water with the honey be put
in a fair stand & then put in thy barme or else thy
dregs for that is best & stir well together/ and lay straw
or else cloth about the vessel & above if the weather
be cold and so let it stand 3 days & nights if
the weather be cold and if it be hot weather 1 day and
1 night is enough at the full But ever after 1 hour or
2 at the most try thereof and if thou wilt have it swete
take it the sooner from the dregs & if thou wilt have it sharp
let it stand the longer there with. Then draw it from
the dregs as clear as thou may in to another vessel clean & let
it stand 1 night or 2 and then draw it into
another clean vessel and serve it forth.
MODERN RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
- 4 Parts Spring Water
- 1 Part Raw Honey
- Ale Dregs or Dry Ale Yeast
METHOD
1. Heat the water over a high flame until simmering. Remove from the heat and stir in the honey until dissolved. Then set over high heat and boil, removing any scum that rises to the top. After several minutes of boiling remove from the heat and carefully pour mixture into a second vessel.
2. Allow honey and water mixture to cool to 98°F/37°C, then pour in the ale dregs or yeast and stir in. Cover loosely and allow to sit out of direct sunlight for 3 days. (If you want a more alcoholic mead, allow to ferment longer) If you choose to make the mead "eglyn" by adding herbs, add them at this step or during the aging. Either is acceptable.
3. After 3 days, or however long you chose, transfer mead to another vessel, trying to get as little of the yeast which as fallen to the bottom of the mead. Add water to the airlock and affix to the bottle. Then let age for 2 nights (or longer if you want an aged mead). After aging, the mead is ready to drink. (DO NOT SEAL THE BOTTLE)
DISCLAIMER: Tasting history is not liable for any injury, illness, or harm caused from lack of proper sterilization of equipment and sanitation of the alcohol mead making process. Although you may ‘probably be fine’ this statement is not a medical or health inspected guarantee. All parties who partake in creating this without proper sterilization, sanitation, and equipment do so at their own risk. This notice serves as your acknowledgment of the risks involved in the alcohol making process and the decision to re-create the ‘recipe’ involves that you the external party bear all risks and damages to your health and safety.
PHOTO CREDITS
Ancient Chinese Vessel: By Zhangzhugang - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, bit.ly/2HPSIhM
Bell Beakers: By Einsamer Schütze - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, bit.ly/3ea4G1U
Beaker burial: By Miguel Hermoso Cuesta - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, bit.ly/2HT7PqL
Procession of Minoan women: By Zde - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, bit.ly/31WFhnD
Potnia: By User: Marsyas - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, bit.ly/2HPwHjF
Bee Pendant: Cayambe, CC BY-SA 4.0 bit.ly/3oGsuPV
The Moel y Gerddi roundhouse: By Midnightblueowl - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, bit.ly/320hOSr
Silver Cauldron: Rosemania, CC BY 2.0 bit.ly/34G4iFq
#mead #vikings #assassinscreedvalhalla
6 month tasting - th-cam.com/video/DvBNqLUuHLI/w-d-xo.html
DARN VICTORIANS! I have been taken in by one of the many Victorian fabrications surrounding Anglo-Saxon history. It turns out, the wonderful story about the origin of honeymoons was made up in th 19th century with no historical evidence for it. They got me!
It's ok, it's a "sweet" story. 🤓
Bamboozlin' Victorians!
Been there, facepalmed that
I know! Weren't they sneaky those victoriabs?
The mead will be ready maybe by May Day 2021! May-be, you should do a special for May Day! I know there's lots of food history around that special holiday. :)
True story: I met my husband in college because I confessed in my Old English class that I was making Mead in my closet.
more original than showing him your etchings hey....
True love ❤️😂
That's the love story I can get behind. :-)
That's what some of the musicians in my early music ensemble did
We are super nerds. We translated Beowulf on our first dates. 21yrs married. Highly over educated 😉
Idea for merch: Literally just a cookbook with all the recipes you've made so far. You could even title it "Tasting History" :)
Yes please
And also if they can make it so the paper looked aged
I second this.
I would so buy that
I also like the idea of making it look like an aged bound medieval manuscript
"id be much happier with a bellyful of mead"
-whiterun guard
“I’d be a lot warmer and a lot happier with a belly full of mead.”
"You're the new member of the companion, so what do you do? Fetch mead?"
"Mead, mead, mead... would it kill 'em to get some beer every now and then? Stupid bees and their stupid honey..."
-orc bandit
"...and another mug of mead and another mug of mead, warriooor~."
"With three beers down, the orc did frown, amd bid the elf goodbye..."
Merch idea: you could make a set of measuring cups that go by Medieval terms so it'll make those recipes easier
With equivalent standard measurement for comparison
second this
Love ii!
I love that people back then could just feel the mead and be like “ahhh yes, that’s cow degrees celsius”
imperial metric system
I like my drinks penguin turd cold
@@bus8038 aw yes the American metric system, used by Europeans thousand years before the US existed.
@@trollmastermike52845 you're right
@@bus8038 nice edit on og comment
odin: "only a spoonful"
odin: *pulls out a comically large spoon*
When you drink with Odin, use a long spoon.
I can just imagine Odin pulls out a metal bucket with a rod welded to the side
Remember that time Thor took a giant swig from the ocean and now there's tides? The Norse don't fuck around.
@@litchqueenasenath5995 They really don’t, especially their pet snake, Jörmungandr
Odin gargless mead in his eye socket
I tried this recipe 8 months ago, trying a bottle on the short timeline of the original recipe, and it was passable, but I just opened another bottle after letting it age 8 months and the difference was very apparent. The aging terrifically improved the flavor.
I make this often. I only pasteurize it in the bottle after 5 days to stop the fermentation and keep it sweet and sparkly. As this drink should be. After a few days it tastes great and refreshing.
@@0Letten0Hello, it is safe too drink right? Even if you only waited 5 days, i need to make it but I dont have enough time, only 10 days
@@0Letten0Hello, it is safe too drink right? Even if you only waited 5 days, i need to make it but I dont have enough time, only 10 days
@@tessylorenzo109 it is safe in 5 days. In fact if you wait longer than that, it will start to become sauer and could make you gassy or worse because of the high amount of yeast. That is why I pasteurize it to prevent this
@@0Letten0 Thx for responding!! How do you sanitize you utensils before? I dont really have sanitizing powder on hand
In Welsh, the double D is pronounced as a soft "th" (as in "mother"), so meddyglyn is pronounced as if it was spelled methyglyn. It hasn't changed pronunciation too much over time.
Jesse, we need to cook methyglyn
Meddyglyn is Welsh for Medicine or 'Healing Drink' lit. translation is Doctor (Meddyg) and Lake (Llyn), meddyglynau is the plural form. Feddyglyn is the mutation (said in a sentence), but really does sound like a pharmaceutical product.
I think you might get secondary fermentation happening in that bottle you're keeping - so maybe check by loosening the stopper every week or so - see if you hear a hiss of escaping gas. This secondary fermentation can result in a sparkling wine, or alternatively, it can result in the vessel exploding!
Love your channel Shrimp. Also good advice
Heck it's my favourite, friendly forager. Kudos Shrimp, your channel is great.
Crossover of my two favorite food channels!
I was going to write this too! It’s worthwhile advice.
Hi shrump
This has probably been said in some way already but, “Lengh” literally means length and in this context could be read as “at length” or “for some time” so a rolling boil would probably be the modern day equivalent. I hope this helps.
Came here hoping someone had solved it and here you are. Thanks friendo 🤟
I realize this is a year ago. In old saxon, it could derive from 'to attain'. Found it in a reference. Etymology is a fun.
The Swedish word länge, pronounced lenge, means 'at length', so there's probably some connection there.
Thankyou I was looking for this answer 👍
@@JoelMatton Funny thing is: it's Länge in German, too. :)
This guy’s positivity is absolutely incredible. Every problem is met with “and that’s ok”. Like a modern day Mr. Rogers.
Medieval scholar here: best guess for "as lengh" without doing a lot of research is that "as lengh" is a rolling boil, probably shorthand for something to the effect of "heat the water until it's boiling like it does after you heat it for a long time".
I know that "Boil until it is Lengthy" means to Heat until the water is purified. Old world speech pattern translate loosely as "until it reaches a rolling boil". Yay
@Tasting History needs to comment / tag this -- You answered his video question!
Heat "to a roiling boil" isn't really that old-fashioned or imprecise compared to modern cooking 👍 Most recipes that say, e.g., 14-16 min at 420°C are giving that ballpark, because you should really be checking to see if the food's cooking properly. And they presume us modern monkeys don't have the patience to actually stick around the oven ;)
and lenghe is a known alternative lenge, which means roughly length, but with a few weirder connotations, so I think you've got it right
Not so sure if this is true.
@@Aedi "Lenge" means "For long/Long time" in norwegian.
I also had to think of the Dutch word lengen or aanlengen, which means mixing something with water or dissolving something in water or watering something down.
You should have a shirt that say "And so serve it forth" with you holding a plate with medieval trencher full of food
Excellent!
Oh my... I didn't read that very closely and thought you wrote blood instead of food. Would it be better..?
Put it on an apron!
@@Oasisflicka if you are from Transylvania and is a vampire then maybe it would be for you
Thats really cool!
This is the third time I'm making this, and this time I'm getting serious with a batch a month, because what you get out of this recipe after half a year's maturing is a lot better than the sirupy slop you mostly get from the shops. Consistency of white wine with the bouquet of honey, this is IT.
I want to make this for exactly this reason. I know a beekeeper too....
Serious question, how do you kill off the remaining yeast when you go to bottle the mead for the 6 month aging?
@@concretesailors good question. I'd have to admit I stopped makig more after a few months and this was in the colder season, so I basically filtered it and then left it out on the balcony at 3°C for a couple of days and that worked. As a rule, you would probably heat it up, though.
Here in México is almost completely unknown, I met it for a mdieval festival and loved it, I´m elaborating some mead right now and I hope to do it right. thanks for all of this incredible info.
I would like to try pulque and see how it compares to mead.
“Lengh” means ready or prepared, my uncle who is a Norwegian - Irish mix uses this word everytime he makes mead for my dad and mom when they are on their anniversary every year.
Would love to see that recipe!
Go Norge!
Or quicken or proper or to spring. Quicken is another term used in cooking/crafting and can mean to excite. I suppose the definitions diverged at some point when the need arose.
So your uncle basically gives your mom and dad a honeymoon every year that's so sweet
@@draconovamk3137 agreed, I'm genuinely envious of this family tradition.
“The Leaky Alehorn” sounds like the name of a pub
Or the name of a @tastinghistory cocktail
Or something you need antibiotics for...
@@paulfeist Lol
"Ye Leaky Alehorn"
Probably just down the alley from the Broken Drum.
I love the Beedrill in the background! This sounds like a nice basic recipe to try. When I get a bigger place I might give this a try.
The constant presence of a Pokemon of some kind in the background is one of my favorite elements of this series, and this one is definitely one of my favorite uses
The aged mead actually will keep fermenting, lots of yeast will be suspended in the liquid (that’s why it smelled yeasty to you) and will slowly keep working on the sugars. Your mead should get ‘drier’ or less sweet and more alcoholic over time. The other flavours will likely mellow too with time.
You can use potassium sorbate to stop fermentation.
TH-cam: "Tasting History has uploa-"
Me: *catapults through the wall to my computer desk*
🤣
Pleb. You should've invested in tech for everyone trebuchets these days.
@@Dan-tk5ti
"What kind of merch would you guys like?"
TREBUCHETS!
@@asdasdasdora 😂😂😂
Yes
I stumbled across one of your videos and now I'm binge watching them.... you've rekindled my joy in cooking and history of modern foods, thanks 💖
Just found your channel and absolutely love it!!!!! The “tiny bubbles” had me rolling. Also, agreed, Beowulf is an amazing read! Thank you for what your doing! Awesome work!
"as cold as milk when it cometh from the cow" LOL Lukewarm it is
😂
I am a beekeeper everything i own ins sticky , embrace the stickiness.
Embrace the Stickiness is a great sex tape title
@@bateman2112 LOL
The Boston molasses flood of 1919 was cleaned with saltwater. Not only because of seawater availability but beccause it cut the molasses. (Off of the streets, the subway cars, etc, corpses, etc.)
@@bateman2112 😳☠️
@@kitefan1 interesting! So salt helps scrub off sugar? I had no idea!
Meddyglyn looks like Welsh to me. Which would make sense since in Welsh it'd be pronounced as Metheglin. I think it's just the same word but 2 different spellings.
Yes, dd in Welsh is pronounced like English th as in thing.
@@jimski3350 it's actually more like the th in "that"
your channel is the best, its calming and i love it. One of your videos legit saved my school homework because i used the info from your video and did my own research to make a rye bread prestation
As a mead maker, I appreciate your accuracy to the craft. Other TH-camrs that try making mead that are not mead makers are very misinformed or their attempts are so wrong. Many thumbs up to this all!
Thank you!
As a fellow Mazer (it's slang, don't argue :P) I'm curious what you've witnessed these other content creators doing that was so bad! I love a good train wreck story.
How do you stop the fermenting mate? In case I’m going to put it in a sealed bottle to sell it so it won’t explode.
@@xCos07 there are various stabilizing agents you can find. Some people also heat treat it, but thats not a great option if you care about preserving delicate flavors.
@@xCos07 If you want to avoid using chemicals or heat (pasteurization) you can try cold crashing for anywhere from a few days to 2 weeks, which will halt the yeast activity and make everything sink to the bottom, then rack it off to a new vessel (sans lees, of course) and put back at room temp with an airlock. If it starts back up, repeat the process.
"I would be a lot warmer and a lot happier with a belly full of mead."--Guards Of Skyrim.🙂
I was scrolling for so long for a Skyrim comment.
@@straggerthelupinragi1337 and you found that. congratulations.
Finally another elder scrolls nerd!
@@Thecircustapes yes. 😂
Im here for the nord mead and skyrim comments
I love how the Beedrill is in the back - very appropriate for Honey Mead
Thanks for this lovely video! :3 I've been making mead in gallon bottles for a few years and my most recent batches were black tea with spices and lavender/vanilla. I did end up back-sweetening them, as using champagne yeast as I did makes it hella dry.
"The Leaky Alehorn" is a freakin amazing name for a bar or pub
DRINK UP BEFORE YOU WASTE ANY!
The leaky couldrun is a pub in harry potter
@@Xrisus94 yep, it's taken....
Sounds more like a personnal problem.
@@nixter8739 ROTFLMAO! Oh the innuendos one could make from this! 🤣
"So that's what we're making today! Er, not a baby."
Darn. Wrong site.
🤣
Maybe when he does something related to Jonathan Swift
the icon just makes it better 😂
Not even an actual bun? 😉
@@TastingHistory onlyfans when?
Might have already been said, but a good apron would be a great gift idea! Maybe feature a couple of options for recipes printed on them.
12:08 "A Welsh Viking...named Jim" the was a hard left. I love it 😂
Merch: Aprons that say either:
"Serve It Forth"
Or
"Go home, parmesan, you're drunk"
Go home, parmesan, you're drunk on a shirt!
wait which vid is the parmesan quote?
@@paulinasrr The Tart de Bry episode.
@@Ndstars1 thank you!!!
YES, PLEASE.
"So that's what we're making today. No, not a baby"
Damn...
N³
Who'd be the mom? 🤔
^^^ Speaking of merch ideas! Should totally be on a t-shirt
Yeah I want his babies too
@@Ntrooh we eat the baby's ribs after the sacrifice
You’re awesome….
Every episode is fun and interesting and full of cooking ideas to pursue..
Thank you (:
I appreciate how you linked to the Seamus Heaney version of Beowulf. I love that one.
From my distant memories of studying Chaucer in college, I feel like "as lengh" is probably an archaic way of saying "at length," basically make sure it's boiled long enough to kill anything that might kill you.
Seems unlikely. It would be reconstructed as "at lengþe" which is a bit off from "as lengh".
@@Hwyadylaw Although lettering mistakes (changes), like not using the anarchic th symbol and instead making it look more pleasing to a modern eye often happen so it could be very possible...
I concur
Hoobyist mazer (mead-maker) here!
The stuff you've made is what's known as a "quick mead" (note: that was originally "quick" as in "not dead," rather than "rapid" - but the double-kenning probably has something to do with its continued use). It was intended as a recreational libation - sweet and, depending on the yeast, often slightly effervescent. Think of it as sort of a dessert drink. It was boiled, due to the fact that a quick mead has a lower alcohol content, and may not kill all the microbes present in a 13th century water supply.
As you mentioned, a "full mead" (something more akin to a wine or ale - again depending on the yeast used) usually requires weeks for the fermentation to do its work. It also tends to use a slightly lower ratio of honey to water - perhaps 1:6. Since the fermentation runs its full course (being bottled after all the yeast dies of alcohol poisoning), boiling is less necessary.
I'm a bit of a weirdo, and like to split the difference. Here in Canada, where we use a mad jumble of metric and imperial measures, I tend to use a kilogram (2.2 lbs) of honey to a gallon (4.4 liters) of water. For those who are curious, I also use Fermentis Safale s-04 dry ale yeast (one packet - about a good-sized tablespoon - per 6-gallon batch). This is left to ferment for about a month and a half. I like to bottle it just before the bubbling stops - which causes it to retain some carbon dioxide - like ale or champagne. The latter is a finicky business, with factors such as ambient heat, altitude/air pressure and the amount of sugar in the honey all playing factors - so I can't list precisely when to bottle. It's part of what makes brewing as much art as science.
Since you plan to lay away your second bottle, and it's been about a month since this post, you may want to check it for pressure. I suspect this mead would have still been fermenting when you laid it down - which means carbon dioxide will continue to build up in the bottle. This can cause the bottle to burst.
For beginning mazers, I recommend using PET bottles (the kind of plastic, screw-topped bottles used for soda - available in amber for long-term storage). This way, checking the pressure is as easy as squeezing the bottle. If it's soft or firm, it's fine; if it's hard/starting to push the plastic outward, unscrew the top (a very little at a time) until the gas begins to escape. Repeat as needed until the pressure reduces.
Once one gets a feel for when the fermentation is "just done enough," one can switch to glass - which gives the mead a longer shelf life. For my part, I still use champagne bottles - which are made to withstand high internal pressure - just to be safe.
A note, too, on boiling:
Store-bought honey has been pasteurized, and shouldn't need to be boiled. This may be why you didn't get much foam as you "ever scum it."
I far prefer the characteristics of an unpasteurized honey, as the temperatures used in commercial pasteurization can break up a lot of the other organic compounds as well. However, unpasteurized honey can (occasionally) contain the bacterium that causes botulism. Therefore, it absolutely need to be boiled, and you will find that more "filth riseth thereon." This is residual wax, pollen and - crucially - any wild yeast that be living in the honey or the pot. Wild yeasts can create a very different flavour profile from brewer's yeasts, and change your tasty beverage into a waste of time and money.
Here endeth the rant. Thanks, as always, for the interesting videos!
PS: I would totally buy one of those "Serve It Forth" shirts one of the other commenters mentioned.
Exactly everything I was going to say. Thank you for sharing with everyone!
@@speurtighearnamacterik8230 Interesting insights! Thanks for sharing!
As I mentioned, I like to retain some of the effervescence in my mead, so I can't use a lidded vessel - especially with a cloth, which would allow the gasses to escape - but that sounds like a wonderful option for something that's meant to be served more like a wine than a champagne or beer! I have a few wonderfully decorative swing-top bottles; I may try something like your technique next time one of my friends requests a more vinous option.
Regarding a honey and rice option: that sounds lovely! For something with a heartier feel, a low-sugar buckwheat honey would probably provide some creamy, caramel characteristics. A sweeter clover honey or something would make a great dessert option. Your comment makes me want to try the latter - but with the addition of the cardamom and saffron from Max's "Payasam" episode.
@@speurtighearnamacterik8230 You bet! The Tastorian community seems to be all about sharing! :)
Thanks for the comment. I have something in my mind. When you say Fermentis Safale s-04 dry ale yeast package, is it a 11.5 grams package?
@@aliyaegearslan5816 11.5 grams; that's correct. Good luck!
Awesome video👍 funny that you mention AC Valhalla as this game inspired me to start making my own mead. I haven't fully started yet but I do have an experimental bottle going in my basement right now. I did buy a couple bull horns too after playing Valhalla 😂
Playing Valhalla again just now after a long time (system was stolen, taken care of) I’m actually a blacksmith and I started after I had played for the first time since my younger brother was gifted a forge and didn’t really use it, don’t have a quench tank yet though so I can’t harden sharpen and finish anything yet, but I too have started a bottle myself, figured if I’m already waiting you know? Lol
While I've still not played Valhalla, I was inspired to make mead after getting a weirdly good deal on a gallon of honey 🤣 It is going SUPER good and already started on a second batch.
Beowulf is one of my favorites.
Thanks for the Meade making
"And serve it forth" -- common final phrase of many a medieval recipe, and would make a great T-shirt or apron slogan.
Sometimes I serve it fifth
laughing at yourself about the "tiny bubbles" joke is genuinely the most endearing thing I've seen on youtube all week, please never stop being this candid and charming
Yes! So cute!
I completely agree. I stumbled upon it and he's awesome
I would second that. He's genuine af, and needs to hold onto that and keep being himself. I'd toast his health for that little bit alone!
I loved it too
Tiny bubbles~
Hearing the name Kvasir reminded me of a drink called Kvass, which is another fermented drink of rye or pumpernickel bread and honey, like a bread mead or honey beer. loved the history lesson!
it’s the same word root! Kvasir likely got his name from the word that meant “to ferment/to make sour”. It still remains in Russian and other Slavic languages.
thank you for being so respectful about the history behind it.
really its very much appreciated :)
"These two jerk dwarves weren't done with their killing spree" - I had to double check I wasn't watching a D&D video, lol!
Since D&D was inspired by Northern European mythos, you weren't really wrong.
Get a copy of the Edda and read it. It's the OG fantasy fiction.
Such a nerd, so quirky
@@hin_hale and don't be surprised if you recognize some of the names of the dwarves when they are named
@Theron Mendrije Nah nah, what you're supposed to say is "huh?"
Sounds like a golden name for a bar...
"Where are we going?"
"To the Leaky Ale Horn!"
It sounds like a ripoff of that bar in harry potter.
"Drinks so smooth you'll swear your horn must be leaking!"
😆
Highly recommend Valhalla in York, Old England. They serve amazing mead in horns there, everything is viking there
OMG Max needs to call his new bar the Leaky Ale Horn.
I stumbled across your video after listening to a podcast on “Drinking in the Viking Age and the Sagas of the Icelanders” by the Saga Thing podcast. And what a wonderful thing it was. The two complimented each other wonderfully. I look forward to more of your content! Cheers!
I’m so glad I found this video! This was the first video of yours that I watched. I absolutely love mead and now I love your channel too! Love food. Love history. What’s not to like about food history? 😁
For Lengh, the closest term I can find is gelingen from Middle Dutch (fairly close to Middle English) which means to be pleasing or satisfying. If you take this definition then it would just mean to heat the water until you're happy with it.
Another possibility is “lenz” in German which is archaic and means spring/ blooming, so it could mean as soon as it begins to boil
@@maxhammer305 Lenz really doesnt make any sense in this case
@@Lord__Gold makes more sense than "being happy with it."
My guess is that it means very warm, or simmering. In one definition it referred to a lengh potato to be stuffed, so guessing it would be a bit more than hot enough to serve. Bottom line, bringing the water to a simmer, which from the video looks like you did a bit more than, but at least _not_ a full boil, but verging on it.
The root of gelingen (to advance, to get on) is lengh which means 'to spring.'
Should definitely at least be simmering.
I really like how Max changes the pokemon in the background according to the recipe he's doing
Omg, Just going through some of your earlier videos and you are hilarious and have so much knowledge in history! I love the Viking era as well, that show the Vikings was phenomenal. You always make me laugh, I thoroughly enjoy your videos. For the record. I’m also pretty chatty after I’ve had a little alcohol lol can’t wait to check out the rest of your videos!! Also, love the beedrill
❤️
Would love some tasting history themed kitchen gear
After replaying Skyrim and now putting in 70 hours into Valhalla, I've been interested in making mead. I just happen to stumble upon your video! Skål
I need to find some nord mead style bottles
I'd suggest Valheim on Steam now..
Skål!
Same!
Been at it for a while now, and it just gets more fun over time. I highly recommend you get a mead starter kit and watch a couple how-to videos on YT. It's much easier than you might think and it's a blast.
Little fun fact since you mentioned mead in England, Greece and China:
Mead is one of the words that we can trace back the farthest. It’s no coincidence that bee is called Melissa in Greek. The “Meli” part (meaning honey) is where Germanic languages got the word mead/mede/met, etc from. The French and Russian words for honey are also directly related to this. But what makes it special is that the word goes back so far that it even shares a common ancestor with modern Chinese, where 蜜 mì means honey. One of very few words where common ancestry or direct relation between European languages and Chinese can be proven. It just shows how important honey and mead must have been to people and how long humans have been consuming it.
cool!
That's not actually because it goes so far back - that word is a loan from Tocharian into Chinese, probably from around the 600s. (It further got loaned into Japanese, where it's 'mitsu'.)
@@user-xq8lc9dl3u Yes, but even the Tocharian words that a lot of European words are derived from are very rarely related to modern Chinese words.
@@user-xq8lc9dl3u that’s right
Not true, med and meli are not the same. You judge how much some word is old in use in language by how many variations it has in language in history, that is common fact in etimology. Med,mead in slavic languages has a lot of variations. Even animal bear in ANY slavic language is med-jed [honey-eater] or med-ved[honey-see]. In sanskrt it is medhu not meli and slavic language has direct line to sanskrt. Other languages that have closer line to sanskrt like lithuanian also use med, not greek meli. Word med is older than meli.
I love all these old times and anciente recipes, but I truly enjoy the history behind them, and all those poems written back then about how delicious those foods were. 😍😍❤
Been a fan for a while now but just found this video. KUDOS TO YOU GOOD SIR!!
This has to be one of your best. I literally LOLd many times watching it.
"The Leaky Alehorn" sounds like a tavern in a fantasy game.
I like it!
lemme just... *yoink* that name for some tavern in my novel.
Also what happens to your junk if you drink too much ale.
"How did you come by the name?"
"You know, that obvious drinking lie? ...I'm not drinking THAT MUCH, my horn is just a bit leaky."
Put that on a shirt, it would be a awesome merch
The idea of getting a months worth of honey mead as a wedding gift sounds like something I’d like to reinstate
Preaching to the choir. :-D
Combined with the tradition of giving new wives kittens, I think we're onto something
@@KSUTAU mead AND kitties? Sign me up
Can we do a second honeymoon??
All the mead for a month I think I will get divorced and remarried every month. Also apron with ale horns on it with the words Honey for Life.
Thanks for the Beowulf shout out. I have read many translations and always enjoy it. It is something more people should give a go. When I was caught reading it over lunch at work, I was met with not but shock as to why I would do such a thing.
Just discovered this channel and already a huge fan! The Roman hamburger...that one hit home! Hmmmm, yummy...Could a series on Seventies food be an option too? Keep the good stuff comming :)
Did I just leave my online class to watch medieval mead? Yes, I did, and I'm proud of it.
And that’s okay
Plot twist
He's the teacher
Modern Mead: Months in the basement, specific measurements to maximize efficiency and chemical balance of the water, sterilize everything, giant list of things to never do.
Medieval Mead: Yeah toss it together and give it a week.
Modern mead: Chill and serve this delicate concoction in your finest crystal.
Medieval mead: FILL THE COMMUNAL MEAD TANK AND DUNK YOUR HORNS
You should see the old beer recipes haha, probably the reason Germany set it in law that beer can only be made with certain minimalist ingredients to get rid of all the weird variants knocking around using bark, grass clippings or herbs instead of hops.
Fun fact: You wanna use wine yeast to make your mead (easily ordered online) - if you use regular baking yeast the result will give you a hangover from hell. Wine yeast is also more resistant to alcohol, so you'll have mead with moor oomph _and_ less pain!
Depends on where you want to go with it as to best yeast I like a bread yeast for mead because of the lower tolerance, usually around 9% honey will go very dry with wine yeast the lower tolerance leaves more sweetness.
@@TheSleepyowlet If you go with the recipe in the video, beer yeast would be closest. But I do agree with avoiding baking yeast, some sort of brewing yeast is the way to go.
This was such a good video. Very easy to digest and interesting. As a person who likes heaps of history on a whim, this was very enjoyable 😊
Thanks for the lesson! Started my first batch with blue berries but I might try this recipe for fun
The reason for boiling is the honey was full of wax, casings, dead bees etc. Boiling makes all this float to the top :)
Why? You drain the honey when it comes off the comb... that seems so unlikely
@@facelessdrone That's right, but don't forget lots of honey, particularly multi-floral types, doesn't 'drain' - it's too viscous and needs to be expressed. Also in medieval times they didn't have hives as we understand them, but rope or wicker constructions called skeps. As there was no way to exclude the queen there was often brood, old comb, propolis etc. mixed in with the honey. The cleanest honey would be stored, the 'stickies' and other bits were boiled to separate the rubbish and made into mead :)
@@facelessdrone bee boxes weren’t invented until 1851. Before that they used skeps. Which are now illegal cause the bees would often die since there is no way to inspect them.
@@poisontoad8007 Haven't heard some of that jargon since my cousins worked for Ambrosia Honey. Honey farms are awe-inspiring.
He literally said that in the video...
“I wonder if Vilod is still making the mead with juniper berry mixed in."
"This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here."
“I’d be a lot warmer and a lot happier with a belly full of mead” -Whiterun guard
"...mead, mead, mead... kill him to get some beer every now and then? Stupid bees and their stupid honey...
Mead something?
Let me guess... someone stole your sweetroll...
This recipe is great. It's very simple and very quick to make. The most labor intensive part of this dish is grating the parmesan. When warm it's legit creamy. The black pepper on top is the crown topping. It really is easy and instantly incredible. Thanks for this episode. Awesome.
Idea: How about drinking utensils and stone plaques with your name/ show title on it? I.e. a drinking horn, or a drinking jug.
Also...plate und cutlery out of different time eras of course.
Great content and keep it up!
Tasting History great love love it thank goodness I have been so good while watching the movie and I hope you have a great day thank you for everything. PS: the mead just wanna be seen in the clear glass mug instead of… for golden color
I love how they say "cast". Makes it sound like they're throwing these ingredients in some of fancy fashion.
The wording of old recipes is always fantastic.
They know they're creating food magic! ;)
The mead you intend to keep for a few months will keep fermenting, Max. There''s still plenty of yeast which did not sediment on the bottom of the bottle/jar and is suspended in the liquid. The pressure may shatter your bottle, so keep it corked with a bubbler for at least a few weeks.
100% this. If you've got it in the growler with a lid on rather than an airlock, proceed with eye protection and lots of caution
Yup, I came charging in here to make the same warning. Ya don't want a bottle bomb. If you want it carbonated though, a few more days in the sealed growler will do the job!
I’m leaving the airlock on.
Good! I did the exact same thing with my first batch and luckily I'm inpatient. I went to open the growler for a taste after a couple weeks and im glad I didn't wait... mead shot out of the growler like a coke and mentos experiment. Best of luck, mead making is a fun hobby. I just "burped" the growler about once a week after that and it ended up with the same mouthfeel as champaign.
@@TastingHistory So glad to hear that. I am another who came to issue the glass bomb warning. In my mead brewing days I would keep the stuff under an airlock (keep checking that the water hasn't evaporated) until enough yeast had settled that I could read a newspaper through the carboy. That usually took months, if I recall correctly.
I love this aspect of history, I find it fascinating how people in the past did so many different things with such limited tools and knowledge.
I am not a huge drinker, but I love the history lesson and bees are amazing!
Omg, Just going through some of your earlier videos and you are hilarious and have so much knowledge in history! I love the Viking era as well, that show the Vikings was phenomenal. You always make me laugh, I thoroughly enjoy your videos. For the record. I’m also pretty chatty after I’ve had a little alcohol lol can’t wait to check out the rest of your videos!! Also, love the beedrill
️
Good sir. I would LOVE to see some Pliny the Elder merch. Anything that has some flair to it.😊 or a Tasting history shirt that says "Why go with 'or' when 'and' is on the table?"
Excellent 😁
Maybe something about drunk serpents
Yeah! And the one time he said "we do not use less butter in this house" I think? I need that too!
Tasting History Oven Mitts would be an amazing flex
I’ll need to find someone to make those. Good idea!
Yaaaaasss. Seconded!
@@TastingHistory I wish I could take credit for it, but I just saw some random commenter say it and I concurred 🥺 they'd be straight drippy if you got some tasteful old english font, maybe put a lil chalice from which we could taste this history?
For the record, different honeys have different amounts of scum when boiled. A clover honey likely has the least while wildflower honey has quite a bit; however, I use the latter for brewing mead.
Also, the Seamus Heaney translation of Beowulf (referenced in the description above) is my favorite as he puts it into poetic verse (instead of the typical prose versions) - there are also audio recordings of him reading in both Old English and Modern English - both are a delight to the ear.
Finally, the Jereme Zimmerman text (also referenced above) is my go-to recipe book - check out the all organic recipe (only recipe I found that does not contain a list of chemical additives).
"Lengh" is probably the same as for brewing ale. When the water has cooled enough so you see your reflection looking from above, the temperature is right.
It could also be a scholastic philosophy term. This was the 13th century, the proto or medieval renaissance as some call it. It sounds like vocabulary similar to metaphysics, and these monks would be familiar with extension or length as a form of matter. Just a guess, though.
@@BoomerLover420 Like "The plateaus of Leng"?
The boiling was mostly about getting out that honey scum, because when you use the comb honey there is a LOT of wax, bee mess and stuff that comes off which we just don't get with modern honey extraction methods.
U can use common sense and context clues to figure out that it literally says it on the recipe lmao
I never boil my honey must, although I do prefer to heat and skim. Even with modern honey from the store, this step removes some of the bitter proteins and albumen. The result is a better tasting mead. 30 minutes of skimming is usually enough. Added benefit- if you want to add fruit you can do so without sulfates if you add to hot must, the temperature will kill the wild yeast and bacteria without chemicals.
Yeah, boiling is unnecessary. It strips off oxygen that the yeast will need and removes tasty floral notes. Just gently warm it up enough over low to medium-low heat to liquify the honey and skim-off the foam.
“Lengh” is probably a spelling of the Old English word “lungre”, which meant quickly. Related to Sanskrit “langh”, meaning “to spring”. So maybe a rolling/quick/intense boil?
This anecdotally sounds true. When I make mead, I can't start skimming until that boil starts... and skimming was the next step in the old recipe he used.
Its a variant if lencg, long. Until the water has been heated for a long time - boiling
Just tried the recipe for mead in the tasting history cookbook, it's very good and I'm so happy I tried
I love the stories you manage to dredge up!
I'd love aprons and oven mitts or towels with period quotes or recipies!
Good idea on the period recipes!
To add to this idea, maybe fancy posters of said recipes or common unit conversions in cooking?
Biggest mistake I ever made: "meads like beer right?“ and proceeding to drink it like it was. My liver disagreed loudly.
Thanks, you just made my day :D:D:D:D
Sounds like mead is closer to barley wine than beer
first time i made cider i didn't have the tools to test alcohol content. it tasted like 5-7%, it was actually closer to 12%. oh god the hangover...
@@spiritussancto in theory all you need is a scale for measuring the alcohol content. Write down the weight of your empty and filled fermentation vessel and when fermentation is over, note the weight again. It should be lighter, since CO2 escaped. The difference in weight equals the alcohol in grams per fermentation vessel. Divide that by the liters and you got grams/Liter. That times 0,1267 and you got the %abv.
This method isn't that exact, but it's working without tools and has only about 1 to 3% inaccuracy
Its made like wine but taste like beer
The song "Mjød" by Norwegian metal band Kvelertak is about this whole story with the giant and his mead.
"Odin gav oss Suttung sitt mjød
Det magiske mjød
Vårt daglige brød"
Which translates to
"Odin gave us Suttung's mead
The magical mead
Our daily bread"
Sutting (A jotun to be exact) is the name of the giant if anyone was wondering!
Thor: “Can I come in….? I have mead”
Definitely need some "Serve it forth" merch in old fashioned handwriting
Futhark isn't too hard to look up.
I've been making mead for years. Some notes from experience: I ferment for one week, then rack in the refrigerator for one week. It'll be cloudy but not too yeasty, and fermented mostly dry; add raisins and orange wedges to the fermenting liquid as this will add natural sugars and nutrients for the yeast, without much impact on flavor, besides notes. This will jam your gas trap though (
orange pulp will be forced inside it from the CO2), so use a balloon or condom with a pinhole in the far end as a gas exchanger instead (don't use for other purposes, obviously); pass through a coffee filter, even after racking, before putting it in its final bottle. Happy Meadmaking.
I am never, ever going to make this, but yet I still found these tips really interesting to read!
Thanks, I meaded that.
what ratio of yeast to honey solution do you use, and what sort?
@@JemuzuDatsWho Both of those things don't matter very much. Any of the recipes here on TH-cam will work. I do generally get cheap honey though, b/c I can't be bothered to spend "good honey" money on something I drink in such an unrefined state. If you're racking for months though, go and splurge.
My vote for a pinned comment
I am in love with you simply because i searched making mead, your video came up, and in less then 5 minutes you say your putting the entire translation on making mead from the Tractatus Manuscript in the description, thank you my good man Edit: also a Beedrill!!!
I enjoy your videos. I quite regularly make mead. I have made cider mead, blueberry mead, raspberry mead this all really quite excellent. All all of them require different growth times but they're all quite wonderful. Thank you
The hallucinations caused with the Indian type was probably due to a type of honey that is collected in that area of the world that actually has a chemical composition that does cause hallucinations. Watched a cool documentary on it like 4 years ago
Any chance you remember the name of that documentary?
I believe the honey is collected in Tibet and then passes through India , I believe the bees collect pollen from hallucinogenic plants resulting in trippy honey , you can actually order it online .
Hallucinogenic honey.
Yeah, it exists lol
@@markcharles1041 pollen must have taken from a nearby poppy farm :D
It exists but IIRC it is pretty toxic
That “tiny bubbles~” bit shouldn’t have cracked me up the way it did LMAO
Gotta pay that I cracked up too 🤣
It was great lol
I made mead for a few years and used Lalvin EC-1118, orange blossom honey. It would get a impressive alcohol content. It honestly tasted best when drank before the yeast had finished fermenting.
Love history, love cooking and cooking adjacent, idk how I found you but omg 5 minutes in and I just HAD to subscribe~ Thank you for existing as you are lol. You're adorable and hilarious and made one heck of a bad day so much better~
Thank you! Hope tomorrow is a better day.
MERCH: Classic cook accouterments with phrases in ancient languages, like "Kiss the Cook" in Latin, et cetra
thumbs up for the pun (intentional or unintentional IDGAF) "mead-iocre poetry" 16:29 i lol'd
I could have sworn he also said "If Mead Be" instead of If Need Be, earlier.
I love your videos. I just found this channel again after a year. As a Norse pagan I love mead and cooking hoping to learn more
Thank you for your videos! I love history and you bring a bit of fun to it! 😊