How is mead made?
Honey has been used for thousands of years, let's see what its nutritional contents are and try a homemade honey recipe. mead
Honey has been used for thousands of years throughout the world, whether as a flavoring for concoctions, food or medicine. In Spain, in the Altamira caves, cave paintings were found, dating from the end of the Ice Age (15,000 or 10,000 BC). The average world production of honey is approximately 1,200,000 tons. The main producing countries are China, Türkiye, Argentina, Ukraine, Mexico and the United States. The main importers worldwide are the European Union and the United States.
Honey has been used for thousands of years throughout the world, whether as a flavoring for concoctions, food or medicine.
There are about 320 varieties, of different floral origins. The content of honey is as follows:
—Carbohydrates: 75-80% The main sugars in honey are fructose (approx. 35-40%) and glucose (approx. 30-35%). Other sugars present are: disaccharides such as sucrose (approximately 5-10%), maltose, and the trisaccharide melecitose.
-Water: between 15-20% Proteins: Up to 0.40% (seven are incorporated by bees as enzymes for the transformation of nectar into honey and two are of plant origin).
—Mineral substances: Up to 1%: Potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, silicon, phosphorus. Trace elements: there are numerous studies that present an extensive amount of trace elements such as zinc, molybdenum, iodine, etc.
—Vitamins: Vit A, Folic Acid, Pantothenic Acid, B2, B6, B12, biotin, C, D, K, niacin and thiamine.
—Calories: 3.3 kcal/gr.
What is mead?
He mead It is known as the “drink of the gods”. Greeks, Romans, Vikings and barbarians tasted it. In America, the Mayans produced a type of mead called "balché", it was a sacred drink used in religious ceremonies and they also considered that it had medicinal properties, specifically to treat stomach infections and used as a laxative. According to Norse mythology, mead is the only food of the God Odin. Julius Caesar made mead his favorite drink.
It is obtained from the fermentation of a mixture of water, honey, yeast and spices. Its concentration varies between 10% to 15%.
Cuba was the country that consumed the least mead. Thanks to Havana Club, enjoys having the best honey cocktail in recent years: the canchánchara. Where is Havana club 7 years, there is the canchánchara cocktail. No one could have imagined that a sweet cocktail would be so successful. In 1927, there were sweet combinations, but none achieved the growth that this one has.
Ingredients:
liter and a half of water half a kilo of honey one gram of fresh organic yeast.
Preparation:
- The honey is heated to make it more fluid and any impurities are removed.
- Heat the water in a saucepan and add the honey little by little, stirring constantly with the aim of creating a homogeneous paste similar to syrup.
- Once the boiling point is reached, remove it from the heat. You can remove the foam that remains on the surface and then let it cool before adding the yeast.
- For fermentation, the water and honey mixture is poured into a glass or plastic bottle and the yeast is added.
- In order for the gases from fermentation to be eliminated, a small hose must come out of the bottle and go to another where a little water will be placed (One option is to cover both bottles with a cork and make a small hole in it to insert the tips of the hose, air cannot enter from the outside).
- Three weeks later we will have the mead, which will have to be changed containers.
As brands most recognized mead companies we mention the following:
Vanir D'Melis: made in Spain The Slovak Slim The Peruvian Cain mead amazonic Its counterpart from the Santa Rosa Farm in Peru Stakliskes: made in Lithuania
How are meads identified?
- Dry: made with a low sugar content.
- Sweet: with high percentage of sugar.
- Sparkling: with its own effervescence.
- Gasified: artificial gasification is provided.
They are also classified, according to the basis of mead preparation:
- Spices or Herbs: Metheglin.
- Grapes: Pyment.
- Apples: Cyser.
- Other Fruits: Melomiel.
- Malted Grains: Braggot.
- Chili peppers: Spicy.
- Natural: Mead or aguamiel, the latter is the one used in Cuba. Those that have high sugar content are called "Sack".