The Earl of Denbigh's Metheglin

Ingredients

• Take twenty Gallons of Spring-water
• a pound and a half of Ginger
• six small handfuls of Rosemary
• the whites of twenty Eggs
• a spoonful of flower

Method

1. 1

   Boil the water for 15 minutes, then cool.

2. 2

   Add honey until it can bear an egg.

3. 3

   Boil with rosemary and ginger, then clarify with beaten egg whites.

4. 4

   After cooling, add yeast and flour, then let it ferment for 3 weeks to a month before bottling.

Nutrition per serving

As published

This recipe was extracted from The closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight opened (1910) by Sir Kenelm Digby, page 63. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

THE EARL OF DENBIGH'S METHEGLIN Take twenty Gallons of Spring-water ; boil it a quarter of an hour, and let it stand, until it be all most cold ; then beat in so much honey, as will make it so strong as to bear an Egg, so that on the Top, you may see the breadth of a hasel-nut swimming above ; The next day boil it up with six small hand- fuls of Rosemary ; a pound and a half of Ginger, being scraped and bruised ; then take the whites of twenty Eggs shells and all ; beat them very well, and put them in to clarifie it ; skim it very clean, then take it offthe fire and strain: But put the Rose- mary and Ginger in again : then let it remain till it be all most cold : then Tun it up, and take some New-ale-yest ; the whites of two Eggs, a spoonful of flower, and beat them well together, and put them into the barrel ; when it hath wrought very well, stop it very close for three weeks or a month : then bottle it, and a week after you may drink it. TO MAKE MEATH Take to every Gallon of water, a quart of honey, and set it over a clear fire, and when it is ready to boil, skim it very clear. Then take two handfulls of Sweet-marjoram, as much Rose-mary, and as much Baulm : and two handful of Fennel-roots, as much of Parsley-roots, and as many Esparages-roots : slice them in the middle, and take out the pith, wash and scrape them very clean, and put them with your herbs into your Liquor. Then take two Ounces of Ginger, one Ounce of Nutmegs, half an Ounce of 86 SIR KENELMS DIGBIS Mace : bruise them and put them in : and let it boil till it be so strong that it will bear an Egg : then let it cool : and being cold, put in 3 or 4 spoon fulls of New-ale yest : and so skim it well, and put it into a Runlet, and it will work like Ale : and having done working, stop it up close, as you do New-beer : and lay salt upon it. TO MAKE METHEGLIN Take four Gallons of running water, and boil it a quarter of an hour, and put it in an earthen vessel, and let it stand all night. The next day take only the water, and leave the settling at the bottom : so put the honey in a thin bag, and work it in the water, till all the honey is dissolved. Take to four Gallons of water, one Gallon of Honey : Then put in an Egg, if it be strong enough of the honey, the Egg will part of it appear on the top of the liquor : if it do not, put more honey to it, till it do. Then take out the Egg, and let the Liquor stand till next morn- ing. Then take two Ounces of Ginger, and slice it and pare it : Some Rose-mary washed and stripped from the stalk : dry it very well. The next day put the Rose-maryandGingerintothe drink, and so set it on the fire : when it is all most ready to boil, take the whites of three Eggs well beaten with the shells, and put all into the Liquor : and stir it about, and skim it well till it be clear. Be sure you skim not off the Rose-mary and Ginger : then take it off the fire, and let it run through a hair sieve : and when you have strained it, pick out the Rose-mary and Gin- ger out of the strainer, and put it into the drink, and throw away the Eggshells, and so let it stand all THE CLOSET 0PE:HJED 87 night. The next day Tun it up in a barrel : Be sure the barrel be not too big : then take a little flower and a little bran, and the white of an Egg, and beat them well together, and put them into the barrel on the top of the Metheglin, after it is tunned up, and so let it stand till it hath done working ; then stop it up as close as is possible : and so let it stand six or seven weeks : then draw it out and bottle it. You must tye down the Corks, and set the bottles in sand five or six weeks, and then drink it. ANOTHER MEATH Take twenty Gallons of fair Spring-water. Boil it a quarter of an hour, then let it stand till the next day. Then beat into it so much honey, as will make it so strong as to bear an Egg the breadth of a two pence above the water. The next day boil it up with six small handfuUs of Rosemary

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.