To Make Metheglin

Ingredients

• eight Gallons of water
• sixteen pounds of very good honey
• two large Nutmegs

Method

1. 1

   Set water over a clear fire, and when warm, stir in honey.

2. 2

   Skim off the scum, add nutmegs, and boil for at least an hour.

3. 3

   Remove from heat, add malt, and stir until cool.

4. 4

   Strain into a tub, add ale yeast, and let it work.

Nutrition per serving

As published

This recipe was extracted from The closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight opened (1910) by Sir Kenelm Digby, page 61. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

TO MAKE METHEGLIN Take four Gallons of water, two quarts of Honey, two ounces of Ginger, one ounce of Nutmegs, a good handful of Rose-mary tops, and as much of Bay-leaves, two ounces of dried Orange-peel. Boil all these till it be so strong as will bear an Egg, and not sink ; when it is milk warm, work it up with barm, during twenty four hours, and then barrel it up. And after three months you may bottle it up at your pleasure. As you desire a greater quantity of the drink. THE CLOSET OPEV^D you must augment the ingredients, according to the proportions above recited. TO MAKE METHEGLIN Take four Gallons of water and one of Honey ; boil and skim it : then put into it, Liverwort, Harts- tongue, Wild-carrot, and Yarrow, a little Rose- mary and Bays, one Parsly-root,and a Fennel-root ; let them boil an hour altogether. You may, if you please, hang a little bag of spice in it. When it is cold,put a little barm to it,and let itwork like Beer. The roots must be scraped, and the Pith taken out. MEATH FROM THE MUSCOVIAN AM- BASSADOUR'S STEWARD Take three times as much water as honey ; then let the tubs, that the honey must be wrought in, be cleansed very clean with scalding water, so that it may not prove sowre ; also when you mix them to- gether, take half-warm-water, and half cold, and squeese them well together ; Afterwards when you think the honey is well melted, then let it run through a sieve ; and see your kettle of Copper or Iron (but Copper is better than Iron) be very clean ; then put in your spice,as. Nutmegs, Ginger, Cloves, Cardamome, Anisseeds, Orange peel ; put these in according to the quantity you make, and let them all be bruised, except the Orange peel, which leave whole. The Meath must boil an hour by the Clock ; after put it into Tubs to cool, and when it is cold, take three or four slices of White-bread, tost them very hard, and spread very good yest on both sides of the tosts ; then put them into the Tubs. If it be warm weather, let the Tubs be uncovered ; but if it 82 SIR KENELMS DIGBIS be cold, cover them. This being done, you will find it worked enough by the black that cometh up by thesides of the Tubs ; then take a sieve and take off the yest and bread. Afterwards draw it off at a tap in the Tub into the cask you intend to keep it in ; then take a quantity of spiceas before, well-bruised, and put it into a bag, and make it fast at the bung, withastring,and if itbeginstowork,afterit is in the cask, be sure to give it vent, or else you will loose all. TO MAKE MEATH To every quart of honey put four quarts of Spring- water ; temper the honey in the water, being a little warmed ; then put it on the fire again, with Fennel, Rose-mary, Thyme, Agrimony, Parsley or the like. Let them boil half an hour, and upwards ; and as it boileth, scum the froth ; Then take it off, and strain it, and let it cool as you do your wort. Then put a little barm into it, then take off the froath again, and stir it well together. Then take two quarts of Ale, boiled with Cloves. Mace, Cinnamon, Ginger and Liquorice ; and put it to the Meath and Tun it up. A RECEIPT TO MAKE WHITE MEATH Take Rose-mary, Thyme, Sweet-bryar, Peny-royal, Bays, Water-cresses, Agrimony, Marsh-mallow- leaves and flowers. Liver-wort, Maiden-hair, Be- tony. Eye-bright, Scabious, the bark of an Ash-tree, young Eringo- roots. Wild- Angelica, Ribwort, Sinacle, Roman -worm -wood. Tamarisk, Mother- thyme, Saxafrage, Philipendula, of each of these herbs a like proportion ; orof as manyas you please to put in. You must put in all but four handfuls of herbs, which you must steep a night and a day, in a THE CLOSET OPEJ\(ED 83 little bowl of water, being close covered. The next day take another fresh quantity of water, and boil the same herbs in it, till the colour be very high ; then take another quantity of water, and boil the same herbs in it, untill it look green ; and so let them boil three or four times in several waters, as long as the Liquor looketh anything green. Then let it stand with these herbs in it a day and a night. Remember the last water you boil it in, to this pro- portion of herbs, must be eighteen Gallons. And when ithath stood a day andanight with these herbs in it after the last boiling, then strain the Liquor from the herbs ; and put as much of the finest and best honey into the Liquor, as will bear an Egg ; you must work the honey and liquor together a whole day, until the honey be consumed ; then let it stand one whole night ; then let it be well laboured again, and set it a clearing ; and so boil it again with the whites of six New-laid-eggs with the shells ; skim it very clean ; and let it stand a day a cooling ; then put it into a barrel, and take Cloves, Mace, Cinna- mon and Nutmegsas much aswill please your taste, andbeatthemalltogether,and put them ina Linnen bag, and hang itwith athread into the barrel. Then take the whites of two or three New-laid- eggs, a spoonful of barm, a spoonful of Wheat-flower, and beat them all together, and put it into your Liquor in the barrel, and let it work before you stop it; then afterwards stop it well, and set itinacold place, and when it hath been settled some sixweeks : draw it into bottles, and stop it very close, and drink not of it in a month after. 84 SIR KENELMS DIGBIS TO MAKE METHEGLIN Take eight Gallons of water, set it over a clear fire in a Kettle ; and when it is warm, put it to sixteen pounds of very good honey,and stir it well together; take off the scum, and put two large Nutmegs

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