An Old Welsh Recipe for Metheglin Mead
A centuries-old recipe to make the medicinal mead, metheglin.
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From Glimpses of Welsh Life and Character by Marie Trevelyan, 1893.
Here is the old Welsh recipe for making metheglin, as it was made two centuries ago.
"Take all sorts of Herbes that are good and wholesome, as Balme; Mint, Fennell, Rosemary, Angelica, Wild Tyme, Isop, Burnet, Egrimonie, and such other as you think fit; some field herbes, but you must not put in too many, especially Rosemary, or any strong Herbe; lesse than a handfull will serve of every sort.
You must boyle your Herbes and straine them, and let the Liquor stand till tomorrow, and settle them. Then take off the clearest Liquor into two gallons and a halfe to one gallon and a half of honey. Let it boyle an hour, and in the boyling skin (skim) it very cleane, and set it a cooling as you do Beer. And put into the bottom of the Tub a little and a little as they doe Beer, keeping back the thick settling that lieth in the bottome of the Vessel that it is cooled in, and when it is all put together, cover it with a Cloath, and let it work very neere three days, and when you mean to put it up, skin off all the Barme cleane, put it up into the Vessel, but you must not stop your Vessel very close in three or foure dayes, but let it have all the Vent, for it will work, but you must look to it very often, and have a peg in the top to give it vent when you heare it making a noise, as it will do, or it will break the Vessel.
Sometimes I make a bag, and put in a good store of ginger sliced, some Cloves and Cinnamon, and boyle it in, and other times I put it into the Barrel and never boyle it, it is both goode, but Nutmeg and Mace do not well to my taste."
Trevelyan, Marie. Glimpses of Welsh Life and Character. J. Hogg, 1893.
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