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Mead Lovers Digest #0335
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #335, 7 August 1994
From: mead-lovers-request@eklektix.com
Mead Lover's Digest #335 7 August 1994
Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming
Dick Dunn, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Re: Toxicology Questions (Joyce Miller)
Re: Kenelme Digbie lives! (Joyce Miller)
Digby's Closet Opened (Jacob Galley)
Mead recipes (WJMORR@ARK.SHIP.EDU)
The Coyote Lives! :) (COYOTE)
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------------------------------
Subject: Re: Toxicology Questions
From: jmiller@genome.wi.mit.edu (Joyce Miller)
Date: Thu, 4 Aug 1994 11:14:36 -0400
>Are the pits, or the seeds of necterines, peaches, etc. toxic?
>Or is this just a childhood rumor?
Um, John, they *are* poisonous. They contain cyanide. All of those
related fruits have poisonous pits; cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines.
Remember Chad Green, the little boy with leukemia whose parents didn't want
him to have chemotherapy, so they took him to Mexico for quack treatments
of "laetrile" (an apricot pit extract).
Now, a person can certainly ingest a certain amount and stay healthy
(almond nuts are also in the plum family), but I'm not sure where you would
get information on *how much* to use. Err, a poison control center?
(Don't give you name).
-- Joyce
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Kenelme Digbie lives!
From: jmiller@genome.wi.mit.edu (Joyce Miller)
Date: Thu, 4 Aug 1994 13:12:01 -0400
Dick Dunn writes:
>I've been working on transcribing the 3rd edition. I've also been working
>on how to maintain the typographic character--the "long s" is just the
>beginning of those issues.
My current plan is to type it in in MS Word, and maintain the "f" special
character. That way, I can convert to ASCII quickly by doing a global
search-and-destroy on the special character.
I also intend to try to maintain the "feel" by doing hard carriage returns
at the end of the lines (I'm not sure how feasible this is), and
*definitely* maintaining the spelling variations (which will probably be
fairly difficult -- who ever proofreads to *maintain* errors?!). (Factoid:
the spelling of individual words was not standardized until sometime in the
(early?) 1800's. Before then, as long as it was spelled so that the reader
could pronounce it, it was ok).
>Are there other folks beside Joyce and myself who have also got copies of
>some edition of Digby and who have contemplated (or begun) some similar
>transcription effort? Even if people want to go their separate ways
>anyway, it would be nice for all of us to know what's going on.
It would be interesting to compare the 3 editions, and see what the changes
are. But I think that project is a ways off. First, we have to type it
all in, then we have to do a bit of annotating for the average modern
reader (e.g., just what are "gilly-flowers", anyway? And how many gallons
are in a hogshead?).
>> When we're done, we'd like to put the whole thing in a web/ftp site
>> somewhere...
>
>The difficulty I see with web/ftp lies in reducing the info to something
>most folks can view or print, without losing all feeling of the typography
>and layout. Clearly that's of no interest whatever to some folks, but an
>important characteristic to others.
We have a scanner here. I might try scanning in the title page (it's the
obvious choice for a front page for WWW display), and few sample pages, so
people can get a bit of the feel of it, but I suspect that 300+ pages is
going to be too much for general web-perusal. Also, the resolution of the
images I've been seeing on the Web leaves much to be desired (it's very
difficult to read the text in the images at the Electronic Beowulf and the
Book of Kells sites).
I suspect that the finished ASCII-text version will show up at either the
Mead Page and/or one of the many SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) web
sites that have been popping up recently.
-- Joyce
------------------------------
Subject: Digby's Closet Opened
From: Jacob Galley <gal2@midway.uchicago.edu>
Date: Thu, 4 Aug 94 13:19:12 CDT
I have seen a reprint of Digby from about 1910. If I remember
correctly, it also included a glossary of the herbs, spices and other
ingredients that he uses.
My first metheglin was an attempt at his Mead of My Lady Wildebanke
(or something like that). I had to improvise on a lot of the spices.
Early on, it was much too clovy and bitter (from the borage), but
after three years, it tastes like a pretty good vermouth. I think
that the recipe is included in some form in the Cat's Meow.
In that book by Gayre and reprinted by Papazian on the history of
mead, he says that Digby is an excellent resource for metheglins of
the 1600s. But this was the beginning of the end of the mead
tradition. This is a period when spiced wines and desert wines were
fashionable, and straight meads were already nearly forgotten. (My
memory of this isn't too good---forgive me for being vague.)
Does anyone know if there are any earlier mead cookbooks out there?
I'll check Gayre's bibliography and get back tomorrow.
Jake.
Big Brother is you, watching. <-- Mark Crispin Miller
One of the Internet's pointed ironies is that boundless
communication creates groups of stunning narrowness. <-- The Economist
------------------------------
Subject: Mead recipes
From: WJMORR@ARK.SHIP.EDU
Date: 04 Aug 1994 15:14:31 -0400 (EDT)
Hi,
I've been making wine from my own Seyval grapes for about ten years.
Because of difficulties in growing the grapes, I tore out the whole vinyard.
The wine was good most years. I'm also a beekeeper, but have never tried
making mead. The only authoritative source of recipes that I have is Roger
Morse's book. I have recipes from foreign cookbooks, but they don't seem
right from a winemaker's point of view. How can I get hold of some foolproof
recipes? I would appreciate some help. Thanks.
Bill Morrison
------------------------------
Subject: The Coyote Lives! :)
From: COYOTE <SLK6P@cc.usu.edu>
Date: Fri, 05 Aug 1994 09:28:11 -0600 (MDT)
Greetings fellow meaders.
Just catching up a little. Been busy with the new household and
marriage/married life et al. Just need to squeeze in a bit more
brewing time!
I've been kinda outa touch so: Was the Bees Lees or Knees or whatever
the title ended up being ever published? Joyce?
If it was I missed it :( Any one kind enuf to drop me a copy?! pees!
I started serving that "saved" mead I wrote about once.
Brewed long time ago with hops. Very bitter. Kegged with new honey.
(transferred from bottles to keg fairly effectively w/o oxidation)
I just had to remember to keep venting that puppy! It went and went.
Finally settled to a nice carbonation. Much cloudier than ever before,
but achieved a nice balance of sweet to bitter that I find to be quite
an improvement.
\
I still won't ever use hops in a mead again. (well, maybe a little
fresh homegrown cascade for finishing....)
BUT: I have a thriving herb garden I am building on forever. Have MANY
herbs represented, and a few other types of things discovered in nieghbors
yards that I'm welcome to. I now have ready access to such things as
myrtle and woodruff. They will be tried! (perhaps just 1 gallon batches).
SO: Dick- did you ever compile that herb list onto electronic format?
I'd love to have a look at it. I figure anything I like the taste or
smell of I'd be willing to try. I'll probably avoid such things as
Rue and Pennyroyal as their "qualities" are somewhat suspect.
Wouldn't want to poison myself or others. (anymore than I already do!)
Some of my thoughts are: basil, oregano (italien), savory, thyme (I've
got LOTS of time- my wife likes to say....english, lemon, silver/golden edge
etc) I dunno if sage would be much fun, but the pinapple sage...
or the cinnamon basil- now that's a taster. Mint...the list goes on.
Maybe a side-by-side of 1 galloners each with a tea.
MORAT: Am down to the very last bottle of Mulberry mead. After a year it
is even more delicious than ....well...a year ago. Nice tannin/fruity/
bubbly(gently so). Not a whole lot of kick, but that's fine. It tastes
full.
PLUMS: I have discovered that in addition to apple and pear trees we have
plum bushes. I forget the variety (Elaine knows...she's my wife....)
but they are just starting to ripen up. So.....not being into jam....
guess what I plan for them??????? BINGO!
I'll check some of my recipe books, but if anyone has a tried and true effort
jus' lemme know! I figure I'll have quite a number of pounds of em.
GRAPES: I have successfully transfered the grapes the previous owners
thought were dead (funny what watering can do for a plant!) to the back
of the yard (by the hops) out from the dog pen. They are about hip high now.
A bit of transfer shock, but they've survived. I am told they are a red
grape that tastes like a white grape. Not a clue as to their true identity!
But hey....I'm sure they'll ferment if they ever get around to producing.
Might not happen this year.
BUT: I plan to plant two more mounds.
ANYONE have suggestions for a good grape variety, and source for starts???
I'm in northern Utahahahahaha (but don't tell anyone I brew) and would like
something good for eating and fermenting. Seedless, white and/or red.
Glad you've all been so busilly at the chit-chat.
Only sorry not to have been able to keep up these past few months.
Who knows what the future brings!!!
Hasta John (The Coyote) Wyllie SLK6P@cc.usu.edu
------------------------------
End of Mead Lover's Digest #335
