The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened Part 6

Take one part of honey, to eight parts of Rain or River-water; let it boil gently together, in a fit vessel, till a third part be wasted, skiming it very well. The sign of being boiled enough is, when a New-laid-egg swims upon it. Cleanse it afterwards by letting it run through a clean Linnen-cloth, and put it into a woodden Runlet, where there hath been wine in, and hang in it a bag with Mustard-seeds by the bung, that so you may take it out, when you please. This being done, put your Runlet into the hot Sun, especially during the Dog-days, (which is the onely time to prepare it) and your Metheglin will boil like Must; after which boiling take out your Mustard-seeds, and put your vessel well stopped into a Cellar. If you will have it the taste of wine, put to thirty measures of Hydromel, one measure of the juyce of hops, and it will begin to boil without any heat.

Then fill up your vessel, and presently after this ebullition you will have a very strong Metheglin.

TO MAKE WHITE METHEGLIN OF THE COUNTESS OF DORSET

Take Rosemary, Thyme, Sweet-bryar, Peny-royal, Bays, Water-cresses, Agrimony, Marshmallow leaves, Liver-wort, Maiden-hair, Betony, Eye-bright, Scabious, the bark of the Ash-tree, Eringo-roots, Green-wild-Angelica, Ribwort, Sanicle, Roman-worm-wood, Tamarisk, Mother-thyme, Sa.s.safras, Philipendula, of each of these herbs a like proportion; or of as many of them as you please to put in. But you must put in all but four handfuls of herbs, which you must steep one night, and one day, in a little bowl of water, being close covered; the next day take another quant.i.ty of fresh water, and boil the same herbs in it, till the colour be very high; then take another quant.i.ty of water, and boil the same herbs in it, until they look green; and so let it boil three or four times in several waters, as long as the Liquor looketh any thing green. Then let it stand with these herbs in it a day and night. Remember the last water you boil it in to this proportion of herbs, must be twelve gallons of water, and when it hath stood a day and a night, 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 make it bear an Egg. You must work and labour the honey and liquor together one whole day, until the honey be consumed. Then let it stand a whole night, and then let it be well laboured again, and let it stand again a clearing, and so boil it again a quarter of an hour, with the whites of six New-laid-eggs with the sh.e.l.ls, the yolks being taken out; so sc.u.m it very clean, and let it stand a day a cooling.

Then put it into a barrel, and take Cloves, Mace, Cinamon, and Nutmegs, as much as will please your taste, and beat them altogether; put them into a linnen bag, and hang it with a thread in the barrel. Take heed you put not too much spice in; a little will serve. Take the whites of two or three New-laid-eggs, a spoonful of barm, and a spoonful of Wheat-flower, and beat them altogether, and put it into your Liquor into the barrel, and let it work, before you stop it. Then afterwards stop it well, and close it well with clay and Salt tempered together, and let it be set in a close place; and when it hath been settled some six weeks, draw it into bottles, and stop it very close, and drink it not a month after: but it will keep well half a year, and more.

ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE WHITE METHEGLIN

Take ten Gallons of water; then take six handfuls of Sweet-bryar; as much of Sweet-marjoram; and as much of Muscovy. Three handfuls of the best Broad-thyme. Boil these together half an hour; then strain them. Then take two Gallons of English-honey, and dissolve it in this hot Liquor, and brew it well together; then set it over the fire to boil again, and skim it very clean; then take the whites of thirty Eggs wel beaten, and put them into the Liquor, and let it boil an hour; then strain it through a jelly bag, and let it stand 24 hours cooling: then put it up in a vessel. Then take six Nutmegs, six fair Races of Ginger, a quarter of an Ounce of Cloves, half an Ounce of Cinamon; bruise all these together, and put them into a Linnen-bag, with a little Pebble-stone to make it sink. Then hang it in the vessel. You may adde to it, if you please, two grains of Ambergreece, and one grain of Musk. Stop the vessel with a Cork, but not too close, for six days; then taste it: and if it taste enough of the Spice, then take out the bag; if not, let the bag hang in it, and stop it very close, and meddle with it no more. It will be ready to drink in nine or ten weeks.

A RECEIPT TO MAKE GOOD MEATH

Take as many Gallons of water, as you intend to make of Meath; and to every Gallon put a quart of honey, and let it boil till it bear an Egg. To every Gallon you allow the white of an Egg, which white you must remove and break with your hands, and put into the Kettle, before you put it over the fire.

Before it boileth, there will arise a sk.u.m, which must be taken off very clean, as it riseth. Put to every Gallon two Nutmegs sliced, and when it hath boiled enough, take it off, and set it a cooling in clean wort-vessels: And when it is as cold as wort, put in a little barm, and work it like Beer, and when it hath done working, stop it up, and let it stand two months.

ANOTHER TO MAKE MEATH

To every quart of honey allow six Wine-quarts of water; half an Ounce of Nutmegs, and the Peel of a Limon, and the meat of two or three, as you make the quant.i.ty. Boil these together, till the sc.u.m rise no more; It must stand till it be quite cold, and when you Tun it, you squeese into it the juyce of some Limons, and this will make it ripen quickly. It will be ready in less then a month.

ANOTHER RECIPE

Take twelve Gallons of water, a handful of Muscovy (which is an herb, that smelleth like Musk), a handful of Sweet-Marjoram, and as much of Sweet-bryar. Boil all these in the water, till all the strength be out.

Then take it off and strain it out, and being almost cold, sweeten it with honey very strong, more then to bear an Egg, (the meaning of this is, that when there is honey enough to bear an Egg, which will be done by one part of honey to three or four quarts of water: then you add to it a pretty deal of honey more, at least 1/4 or 1/3 of what you did put in at first to make it bear an Egg: then it is to be boiled and sc.u.mmed: when it is thus strong, you may keep it four years before you drink it. But at the end of two years you may draw it out into bottles) just above it, else it will not keep very long: for the more honey the better. Then set it over the fire till it boils, and sc.u.m it very clean. Then take it from the fire, and let it stand, till it be cold: then put it into your vessel. Take Mace, Cloves, Nutmegs, Ginger, of each a quarter of an Ounce: beat them small, and hang them in your vessel (being stopped close) in a little bag.

Note, when any Meath or Metheglin grows hard or sower with keeping too long, dissolve in it a good quant.i.ty of fresh honey, to make it pleasantly Sweet; (but boil it no more, after it hath once fermented, as it did at the first Tunning) and with that it will ferment again, and become very good and pleasant and quick.

TO MAKE METHEGLIN

Take of Rosemary three handfuls, of Winter-savory a Peck by measure, Organ and Thyme, as much, White-wort two handfuls, Blood-wort half a peck, Hyssop two handfuls, Marygolds, Borage, Fennil, of each two handfuls; Straw-berries and Violet-leaves, of each one handful; Of Harts-tongue, Liverwort a peck; Ribwort half a peck, of Eglantine with the Roots, a good quant.i.ty; Wormwood as much as you can gripe in two hands; and of Sorrel, Mead-sutt Bettony with the Roots, Blew-bottles with the Roots, the like quant.i.ty; of Eye-bright two handfuls, Wood-bind one handful. Take all these herbs, and order them so, as that the hot herbs may be mastered with the cool. Then take the small herbs, and put them into the Furnace, and lay the long herbs upon them. Then take a weight or stone of Lead, having a Ring, whereunto fasten a stick to keep down the Herbs into the furnace; then boil your water and herbs three or four hours, and as the water doth boil away, adde more. Then take the water out of the Furnace seething hot, and strain it through a Range-sieve; then put in the honey, and Mash it well together: then take your Sweet-wort, and strain it through a Range. Then try it with a New-laid-egg. It must be so strong as to bear an Egg the breadth of a groat above the Liquor: and if it doth not, then put in more honey, till it will bear the Egg. Then take the Liquor, and boil it again; and as soon as it doth boil, skim the froth very clean from it: Then set it a cooling, and when it is cold, then put it into a Kive, and put barm thereto, and let it work the s.p.a.ce of a Week; Then Tun it up: But be careful when it is Tunned, that the vessels be not stopp'd up, till it hath done hissing.

ANOTHER SORT OF METHEGLIN

Take to one part of honey, three parts of water: and put them into clean vessels, mixing them very well together, and breaking the honey with stripped arms, till it be well dissolved. Then pour out your Liquor into a large Kettle, and let it boil for two hours and a half, over a good fire, skiming it all the while very carefully as long as any sc.u.m riseth. When it is boiled enough, pour out your Liquor into clean vessels, and set it to cool for 24 hours. Afterwards put it into some Runlets, and cover the bung with a piece of Lead: have a care to fill it up always with the same boiled Liquor for three or four months and during the time of working. This Meath the older it is, the better it is. But if you will have your Meath red, then take twenty pound of black Currants, and put them into a vessel, and pour your Liquor on them. Of this honey-Liquor you cannot drink till after nine months, or a year.

MY LORD HERBERT'S MEATH

Take ten Gallons of water; and to every Gallon of water a quart of honey, a handful and a half of Rosemary, one Ounce of Mace, one Ounce and a half of Nutmegs, as much Cinamon, half an Ounce of Cloves, a quarter of a pound of Ginger sc.r.a.ped and cut in pieces. Put all these into the water, and let it boil half an hour, then take it off the fire, and let it stand, till you may see your shadow in it. Then put in the honey, and set it upon the fire again. Then take the sh.e.l.ls and whites of a dozen of Eggs, and beat them both very well together: and when it is ready to boil up, put in your Eggs, and stir it; then skim it clean, and take it off the fire, and put it into vessels to cool, as you do wort. When it is cold, set it together with some barm, as you do Beer. When it is put together leave the settlings behind in the bottom; as soon as it is white over, Tun it up in a vessel, and when it hath done working, stop it up as you do Beer. When it is three weeks old, it will be fit to bottle or drink.

ANOTHER WHITE MEATH

Take three Pound of White-honey, or the best Hampshire-honey, and dissolve it in a Gallon of water, and then boil it; and when it beginneth first to boil, put into it half a quarter of an Ounce of Ginger a little bruised; and a very little Cloves and Mace bruised, and a small quant.i.ty of Agrimony. Let all this boil together a full hour, and keep it constantly skimmed, as long as any Sc.u.m will rise upon it. Then strain it forth into some clean Kiver or other vessel, and let stand a cooling; and when it is cold, let it stand, till it be all creamed over with a blackish cream, and that it make a kind of hissing noise; then put it up into your vessel, and in two or three months time it will be fit to drink.

Look how much you intend to make, the same quant.i.ties must be allowed to every Gallon of water.

TO MAKE METHEGLIN

Take fair water, and the best honey; beat them well together, but not in a woodden vessel, for wood drinketh up the honey, put it together in a Kettle, and try it with a New-laid-egg, which will swim at top, if it be very strong; but if it bob up and sink again, it will be too weak. Boil it an hour, and put into it a bundle of herbs, what sort you like best; and a little bag of Spice, Nutmegs, Ginger, Cloves, Mace and Cinamon; and skim it well all the while it boileth: when it hath boiled an hour, take it off, and put it into earthen Pans, and so let it stand till next day. Then pour off all the clear into a good vessel, that hath had Sack in it, or White-wine. Hang the bag of Spice in it, and so let it stand very close stopp'd and well filled for a month, or longer. Then if you desire to drink it quickly, you may bottle it up. If it be strong of the honey, you may keep it a year or two. If weak, drink it in two or three months. One quart of honey, will make one Gallon of water very strong. A sprig or two of Rose-mary, Thyme and Sweet-marjoram, are the Herbs that should go into it.

TO MAKE SMALL METHEGLIN

Take to every quart of White-honey, six quarts of fair-water. Let it boil, until a third part be boiled away; skiming it as it riseth: then put into it a small quant.i.ty of Ginger largely sliced; then put it out into earthen Pans, till it be Luke-warm, and so put it up into an earthen stand, with a tap in it. Then put to it about half a Porenger-ful of the best Ale-yest, so beat it well together; Then cover it with a cloth, and it will be twelve hours before it work; and afterwards let it stand two days, and then draw it out into stone bottles, and it will be ready to drink in five or six days after. This proportion of yest (which is about six good spoonfuls) is enough for three or four Gallons of Liquor. The yest must be of good Ale, and very new. You may mingle the yest first with a little of the Luke-warm-Liquor; then beat it, till it be well incorporated, and begins to work; Then adde a little more Liquor to it, and beat that. Continue so adding the Liquor by little and little, till a good deal of it be Incorporated with the yest; then put that to all the rest of the quant.i.ty, and beat it altogether very well; then cover it close, and keep it warm for two or three days. Before you bottle it, sc.u.m away all the barm and Ginger (whereof a spoonful or two is enough for three or four Gallons) then bottle up the clear, leaving the dregs. If you will, you may Tun it into a barrel, (if you make a greater quant.i.ty) when the barm is well Incorporated with the Liquor, in the same manner as you do Beer or Ale, and so let it work in the Barrel as long as it will; then stop it up close for a few days more, that so it may clear it self well, and separate and precipitate the dregs.

Then draw the clear into bottles. This will make it less windy, but also a little less quick, though more wholesome. You may also boil a little handful of tops of Rosemary in the Liquor, which giveth it a fine taste: but all other herbs, and particularly Sweet-marjoram and Thyme, give it a Physical taste. A little Limon-peel giveth it a very fine taste. If you Tun it in a barrel, to work there, you may hang the Ginger and Limon-peel in it in a bag, till you bottle it, or till it have done working. Then you may put two or three stoned and sliced Raisins, and a lump of fine Sugar into every bottle to make it quick.

TO MAKE METHEGLIN

Take five Gallons of water, and one Gallon of good White-honey; set it on the fire together, and boil it very well, and skim it very clean; Then take it off the fire, and set it by. Take six ounces of good Ginger, and two ounces of Cinamon, one Ounce of Nutmegs; bruise all these grosly, and put them into your hot Liquor, and cover it close, and so let it stand, till it be cold. Then put as much Ale-barm to it, as will make it work; then keep it in a warm place, as you do Ale; and when it hath wrought well, Tun it up, as you do Ale or Beer: and when it is a week old, drink of it at your pleasure.

AN EXCELLENT METHEGLIN

Take Spring-water, and boil it with Rose-mary, Sage, Sweet-Marjoram, Balm and Sa.s.safras, until it hath boiled three or four hours: The quant.i.ty of the Herbs is a handful of them all, of each a like proportion, to a Gallon of water. And when it is boiled, set it to cool and to settle until the next day: Then strain your water, and mix it with honey, until it will bear an Egg the breadth of a Groat. Then set it over the fire to boil. Take the whites of twenty or thirty Eggs, and beat them mightily, and when it boileth, pour them in at twice; stir it well together, and then let it stand, until it boileth a pace before you sc.u.m it, and then sc.u.m it well.

Then take it off the fire, and pour it in earthen things to cool: and when it is cold, put to it five or six spoonfuls of the best yest of Ale you can get: stir it together, and then every day sc.u.m it with a bundle of Feathers till it hath done working: Then Tun it up in a Sack-cask and to every six gallons of Metheglin put one pint of _Aquavitae_, or a quart of Sack; and a quarter of a pound of Ginger sliced, with the Pills of two or three Limons and Orenges in a bag to hang in it.

The Whites of Eggs above named, is a fit proportion for 10 or 12 Gallons of the Liquor.

TO MAKE WHITE MEATHE

Take six Gallons of water, and put in six quarts of Honey, stirring it till the honey be throughly melted; then set it over the fire, and when it is ready to boil, skim it clean; then put in a quarter of an Ounce of Mace; so much Ginger; half an Ounce of Nutmegs; Sweet-marjoram, Broad-thyme and Sweet-Bryar, of all together a handful, and boil them well therein. Then set it by, till it be throughly cold, and barrel it up, and keep it till it be ripe.

ANOTHER TO MAKE MEATHE

To every Gallon of water, take a quart of Honey, to every five Gallons, a handful of Sweet-marjoram, half a handful of Sliced-ginger; boil all these moderately three quarters of an hour; then let it stand and cool: and being Lukewarm, put to every five Gallons, about three quarts of Yest, and let it work a night and a day. Then take off the Yest and strain it into a Runlet; and when it hath done working: then stop it up, and so let it remain a month: then drawing out into bottles, put into every bottle two or three stoned Raisins, and a lump of Loaf-sugar. It may be drunk in two months.

ANOTHER VERY GOOD WHITE MEATH

Take to every Gallon of water a quart of Honey: boil in it a little Rose-mary and Sweet-marjoram: but a large quant.i.ty of Sweet-bryar-leaves, and a reasonable proportion of Ginger: boil these in the Liquor, when it is skimed; and work it in due time with a little barm. Then tun it in a vessel; and draw it into bottles, after it is sufficiently settled. Whites of Eggs with the sh.e.l.ls beaten together, do clarifie Meath best. If you will have your Meath cooling, use Violet and Straw-berry-leaves, Agrimony, Eglantine and the like: adding Borage and Bugloss, and a little Rosemary and Sweet-Marjoram to give it Vigor.

Tartar makes it work well.

TO MAKE WHITE METHEGLIN