To three Gallons of Spring-water take three quarts of honey, and set it over the fire, till the scum rises pretty thick. Then take off the scum, and put in Thyme, Rosemary, Hyssop and Maiden-hair, of each one handful; and two handfuls of Eglantine leaves, and a half a handful of Organ. The spices, Ginger, Nutmegs, Cinamon [sic] and a little mace, and boil all these together near half an hour. Then take it from the fire, and let it stand till it be cold, and then strain it, and so Tun it up, and stop it close. The longer you keep it, the better it will be.
Digby, K. (1677). The closet of the eminently learned Sir Kenelme Digby Kt. opened: Whereby is discovered several ways for making of metheglin, syder, cherry-wine, &c. Together with excellent directions for cookery: As also for preserving, conserving, candying, & .c. London: Printed by H.C. for H. Brome, at the West-end of St. Pauls.
Musings:
Maiden-hair is most likely the maidenhair fern, also known as five-fingered fern and rock fern.
Eglantine, also known as sweet briar, is a type of rose: rosa rubiginosa.
Organ is most likely a miss-spelling of oregano.
This recipe does not use yeast of any kind so I am curious as to how well it ends up fermenting or if it even ferments at all.
Project:
Two batches. The first to follow the recipe and use no yeast, the second to deviate from the recipe by using yeast.
Now I have to wait until spring when I can hunt down rose leaves and maidenhair ferns. I will have to substitute rosa rigosa leaves for the r. rubiginosa however unless I can find someone who grows eglantine without chemicals.
