What is mead and what are the benefits of it?

Benefits and harms

Alcohol tincture, also known as mead, is considered one of the first drinks in Rus', which had a lot of useful properties and was consumed only on special occasions.
The beneficial properties of mead are due to the beneficial properties of honey and its rich composition, which is the basis of the drink. The main ones include:

• B vitamins (B9, B6, B5, B3, B2);
• ascorbic acid;
• vitamins A, K and E;
• vital micro and macroelements, as well as minerals (copper, sulfur, iodine, magnesium, fluorine, phosphorus, calcium, and many others);

In addition, it is worth emphasizing the benefits for all body systems. Namely:

• cleansing of free radicals and toxic substances, their removal from the body;
• activation of the body's defenses, increased immunity;
• prevention of diseases of the cardiovascular system;
• reducing the risk of occurrence and development of heart muscle diseases;

Historians are inclined to believe that intoxicating drinks based on honey appeared seven to six thousand years BC. Archaeological finds confirm that prototypes of Russian mead were already being prepared in those days.

• protecting the body from viruses, bacteria and the occurrence of inflammatory processes;
• reducing the level of radiation in the body;
• relief of symptoms and acceleration of recovery in diseases of the respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract;
• acceleration of recovery after illnesses;
• increasing the level of potency;
• strengthening effect for the walls of the uterus and blood vessels;
• a sedative effect that helps get rid of insomnia and more effectively deal with stressful situations.

In addition to the benefits of the honey product, the drink is enriched with additional ingredients that saturate the taste and enhance the beneficial properties (for example, fruits, berries and various herbs).

To enhance the taste, give a spicy aroma and beautiful color, components such as nutmeg, coriander, cloves, and allspice are added to the drink.
Despite the list of beneficial properties, before drinking the drink you should familiarize yourself with the list of contraindications, in the presence of which you should refrain from drinking mead. The drink can cause significant damage to health under the following conditions:

• consumption in large quantities;
• pregnancy and lactation throughout the entire period;
• Children under 18 years of age should not drink, even in whole medicinal quantities and in minimal quantities;
• diabetes mellitus of any type;
• individual intolerance to the components of the drink, tendency to allergic reactions;

What is this

Mead is a low-alcohol drink made from honey and water. The first mentions of it date back to the 7th millennium BC. Some scientists believe that mead-making technology is much older than winemaking. The popularity of the product is due to the fact that beekeeping was widespread almost everywhere.

Even on the walls of Egyptian tombs, scientists have discovered images that supposedly depict a recipe for making mead. The Egyptians in those days were sure that this “sunny” drink was of divine origin.

The ancient Slavs believed that only great people could drink honey drinks. In Rus', until the 11th century, “drinking honey” was prepared by honey extraction - set honey. The preparation process took from 5 to 20 years. This was due to the fact that yeast of natural origin was used in production - from sour berries, and therefore the fermentation process was very slow.

In the 11th century, a new technology was mastered, thanks to which the finished product began to be obtained within a few months from the start of preparation. In the process, yeast began to be used, and honey was sterilized.

In the 17th century, the popularity of preparing the product decreased significantly, and mead making became a rare occurrence. This happened because winemaking began to flourish everywhere. However, by the end of the 19th century, the traditions of mead making were being revived again, and it was at this time that most of the recipes that have survived to this day appeared.

Compound

The main ingredients when making mead are water and honey. Depending on the recipe, hops and yeast are used to regulate the strength. The composition may also include various berries and spices:

• juniper;
• ginger;
• carnation;
• cinnamon;
• pepper;
• rosehip, etc.

The drink, as a rule, has a yellow-golden color and a pronounced, characteristic honey aroma. Due to the high sugar content and the fermentation process, the product has a sweet and sour taste.

Fermentation of mead.

How many degrees of alcohol are in mead?

In the oldest recipes for this drink, where the production did not involve the use of yeast, the alcohol content was low - about 6%. After people began to use yeast and other products, the percentage of alcohol increased.

Depending on the recipe used, the use of additional ingredients, temperature and aging time, mead is divided into regular, young, staged and fortified. The alcohol content can range from 5 to 16%.

Composition of mead

The correct classic serving of a honey drink is in freezer-chilled glasses, with a mint leaf.
A honey alcoholic drink prepared according to a classic recipe contains from 5 to 17% alcohol, depending on the type of drink (mead is distinguished - strong, young, regular and staged). The alcohol level depends on factors such as:

• correct preparation;
• holding time;
• compliance with storage rules;
• temperature during infusion;
• quality of honey;
• additional components, their quality and type.

A honey drink can be made without adding an alcoholic component, and without fermentation. This mead is similar to strong kvass with honey notes. After cooking, you can add honey or alcohol if desired.

What is mead

Mead is a low-alcohol drink, the main components of which are honey, water and yeast. By adding berries, fresh juice, raisins, hop cones, lemon zest or various spices to it, you can significantly change the taste of the drink, but this will not affect its healing properties.

Also, depending on the fermentation method, you can achieve either a light, pleasantly sweet drink, or a strong liqueur, reminiscent of apple wine or cider. This will be influenced by the aging conditions, quantity and quality of products used.

This is interesting

A fairly common question: how many degrees is there in mead? Typically, the strength of mead ranges from 8 to 16 degrees. But, I want to draw your attention to the fact that the classic, ancient recipe required that mead, no matter how many degrees of alcohol it contained (the less, the better, our ancestors believed), should not contain any foreign substances. These substances include alcohol, chemicals, etc.

Using vodka with pepper for colds

In terms of sugar, for the pleasant taste of the drink, about 10% is needed! Adding ready-made mash to mead automatically increases its strength. But this is considered a deviation from the old recipe.

Popular cooking recipes

Interesting fact.
According to the legends of the ancient Indo-Europeans, it turned out that rivers of honey flow in the afterlife, rain pouring on the earth is a gift from the gods. Bees were considered not only useful collectors of honey, they were also credited with the role of intermediaries between people and immortal gods. Today you can find many mead recipes on the Internet, but how can you be sure of the quality of the final result? To make your task easier, we have selected proven and tasty recipes that even a beginner can definitely prepare.

No hops

Classic recipe without adding hops. To prepare you will need:

• 300 g honey;
• 2 liters of purified water;
• 5 g dry yeast.

During the times of Ancient Rus', intoxicating meads were sacred drinks; they were eaten on special days that were significant for people - at weddings, religious holidays and during the burial of the dead.
Drink preparation process:

• pour water into a saucepan, place on medium heat, and boil;
• add honey, bring to a boil again;
• over low heat, continue to cook the workpiece for 15-20 minutes, regularly removing the resulting foam;
• remove the container from the stove, wait until it cools to 40 degrees;
• add dry yeast, stir;
• pour into a fermentation container, install an air duct and leave for a week at room temperature;
• Pour the drink into a clean container and store in a cool place out of direct sunlight.

Mead is considered ready for consumption already 2-3 days after the start of fermentation, but connoisseurs of the honey drink recommend waiting 3-5 weeks.

Fortified mead with alcohol

In pre-Christian Rus', the intoxicating drink made from honey took a long time to prepare; it fermented in strong oak barrels for more than fifteen years.
The juice of the berries, a mixture of honey and water, was fermented in barrels, specially cut down using a special technology. The most popular and easy to prepare recipe for alcoholic mead. You can increase the degree at your discretion, but do not forget to maintain the proportions. Remember that you can add alcohol only after preparing the drink, in diluted form.

To prepare you need the following ingredients:

• 400 g of natural liquid honey;
• 5 hop cones;
• diluted alcohol (50%) - can be replaced with moonshine;
• 1 tsp. without a hill of dry yeast;
• 3 liters of purified (melt) water;
• mint, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and other spices - to your taste.

Step-by-step preparation:

• Put honey in a suitable container, dilute with water and put on low heat for 40-45 minutes. Stir the liquid regularly, otherwise you will get burnt honey;
• remove foam as it appears;
• cool the resulting syrup to 45-50 degrees;
• add spices at your discretion;
• pour into a container for the fermentation and infusion process, install a water lock;
• The drink should be infused for 7-10 days.

Any honey drink is taken twenty minutes before meals, being careful not to mix it with food.
The usefulness of the drink is explained by the content of honey and fragrant herbs in it. Aromatic honey contains more than forty-eight beneficial microelements. After the specified time, the product is poured into a clean, dark container and placed in a cool, dark place without direct sunlight. Leave in this form to infuse for 1.5 - 2 months. The final touch is adding diluted alcohol. Ready!

Storage conditions

To preserve the taste and benefits of mead, you need to know the simple rules for storing an alcoholic drink and follow them. So:

• The optimal temperature for storing mead is from 5 to 10 degrees (a basement or cellar is suitable). Compliance with this rule will allow the drink to be stored for several years, provided that the room is protected from direct sunlight;

Another interesting and ancient storage method is to bury the container with the golden drink in the ground. But there is one big BUT - you can forget about the place of “burial” of the treasure and not remember).

Mead can be stored in the refrigerator. This method is only suitable if the honey nectar is poured into a dark glass container;

remember that exposure to sunlight on the container with mead will promote active fermentation, as a result of which the mead will turn sour and will not be suitable for consumption.

Mead with juniper stimulates the immune system, with mint promotes restful sleep, and mead with cinnamon and ginger quickly eliminates a severe hangover. After drinking mead, my head doesn’t hurt and my bones don’t ache.

Shelf life

To preserve an ancient honey drink and not spoil its taste, it is not enough just to know about the storage rules. The time period within which you need to drink home-made mead also plays an important role.

The shelf life depends on:

• components, their quality and quantity;
• cooking techniques;
• compliance with storage rules and optimal temperature conditions;
• type of container and its material.

In the times of Ancient Rus', mead was prepared without any additions, which allowed the healthy drink to be stored for about 35-40 years without loss of taste and beneficial properties.

Currently, almost every honey drink recipe contains yeast, which significantly reduces the shelf life of the finished alcoholic product. The shelf life of mead without loss of quality is from 5 to 7 years.

Previously, mead was accompanied by a special appetizer - sauerkraut, soaked rowan berries and apples, steamed pumpkin and pickles.

A few more rules for successful and long-term storage:

• do not carry the container with the drink from place to place;
• do not shake the container in which the mead is poured;
• Seal containers tightly, do not open unless you plan to drink the entire contents. When the container is opened, the shelf life of mead is reduced to 25-30 days;
• The intensity of taste and aroma depends on the infusion time of the honey drink. In this case, the more, the better.

Few people can resist opening their own homemade mead for several years. So, the taste of the drink and its richness depend only on how much patience you have.

What should the container be?

The vessel in which fermented drinking honey will be stored is very important (here you can even draw an analogy with the preparation of expensive wine - the wine that is stored in oak barrels has a delicious tart taste and aroma, and the one that is kept in glass turns out to be too sour and sometimes tasteless), so you need to choose it responsibly. The most important rule, failure to comply with which can cause spoilage of the drink, is that mead should not be stored in metal barrels

.

The active components of honey can interact and create chemical complexes with metals, which can harm both the honey product itself and human health (metal salts can cause toxic poisoning).

You can buy mead from us by calling one of the numbers:

+380984298830 +380955638797

It is best to choose wooden barrels for storage

(oak would be the ideal material), because wood not only perfectly preserves all the beneficial properties of honey, but also improves its taste. Some connoisseurs claim that the taste is most influenced by the linden barrel, but this fact has no documentary evidence, and yes, oak still wins in popularity. How to store mead for those who do not have the opportunity to buy a barrel (to be frank, this is far from a cheap pleasure, so not everyone can make such a purchase)?

Glass bottles can be used for this purpose.

(there is information that plastic containers can also be used for this purpose, but experts say that drinking honey can be stored in such containers for no more than one month). Glass has increased resistance to chemical activity, which is why chemists value it so much, so you definitely shouldn’t worry about the active components of honey starting to interact with it, but the taste of the drink will not change in any way after long-term storage (that is, no new “ note" will not appear in it after the fermentation process is completed), only the degree can change, which will increase over time.

Temperature and light availability

The shelf life of mead is affected by the temperature in which the container with drinking honey will be located. In the room (it is best to choose a cellar for this purpose) the temperature should not exceed five to seven degrees. It is best to bury a barrel of mead in the ground (the main thing is to mark the place of your “treasure” with a cross)

. Sun rays should not fall on the container (in principle, this is excluded in the cellar, but you should still not forget about this fact), because the sun heats the mixture and causes the process of its re-fermentation, as a result of which a person can subsequently get a non-elite low-alcohol and at the same time, it is a medicinal product, but an ordinary brew.

You can order Drinking honey (mead) by phone:

+380984298830 +380955638797

Shelf life of mead in a plastic bottle

Over the past ten years, the popularity and use of plastic containers has increased significantly. People often reuse purchased containers for storing alcoholic beverages, fruit drinks, compotes, kvass, etc. Perhaps this is the reason for the increasing number of queries in search engines - “How long can mead be stored in a plastic bottle?”

You can consume mead only if it is prepared from natural, high-quality ingredients and there are no contraindications.

The answer is quite simple and extremely categorical. It is not recommended to store mead in plastic bottles. This is due to the toxicity of plastic and the substances it can release when reused.

The only exception to this rule is transporting the drink, or storing it for a short time. Only in this case is it permissible to use plastic containers.

Those who have been preparing mead for many years are well aware that the best container for storing this drink is a barrel made of natural wood. It is strictly forbidden to store honey drink in metal or plastic containers. Otherwise, you risk not only ruining the taste of the mead, but also causing damage to your health.

How to store mead at home

It is better to choose dark places for long-term storage of honey drink, with a moderate humid climate and a temperature from 0 to 10 degrees . Cellars and basements are best suited; the use of a refrigerator or pantries is allowed. Mead in wooden barrels has an unlimited shelf life. In glass containers you can keep the infusion for up to 7 years , in plastic bottles for no more than a week.

Wooden barrels

Wooden barrels are considered the ideal container for storing honey potion. of 7 to 12 liters has the best taste . They must be tarred and treated with a solution of potassium permanganate or iodine after previous storage.

The barrels are filled almost completely, without adding the 5th part, because even after the final pre-fermentation, transferring them to permanent storage can provoke a second reaction. It is advisable to consume uncorked mead within 12 months . It is recommended to store such vessels at a temperature no higher than 7-10 degrees . Partial light exposure is allowed, since the drink itself is reliably protected from the sun by durable material. In this way, honey potion can be stored for 30-40 years .

Glass bottles

There is no special aftertaste from a drink stored in a glass container compared to wooden barrels, but all the beneficial and taste properties are preserved. It is recommended to keep glass containers with mead in the cellar at a temperature of 0 to 10 degrees , out of direct sunlight. Small glass bottles can be placed in the refrigerator on the lower shelves, setting the temperature to no higher than 5 degrees . The shelf life of mead in glass bottles is unlimited.

Plastic containers

Pet containers for long-term storage of homemade honey tinctures are not recommended. It is allowed to use plastic for short-term storage or transportation of the drink.

How to store mead in a plastic bottle:

• Do not use used containers.
• The total period should not exceed 7 days .
• The optimal temperature is from 0 to 3 degrees .

Metal cans

When storing honey potion in metal cans, a reaction occurs with multiple bioactive substances, and the oxidation . The beneficial properties of the infusion are lost, and sometimes harmful substances are formed that negatively affect human health. Therefore, such containers are absolutely not suitable for storing mead at home.