SouthernGorilla
Well-Known Member
I'm lousy at following instructions. So it's no surprise that when my wife and I set out to maze the legendary JAOM we wound up with something almost completely different.
1 whole orange.
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 small box of raisins
4 whole cloves
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
2 pounds dark local honey
.5 pounds light local honey (just what was lying around)
1 pound caramelized "local" dark honey
Lalvin EC-1118 yeast
I guess other than increasing the spices, adding more honey, caramelizing some of the honey, and changing the yeast it's identical to the JAOM. The orange I used was surprisingly dry. So I'm not sure how much flavor it will contribute. I let the pectic enzyme do its thing for more than an hour while the yeast warmed up. Then I rehydrated and pitched the yeast.
For those who have never tried it, or never heard of it, I cannot recommend highly enough that you try caramelizing some honey. Both the meads I have fermenting at the moment are bochets. And I am reasonably sure that every mead I make from now on will have at least some portion of the honey caramelized to some degree. I bought a candy thermometer last night so I can start monitoring the caramelization better. I want to be able to know exactly what temperature to use for what time to get the degree of caramelization I want. The honey for this particular recipe was cooked just long enough to produce a near-perfect caramel taste.
1 whole orange.
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 small box of raisins
4 whole cloves
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
2 pounds dark local honey
.5 pounds light local honey (just what was lying around)
1 pound caramelized "local" dark honey
Lalvin EC-1118 yeast
I guess other than increasing the spices, adding more honey, caramelizing some of the honey, and changing the yeast it's identical to the JAOM. The orange I used was surprisingly dry. So I'm not sure how much flavor it will contribute. I let the pectic enzyme do its thing for more than an hour while the yeast warmed up. Then I rehydrated and pitched the yeast.
For those who have never tried it, or never heard of it, I cannot recommend highly enough that you try caramelizing some honey. Both the meads I have fermenting at the moment are bochets. And I am reasonably sure that every mead I make from now on will have at least some portion of the honey caramelized to some degree. I bought a candy thermometer last night so I can start monitoring the caramelization better. I want to be able to know exactly what temperature to use for what time to get the degree of caramelization I want. The honey for this particular recipe was cooked just long enough to produce a near-perfect caramel taste.