how much spice?

[On-target]

I have a pumkin mead ( 5 gal ) just finishing primary now and I am planning to add clove, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. I did a 2 gal batch last year with primary in the pumkin, it turned out tasty but not bold enough flavor wise. It didn't have enough pumkin or spice( 2 cinnamon sticks and 3 cloves ). This batch I cut and baked the medium pumkin and added 2 purple sweet potatoes. The color is a really cool orange. The OG was 1.086 before I added the pumkin. I will up the clove and cinnamon abit . Now for the question .I finally found whole allspice and nutmeg, (wasn't easy) and iam not sure how much I should use. If anyone has any insight or experience with these whole spices I would love to hear from you.

Thanks

 

[sheepcat]

If you want a noticable spice, without being overpowering, I'd recommend about 1/4 of a whole nutmeg/gallon, and about 2-3 berries, cracked but not ground.

 

[castillo556]

You know it's spelled pumpkin, right? Not pumkin?

I would be careful with clove. It tends to overpower everything else. I don't add it at all anymore.

 

[On-target]

Oops on the spelling. A little embarrasing ( Ok, maybe a lot). Thanks for the advise on the nutmeg and allspice, I didn't have a clue as to how much to start with.


Ps. I just fired my proofreader.

 

[fatbloke]

Oops on the spelling. A little embarrasing ( Ok, maybe a lot). Thanks for the advise on the nutmeg and allspice, I didn't have a clue as to how much to start with.


Ps. I just fired my proofreader.

just start with the mix you like the idea of after a bit of research, then use half of it.

it's easy to add more if the taste isn't "spicy" enough, but if you use too much, you can't remove it.......

Coarse, cracked whole spice is likely to be best, as it's easily removed when the taste hits the point you enjoy. Ground/powdered spices do work, but not knowing how much each measure actually represents is hard, plus it can be hard to remove if you did add a bit too much - not forgetting that the flavour imparts quicker but is often quite different from the whole spices as it starts to degrade as soon as it's been ground/powdered.

So it's up to you......

p.s. Oh and there's stuff like the original JAO recipe and Joe's suggestion in that (about cloves and over use), or maybe just look through Jack Kellers site and the recipes that have similar ingredients, then use the quantity of spice as a guide........

 

[On-target]

I didn't find anyting to help with this batch on JackKellers site but I did add a whole bunch of recipes to my to do list. I guess I can just start low and add as needed. Thanks FB.