Don't know if anyone remembers when I mentioned that I had planned to buy honey for my mead from my daughter's boyfriend's grandfather, a beekeeper in Mississippi who unfortunately lost his skeps and bees and everything he owned when the hurricanes came through this time last year. He's a mature man who, sadly but understandably, decided not to restart the beekeeping.
Last summer before we knew anything about hurricanes coming this way, David (boyfriend) brought me a quart mason jar of this fabulous, dark amber wildflower honey. He told me that he had mentioned to his grandpa that I was going to try my hand at meadmaking and his grandpa had agreed to sell me some larger amounts later on when he had more. He supplied some health food stores and a couple of small grocery stores and didn't have much right then. I was delighted with my quart and stored it safely on top of my microwave. :tard:
Since then, I've been consuming my favorite tupelo honey and frankly, nearly forgot about this wildflower honey. Tonight, we had 'breakfast for supper' and had sausage with waffles. Well, there was no honey in the house but I remembered the wildflower honey. Elder Child opened the mason jar. She took a deep breath of the fragrance of it. She said, "Mom, this smells like my dorm."
Gentles, in the year that this honey has been sitting on top of my microwave sealed in this mason jar (apparently with a high enough moisture level to allow for fermentation!!), I believe I may have inadvertently made my first mead!
Now, I doubt it'll win any awards especially since it still greatly resembles honey, but how can I describe this exquisite substance!?
It has an alcohol smell, but its not bread-like. It is as exquisite and sweet and rich-tasting as anything I've ever put in my mouth, and it doesn't taste like anything I've ever tasted before. (True confession: I've never tasted mead.) It has a slightly tangy taste, but the honey-ness is still quite evident. The original honey struck me as acid-y and strong, but this has no acidness, only that nice gentle tang and that really rich taste.
This quart of honey, after the storms had passed, had become precious to me. The bees were no more, and the beekeeper while safe, had decided not to keep bees anymore. I had made up my mind that I would put it aside and save it for just the right occasion. Then, I forgot it completely. After the storms, David told me that by some quirk of fate, my quart was the last bit of his grandfather's honey left on this earth.
When I took that first mouthful, something changed in me, in my soul. You would've had to have been in this area of the world to truly understand what those hurricanes did to us. Not one of us is the same as we were before. Nothing will ever be the same down here.
My friends, the hurricanes destroyed the bees, but the last quart of honey became mead. By itself.
Being a Christian sort of gal, I'm thanking God for small miracles. :angel11:
I hope its safe to eat! :tongue1:
Last summer before we knew anything about hurricanes coming this way, David (boyfriend) brought me a quart mason jar of this fabulous, dark amber wildflower honey. He told me that he had mentioned to his grandpa that I was going to try my hand at meadmaking and his grandpa had agreed to sell me some larger amounts later on when he had more. He supplied some health food stores and a couple of small grocery stores and didn't have much right then. I was delighted with my quart and stored it safely on top of my microwave. :tard:
Since then, I've been consuming my favorite tupelo honey and frankly, nearly forgot about this wildflower honey. Tonight, we had 'breakfast for supper' and had sausage with waffles. Well, there was no honey in the house but I remembered the wildflower honey. Elder Child opened the mason jar. She took a deep breath of the fragrance of it. She said, "Mom, this smells like my dorm."
Gentles, in the year that this honey has been sitting on top of my microwave sealed in this mason jar (apparently with a high enough moisture level to allow for fermentation!!), I believe I may have inadvertently made my first mead!
Now, I doubt it'll win any awards especially since it still greatly resembles honey, but how can I describe this exquisite substance!?
It has an alcohol smell, but its not bread-like. It is as exquisite and sweet and rich-tasting as anything I've ever put in my mouth, and it doesn't taste like anything I've ever tasted before. (True confession: I've never tasted mead.) It has a slightly tangy taste, but the honey-ness is still quite evident. The original honey struck me as acid-y and strong, but this has no acidness, only that nice gentle tang and that really rich taste.
This quart of honey, after the storms had passed, had become precious to me. The bees were no more, and the beekeeper while safe, had decided not to keep bees anymore. I had made up my mind that I would put it aside and save it for just the right occasion. Then, I forgot it completely. After the storms, David told me that by some quirk of fate, my quart was the last bit of his grandfather's honey left on this earth.
When I took that first mouthful, something changed in me, in my soul. You would've had to have been in this area of the world to truly understand what those hurricanes did to us. Not one of us is the same as we were before. Nothing will ever be the same down here.
My friends, the hurricanes destroyed the bees, but the last quart of honey became mead. By itself.
Being a Christian sort of gal, I'm thanking God for small miracles. :angel11:
I hope its safe to eat! :tongue1:
