Amount of mead in recipes

Dan McFeeley · #1 10-27-2004, 08:29 PM

Maybe it's just me, but I've noticed that whenever I substitute mead for wine in a recipe, I find myself using twice as much mead as what the recipe calls for.

Does anyone else do this?

Jmattioli · #2 10-27-2004, 08:50 PM

I have never used mead in a recipe. What do you find it best with as a substitute for wine?
Joe

ScottS · #3 10-27-2004, 09:55 PM

I use it 1 to 1 as a substitute in literally everything, and it always is an improvement.

Oskaar · #4 10-27-2004, 11:42 PM

I find that I use more too. Especially when I substitute it for coffee in the morning

Seriously, I do use it in BBQ sauces and salads and such, but I stick with wine in things like mostacciolli, sauerkraut and most things that need to be tangy and sour. Red wine especially because the body and fermented grape really bring some bottom end to a good brown or red sauce.

I've used mead in mango chutney, swordfish marinade, octopus salad and black rizut (kind of like risotto) and it's phenomenal.

Oskaar

Post Scriptum: Dan, good avatar!

Jmattioli · #5 10-28-2004, 03:39 AM

Ok. Cooking halibut tonight. Put in refrig with spices and mead to marinate a bit and will cook in the marinade. My wife gets home later, and I hope she likes it. First time for me. If she doesn't I'll blame it on Dan for starting this thread.

Joe

Dan McFeeley · #6 10-28-2004, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oskaar

Post Scriptum: Dan, good avatar!

Thanks -- I gather that you recognized the source, which marks you as a Rennaissance man. Good food, good mead, and Dr. Who. A modern day Rennaissance man.

The reason I posted this thread is some of my own musings about acidity/sweetness balance in mead. Honey, and mead, is *different* stuff from grape wine, and the perceptions of folk who use mead in cooking give empirical hints about the differences between honey and wine grape. Maybe my reason for using twice as much mead as white wine is a personal bias, but if other people are doing the same thing, it may point to a more medhological (my term for the equivalent of oenology in meadmaking) perspective.

Dan McFeeley · #7 10-28-2004, 11:04 AM

Ok, that last one was vague. So much has been written about acidity/sweetness balance in grape wines, but little or nothing about acidity/sweetness balance in mead. Why? Gluconoic acid is the principle acid in honey, and in mead. It is strikingly *different* compared to the organic acids found in wine, cider, et. al. Tartaric acid is the principle acid found in wine, and is the standard used in non-European based acid testing kits (the French standard is based on sulfiric acid). Tartaric acid is 2.5 times stronger than gluconic acid. The organoleptic properties of gluconic acid versus tartaric acid are qualitatively different from each other. Gluconic acid imparts a mild and "refreshing" taste, whereas tartaric acid is a sour and strong taste. This has much to say about the differences between mead and wine, and about food pairings with mead or wine.

Sorry! Hope this was fairly clear.

Oskaar · #8 10-28-2004, 11:49 AM

OK Dan,

Step away from the bottle of mead and keep your hands in plain view! LOL

Generally I use mead in the places where I would use a Gewurtztraminer or a Riesling. Mead is also especially good in the California haute cuisines like cold pumpkin soup, fruit salsas, fish and such. But, in places where a good dry White Burgundy or Bordeaux I still use the white wine. I haven't used melomels in cooking, mostly because I would rather drink them than cook them.

Cheers,

Oskaar