The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight OpenedDigby, Kenelm
History
The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened
Digby, Kenelm
Cooking -- Early works to 1800; Digby, Kenelm, Sir, 1603-1665; Liquors; Wine and wine making -- Early works to 1800
drunk a large draught (without any alteration or admixtion, with a toste
early in the morning (eating the toste) when they intend to dine late.
Consider of making Metheglin thus with purified rain water (of the
_AEquinoxe_) or Dew.
The handfuls of Herbs, are natural large handfuls (as much as you can take
up in your hand) not Apothecaries handfuls, which are much less. If a
pottle of Barm do not make it work enough to your mind, you may put in a
little more. Discretion and Experience must regulate that.
You may make small Meathe the same way, putting but half the proportion of
honey or less. But then after three weeks or a months barrelling, you must
bottle it.
AN EXCELLENT WAY TO MAKE METHEGLIN, CALLED THE LIQUOR OF LIFE, WITH THESE
FOLLOWING INGREDIENTS
Take Bugloss, Borage, Hyssop, Organ, Sweet-marjoram, Rosemary,
French-cowslip, Coltsfoot, Thyme, Burnet, Self-heal, Sanicle a little,
Betony, Blew-buttons, Harts-tongue, Meadssweet, Liverwort, Coriander two
ounces, Bistort, Saint John's wort, Liquorish, Two ounces of Carraways, Two
ounces of Yellow-saunders, Balm, Bugle, Half a pound of Ginger, and one
ounce of Cloves, Agrimony, Tormentil-roots, Cumfrey, Fennel-root's,
Clowns-all-heal, Maiden-hair, Wall-rew, Spleen-wort, Sweet-oak,
Pauls-betony, Mouse ear.
For two Hogsheads of Metheglin, you take two handfuls a piece of each herb,
Excepting Sanicle; of which you take but half a handful. You make it in all
things as the white Meathe of Mr. Pierce's is made, excepting as followeth.
For in that you boil the herbs but a quarter of an hour, that the colour
may be pale: But in this, where the deepness of the colour is not regarded,
you boil them a good hour, that you may get all the vertue out of them.
Next for the strength of it; whereas in that, an Egge is to emerge out of
the Liquor but the breadth of a three pence; in This it is to emerge a
large Groats-breadth. Then in this you take but half a pound of Ginger,
and one ounce of Cloves. Whereas the white hath one pound of Ginger, and
two ounces of Cloves. To this you use three quarts, or rather more of
Ale-yest (fresh and new) and when all your Liquor is in a high slender tall
pipe with the narrowest circumference that may be (which makes it work
better then a broad one, where the Spirits loose themselves) you have the
yest in a large Noggin with a handle, or pail, and put some of the Liquor
to it, and make that work; then pour it from pretty high unto the whole
quantity in the pipe, and lade it strongly with that Noggin five or six, or
eight times, pouring it every time from high, and working it well together,
that so every Atome of the yest maybe mingled with every Atome of the
Liquor. And this course (in this particular) you may also use in the white.
It is best not to broach this, till a year be over after the making it.
TO MAKE GOOD METHEGLIN
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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