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I am looking for that prize coz, I gotta say that I made some marrow wine (based on this discussion) and bottled it a couple (or more) weeks ago. Got three 750 cc bottles and a 350 cc beer bottle of this wine. Beautifully clear. Back sweetened a little and the flavor is quite , quite delicious. Woul...

If you are interested in making your own cheese from even store bought milk (cannot have been ultra -pasteurized) then this recipe does not involve any very special equipment and does not take more than a few hours to make (much of the time does not involve any work on your part). The measurements a...

But "best before" dates does not mean that the food is spoiled or should be trashed... That people refuse to buy such products is a cultural artifact...

If you are interested in a low cost , low alcohol mead (honey wine) you might consider this: you can make a low alcohol mead (about 5% ABV) by taking about 1lb (500 g) of raw honey and mixing this with about 1 gallon (4-5 l) of water to which you add perhaps a teaspoon of boiled bread yeast (for nut...

Late to this party, I know, but one way to get rid of fruit flies is to fill a small glass with vinegar and add a few drops of liquid soap. The vinegar attracts the flies and the soap ensures that the surface tension of the liquid is non existent. Flies that then land to take a sip slip below the su...

No argument from me about the questionable nature of the pyscho-activity of any of the herbs involved in gruit but if you read the book Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers by Stephen Harrod Buhner (and it is a fascinating work, IMO) he does suggest that it was not just the wormwood that added some addit...

Interestingly, I checked that book by Schloss and for virtually every liqueur he discusses he suggests a week or ten days is the most time you need to extract flavor. He also recommends that you don't keep any of these liqueurs longer than 12 months but what he calls a liqueur and what I call an ext...

I am just about to bottle some nettle wine I started in June. I used nettle tea (15 bags) boiled in 1 gallon of water (4 L) for about five - ten minutes; removed the bags and when the tea had cooled I added about 18 oz (about 500 g) of Star-thistle honey. Am using a wine yeast (AW4) and the alcohol ...

I routinely make a gruit mead - Those herbs were /are called gruit so the ale is not so much "hop - less" ale but a gruit ale. For my meads (and ales) for each gallon (4 liters) I add 1 tablespoon of each herb (about 15 grams) - I also add heather tips. My last batch used a scant 1 kg (2 l...

Apologies for the confusion. I want to add the extract to the mead. I want to use the vodka to extract the flavor from the cocoa nibs and add that extract to the wine. It's not the mead I have any questions about. It's the extract...

Thanks Maggie... I am trying to make a chocolate extract to add to some mead (honey wine) I am making. I have what I think is a reasonably flavored extract (using cocoa nibs) but if the extract should have more nibs or the extraction of flavor significantly changes after 4 weeks then I am looking fo...

Just started a batch of sauerkraut last night. Never tried this before but after I had salted the shredded cabbage and had thumped it for a few minutes with a wooden hammer handle I used a gallon milk carton filled with water (8 lbs - or a hefty 3.6 kilo) to press down on a plate that pressed down o...

Thanks Maggie - Not sure that all liqueurs have their fruits or nuts or herbs /spices steeped in the syrup. I have seen many recipes - I am thinking of Schloss' Home Made Liqueurs, for example, where , if memory serves, he advocates adding the syrup after the fruit etc has been steeped. It is the al...

Does anyone on this forum know if the only significant difference between an extract and a liqueur is the syrup? Or are the amounts of herbs and spices and nuts and fruits used in extracts different from the amounts used in liqueurs with the same ingredients? Thanks

Never tried to make a potato wine but if I were to I think I would simply boil the potatoes and use the liquid from the boiled tubers. Not sure how many potatoes I would boil but I imagine about 3-5 lbs (say, 1.5 - 3 kilo) and top the water to make 4 liters of must... No sludge. To this I would add ...