(translated by u/ralfv)
New to these? Read the introduction first: it explains what is left out on purpose and what the yeast of the time could do.
Source: Marx Rumpolt, Ein new Kochbuch (A New Cookbook), Frankfurt am Main, 1581. Rumpolt was personal cook to the Elector of Mainz.
Language: Early New High German (print)
Style: Metheglin (rose, laurel berries); caramelized honey for colour
How one shall make good mead.
Item, take one measure of honey to six measures of water and boil it on the fire as if it were young beef. And while it boils, throw red flower heads of red roses into it, and skim it well as it comes up; and the fire shall burn bright, without smoke. And when it has boiled, take it off and let it cool.
Meanwhile, for 5 viertel of the mead that you have boiled, take one measure of honey; put that in a kettle and let it boil over embers, and stir it on and on until it takes on a red or brown colour, as you want the colour to be. Then take some of the boiled mead and pour it into the honey, stir it well, and pour it all together.
After that take fresh laurel berries that still have their skins, crush them and hang them in it, and let it cool well before you put it in the little cask. And if you want to strengthen it with good spice or with hops, you may well do that too.
Rumpolt uses two units. Frankfurt values (19th century; the size in 1581 is not documented but was probably close):
| Unit | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Maß (measure) | about 1.8 l | about ½ gallon (1.9 quarts) |
| 1 Viertel = 4 Maß | about 7.2 l | about 1.9 gallons (7.6 quarts) |
The recipe has two ratios:
| Step | In the text | In modern terms |
|---|---|---|
| Base mead | 1 Maß honey to 6 Maß water | 1 part honey to 6 parts water, by volume |
| Colouring honey | 1 Maß honey for every 5 Viertel of mead | about 1.8 l honey per 36 l of mead (½ gallon per 9.5 gallons), so roughly 1 part honey to 20 parts mead |
Example for a 5-gallon batch (about 19 l of mead):
| Ingredient | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| Honey for the base mead | about 2.7 l (3.8 kg) | about 0.7 gallon (8.4 lb) |
| Water | about 16.2 l | about 4.3 gallons |
| Honey for colouring, boiled dark | about 0.95 l (1.35 kg) | about 1 quart (3 lb) |
Honey weights assume about 1.42 kg per litre (11.8 lb per gallon).
Translation: fyndling.de (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). It was made from the original-language text as transcribed by Justus Liebig University Giessen, via the Deutsches Textarchiv (CC BY-NC 3.0 DE). That transcription is not reproduced on this page; you can read it next to the manuscript scan via the link below.
Original scan and transcription: fyndling.de/rezepte/rum-1972. German-language site; Google Translate works well for reading it.