Rose Turkish Delight
Disclaimer: This recipe is for personal use only.
Mead Master’s Note
Turkish Delight is a gelatin-based candy famous the world over. It comes in many fruit flavours with rose flavor being the classic Turkish flavour. Upon tasting Turkish Delight for the first time, I knew it must be made into mead.
After considerable effort, I managed to mimic the Turkish Delight so closely that a Turkish friend of mine simply uttered “home” when he tasted it. This rhodomel has a powerful rose aroma that hits you immediately. It tastes drier than the gravity suggests but balances perfectly with the rose notes. The dried lemongrass provides the unique softness and twang of Turkish Delight. A perfect amount of dried sweet Orange peel provides a tart citrus backbone while remaining appropriately in the background.
Serefe!
Mead Specifications
Batch Size - 5 litres
ABV - 16%
Starting Gravity (SG) - 1.140
Final Gravity (FG) - 1.020
Style - Rhodomel
Ingredients
Light Wildflower Honey - 2.1kg
Lalvin W15 - 10.6g
Go-Ferm - 13.3g
Fermaid O - 12.4g, 6.2g per dose.
Potassium carbonate - 2.6g
Fermaid K - 2.5g
Potassium sorbate - 0.7g
Potassium metabisulfite - 0.4g
Spice Blend
Rosehips - 150g
Lemongrass - 11g
Dried orange peel (sweet, not bitter) - 2.7g
Vanilla bean - 1 whole bean
Must Preparation
To a sanitised seven-litre bucket, add the honey, first dose of Fermaid O, potassium carbonate, and Fermaid K.
Add 2.5 litres of water. We highly suggest using spring water to avoid chloramines found in tap water. Don’t use distilled water.
Mix until all the honey is dissolved.
Add water to slightly below the five-litre mark.
Yeast Preparation
In a sanitised microwave-safe glass measuring jug, heat 330 ml of water to 38°C in a microwave.
Mix Go-Ferm into the hot water.
Sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then stir vigorously.
After 10 minutes, add the yeast solution to the bucket.
Note: Do not allow the yeast to sit for longer than 15 minutes.
Fermentation
Store the bucket in a temperature range of 18-24°C. Around 21°C is best.
48 hours after pitching the yeast, add the second dose of Fermaid O.
Take a gravity reading every 3 days with a hydrometer until the gravity reaches 1.020 (10-14 days).
Secondary
Once the gravity is stable, add the spices from the spice blend to the bucket.
Allow to infuse for at least 2 weeks or to taste.
Rack the mead into a sanitized carboy.
Stabilising
Cold crash in a fridge until clear. (Optional) Cold temperatures speed clearing, but clearing will occur without it.
Rack the clear mead into a sanitised demijohn.
Add the potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulfite to the demijohn and mix well. Allow to sit for a minimum of 24 hours, ideally until clear.
Note: After stabilising, there will be a harsh note resembling fusels in the mead for a few weeks. This is caused by the stabiliser and will age out as the stabiliser completes its protective purpose.A few days after mixing, cold crash in the fridge to speed clearing. (Optional)
Bottle into sanitised bottles.
Tips and Tricks
Place your bucket into a larger container to contain any potential spill over from fermentation.
If your home is cold, the top back of the fridge is great for keeping the fermentation warm.
A spray bottle of diluted sanitiser is great for sanitising surfaces, especially hands.
The first time you use a non-graduated bucket, add 5 litres at a time and draw a line for each.
