hist-brewing: Blue Mead

[Angus]

--- WyteRayven at aol.com
> wrote:
>I spoke to a friend who is well versed in both period food, as well as period 
>dyeing, about the possibility of using Indigo in a mead to turn it blue.
>
>She said that she didn't believe that indigo is toxic, but it is probably 
>indigestible. She didn't think that it would work for making a blue mead 
>though, because it isn't water soluble, and that the best that you would 
>probably come up with would be a powdered blue sediment at the bottom of the 
>mead.
>
>She did, however, make some suggestions. She recommended trying alkanet or 
>violets. Both were used in period to color food blue.
>
>Hope this helps,
>
>Dawn

Indigo is indeed insoluble in water (not totally though, just in very minute quantities).  A common method when dying fabric at home with indigo (or woad) is to ferment the pigment in urine for a few days.  Directly after dying the fabric would have a greenish color which then oxidizes into blue.

The use of violets have been discussed at the sca-cooks mailing list so there might be something about it in the Floriligium at
http://www.florilegium.org/
but at the moment I can't recall if the discussion were aboutcoloring food or candied petals.
/angus.
 

==
There comes a time in every man's life when he must feel tempted to spit in his hands, hoist the black flag and begin slitting throats.
   --H.L. Mencken

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