hist-brewing: Blue Mead

[R. Trigg]

WyteRayven at aol.com said in Re: hist-brewing: Blue Mead at 10/Jan/01Wed 
10:21:
<snip>
 
> As far as alkanet, I need to find out more about it. I dont believe that 
> it is a food coloring like the stuff you get in the grocery store. It was 
> used in the middle ages, and therefore was probably a plant of some type. 
I 
> need to find out more info on it.

Greetings to the list from a lurker.

When I saw the term "alkanet," I thought I remembered a warning about it in 
Cindy Renfrow's "Take A Thousand Eggs." It is a plant; however, according 
to the glossary (p. 228) in Vol. 1:

"Alkanet - Alkanna tinctoria, a member of the borage family, yields a toxic 
red dye which is used in medicines, chemistry, and the leather industry."

This doesn't sound like it would produce a blue mead or be safe to consume. 

Sorry to throw cold water on the idea,

Lady Nostas'ia Stepanova
Barony of Ponte Alto, Atlantia
(mka Rachel Trigg, Alexandria, VA)

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