May wine, Mad nose
May. 30th, 2005 04:48 amAt the beginning of May 2004, I went out looking for sweet woodruffe in order to make May wine. To my disgust, there wasn't any. This year, the hedgerows are full of the stuff, albeit it so far after May night as to make it redundant. Still, I thought I would try it. The basic old English version = white wine, sugar, lots of sprigs of woodruffe. You gather your woodruffe, wash it and dry it out. Then you sprinkle lemon juice on the leaves. Then you pour on the wine and let it steep for 3-4 hours. Then you filter it if you wish, chill it and, if such is your inclination, turn it into a sort of white sangria with oranges and strawberries.
The sweet woodruffe adds a very unusual and pleasant aroma to the wine, certainly![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
larians approved of it on his return from the HG. It makes a fine almost-punch for May and all those couples who would run from painted phalluses on the green, preferring a discreet picnic instead* ('I know a bank where the wild thyme grows...')Sweet woodruffe's old name is Master of the Woods, and on drinking my attempts at the recipe, I could tell why. Without being too animal/glandular, it does add a distinct woody musk to the taste.
It got me thinking of scent and flowers and sex. Horse chestnut and maythorn bloom have long been suspected of smelling like, well, like guys on the rise. I haven't noticed that particularly, but I do have this theory about men and hyacinths. Hyacinths are named after a youth beloved by Apollo and killed in a game (It seems Apollo was unlucky in love, though not as unlucky as those he pursued). My pet theory is that hyacinths are linked with male sexuality, not just because of the plant's shape, but because some men, during post-coital afterglow, suddenly give off this bloom-like scent from neck and shoulders, a sweet smell, just like flowers. Doesn't always happen, maybe it only occurs with a certain skin/body type. Or maybe I have a mad nose.
Whatever my olfactory delusions, the may wine appears to have been a success, and I'll remember it for next year. In the meantime, the sun is up. Looks like a fine morning.
*This probably means everybody.
The sweet woodruffe adds a very unusual and pleasant aroma to the wine, certainly
larians approved of it on his return from the HG. It makes a fine almost-punch for May and all those couples who would run from painted phalluses on the green, preferring a discreet picnic instead* ('I know a bank where the wild thyme grows...')Sweet woodruffe's old name is Master of the Woods, and on drinking my attempts at the recipe, I could tell why. Without being too animal/glandular, it does add a distinct woody musk to the taste. It got me thinking of scent and flowers and sex. Horse chestnut and maythorn bloom have long been suspected of smelling like, well, like guys on the rise. I haven't noticed that particularly, but I do have this theory about men and hyacinths. Hyacinths are named after a youth beloved by Apollo and killed in a game (It seems Apollo was unlucky in love, though not as unlucky as those he pursued). My pet theory is that hyacinths are linked with male sexuality, not just because of the plant's shape, but because some men, during post-coital afterglow, suddenly give off this bloom-like scent from neck and shoulders, a sweet smell, just like flowers. Doesn't always happen, maybe it only occurs with a certain skin/body type. Or maybe I have a mad nose.
Whatever my olfactory delusions, the may wine appears to have been a success, and I'll remember it for next year. In the meantime, the sun is up. Looks like a fine morning.
*This probably means everybody.
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