Sweet woodruff: May wine.

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs
Subject: Re: may wine recipe?
From: hoffmann.stolaf.edu
Date: Mon, 04 Apr 94 10:44:27 CST

> hello. I am looking for the recipe to May wine. I understand it has woodruff in it. does anyone know what ELSE is in it?

No, woodruff is all you need. The important thing is to dry the woodruff first before you add it to the white wine. Drying woodruff develops cumarin with its typical smell. Fresh woodruff will not add any flavor to the wine. I make my own May wine every year and love it.

Norbert Hoffmann

From: Conrad Richter <71550.3411.CompuServe.COM>

>hello. I am looking for the recipe to May wine. I understand it has woodruff in it. does anyone know what ELSE is in it?

From Foster, GB (1966) _Herbs for every garden_, Dutton, New York:

Any good light, white wine should go into the punch powl -- Sauterne, Moselle, or Rhine wine -- about a quart of it, and be stirred with ½ cup brandy. Add simple syrup to taste and toss in slices of pneapple, orange, lemon and a good handful of wild strawberries, the biggest you can find. Add a large chunk of ice and crown it all with white stars and leaves of sweet woodruff, In fact, it is of better flavor, if the latter soaks in the wine an hour or so before the fruit and ice are added. You may add a pint of cold champagne at the last minute to give sparkle. Not too sweet herb cookies or poound cake flavored with caraway or anise seeds are more suitable with a Maibowle than cheese and crackers.

This is the most elaborate recipe I have seen. Enjoy!

Conrad Richter

From: hoffmann.stolaf.edu

> Any good light, white wine should go into the punch powl --

whow, that's quite a recipe and I am sure it tastes delicious. But it doesn't sound much like the May wine I know - if you ask me. The original May wine I know from Germany (my home) has a very subtle flavor of just the woodruff (dried first) added to the white wine. What you are describing sounds more like an excellent recipe for a typical May punch I used to make for parties. Next morning my kids would get into the left-overs because it tasted so good.