To many modern Russians, and even more so to foreigners, the word "half-cook" does not mean anything. That is why some people take the name of this revived drink as a marketing move, because every six months some new spirits appear on the shelves. In fact, half a cup is a forgotten ancestor of Russian alcohol; it is nothing but bread wine, which was produced in Russia much earlier than the familiar vodka.
A bit of history
Vodka is a mixture of alcohol and purified water. In Russia, it appeared only at the end of the nineteenth century. What was used before in Russia? Bread wine was the main strong drink. They got it from ordinary distillation cubes, as, however, the whole world still does. The difference was only in raw materials.
Everyone drives a drink of what is rich. In France, Italy, Spain it is grapes, in Germany they use wheat more often, in England - barley. Russia has always been rich in rye, so they made bread wine from it. The manufacturing process was not much different from ordinary moonshining or the production of “oak by fortress” whiskey in Scotland. If you believe the first mention, then Scotch whiskey was already in 1494. A certain abbot sent King Jacob a request that he allocate barley for the production of a strong drink, then he was called "water of life" - "aqua vit."
In Russia, the first spirits were mentioned in the book of Pole Matvey Mikhovsky in 1517. He describes that in Muscovy, residents, distilling honey and cereals, make a “burning liquid” that warms them in severe frosts. Rusichi themselves called this liquid bread wine (due to the method of preparation).
What was called vodka?
Vodka was called bread wine purified in several stages, into which various spices and herbs were added. From a modern point of view, this is tincture. And there were several varieties of it.
Sometimes there was no vodka without additives, it was just that the wine was distilled, purified additionally in a vodka cube. This drink was very expensive, only wealthy people drank, to know bread wine. Vodka accounted for only 5% of all alcoholic beverages in the country. The processes of distilling and making vodka from wine at that time were subject to a different tax; these were two completely different processes.
Only in 1936, vodka in Russia began to have a different composition. She became the usual mixture of rectified alcohol with purified water. On all bottles with a strength of 40% began to stamp the label "Vodka".
Half-Bread Wine
For a long time, half a ginger was in Russia the highest quality and most popular alcoholic beverage. The wine is quite strong - 38.5%, has a unique rye taste. Until 1895, a half-bar was considered a symbol of the quality of alcoholic products, because its strength was strictly controlled.
In 1842, Nicholas I even issued a Decree according to which the half-bar was checked in a special way, that is, annealing. How did this happen? Ordinary bread wine could have any strength from 38 to 50 degrees, while the half-wine strictly kept 38.5%. There were no alcohol meters at that time.
The regulated procedure was as follows: the wine was poured into a copper annealer and set fire by special technology. Half a burn was supposed to burn exactly half. This is where its name came from - half-wine. The poured two “flasks” burned out and merged into one “flask”. That was the norm. Later, when alcohol meters appeared, it was possible to find out how many degrees in a half-heat, it turned out to be 38-39, but not 40 at all.
Where did the 40 degrees come from?
Many are convinced that Mendeleev began to dilute alcohol to a point of forty degrees. Actually, the finance minister of that time, Retern, introduced this innovation. This was done to facilitate the work of officials. After the introduction of excise taxes in 1863, they painfully withheld tax amounts, multiplying by 38. The Minister ordered the fortress of bread wine to be considered at 40 degrees. Back then, alcohol meters were already in full use and the technology of “burnout” became irrelevant.
In 1895, in Russia, after the introduction of the state monopoly on rectified ethyl alcohol, half-bar production was banned. Vodka began to be produced. Gradually the bread wine recipe was forgotten and only recently the Russian market began to offer this ancient unique drink.
Types of Half
Initially, only three types of half a cup were supplied to the modern Russian market: malt, wheat and rye. Now new varieties have been launched into production: “garlic-pepper”, “rye-wheat”, “honey-pepper”. These new drinks are a little cheaper, because they do not go through egg white filtration. For the masses they are quite affordable. The classic half-cake is much more expensive and for the first acquaintance new options are quite suitable.
What is the difference between a half-wine and vodka?
For vodka, pure alcohol is taken, which is made in distillation columns. Chemically, it is absolutely pure, has no odors and flavors. To make a half-grain, use bread wine. Traditional distillation does not remove the taste of raw materials. Half-grain has a rich, bright aroma of bread. The taste of the drink is incomparable. To some extent, it can only be compared with Scotch whiskey. Half a drink is not drunk like vodka. If it is better to drink vodka in one gulp, then you should try half a gulp in small sips, so you can better feel the bright, unique taste and aroma of the drink.
Bread wine, recipe for cooking. Main stages
To make a half-bar, you need rye distillate. For the mash, they take selected rye, grind it coarsely and fill it with pure spring water. Water does not require additional filtration.
After the mash is ripe, ready for distillation, special distillation copper cubes should be set up. Following the technology, the brewed beverage is distilled, if necessary, in several stages. After that, the half-cook is cleaned using birch charcoal or egg whites. The result should be a clear, strong alcoholic drink.
The resulting half-grain has nothing to do with modern vodka. You do not need to cool it very much, at room temperature you feel better bread flavor.
Half a meal of flour
The following components are included in the recipe of bread wine (half a cup):
- 2 kg of flour;
- 8 l of water;
- 100 g of yeast;
- 100 g of sugar.
- Dissolve rye or wheat flour in warm water. Mix thoroughly so that there are no lumps, and a liquid homogeneous mass is obtained. Heat the resulting mass (sourdough) over low heat, cook for about an hour, stirring constantly, the temperature should not exceed 70 degrees. The wort will gradually acquire a light brown tint.
- Remove from heat, let the leaven cool to room temperature. Add the required amount of yeast and sugar, mix thoroughly, leave for fermentation.
- Three days later, on the fourth, you can overtake the ready-made brew. The precipitate is best drained, but if repeated distillation follows, then you can leave it.
- If you strictly follow the recipe, then after the first distillation you get two liters of the strongest moonshine. It is necessary to dilute it 1: 1 with water and drive it a second time on the distiller.
- To get the perfect drink, you can make a third distillation. To cleanse with egg white or charcoal. Some use regular activated charcoal from the medicine cabinet.
- Thus obtained bread wine at home (half a grain) has a strength of 42 to 45 degrees. With all this, the drink is easy to drink, has a mild bread flavor. For snacks, the Russian feast recommends meat, fish dishes, various pickles.
Bread wine without yeast (moonshine)
In Russia, a strong drink made on the basis of rye, wheat, oats, barley with the addition of wild yeast was popular for a long time. Now alcoholic homemade drinks they are no longer so widely used, but for lovers of their own natural product, this recipe will come in handy.
Bread moonshine has a special taste that is not inherent in other similar drinks. It has a slightly palpable taste of grain, you need to drink it chilled, the minimum strength is 32 degrees. If rye was taken as a raw material, the taste of moonshine is saturated, astringent, the drink turns out to be softer from wheat yeast. The classic drink does not include the addition of extra spices (cinnamon, anise and others).
Cooking steps
We grow wild yeast. Rinse 4 kg of wheat in running water, pour evenly into a 25 liter container. Pour 2 cm higher with clean water. Add 800 g of sugar and mix thoroughly. Leave in a dark place for 5 days. If you smell sour, you will understand that the yeast is ready.
Syrup preparation. Stir 3 kg of sugar in warm water (15 liters). Pour the syrup into a bowl of wheat. Cover tightly. Leave to ferment for 6 days. The temperature should be kept from 22 to 28 degrees.
Distillation. Carefully drain the mash without sediment. Distill on the moonshine. It should turn out 3 liters of moonshine. Its strength reaches 79 degrees. It is better to dilute the drink with clean water to 45-50 degrees.
Cleaning up. To clean the drink from fusel oils , manganese is used. Add a few crystals to the bottle. A few days later, black flakes will fall at the bottom. After that, you need to filter the moonshine. Lay several layers of gauze in the watering can, laying it with cotton or crushed charcoal. On the topmost layer, pour 1 teaspoon of soda and sugar. Pass the drink through a watering can in a small trickle. Change the filter after every three liters. To improve the taste, filtered moonshine should be infused for 3-5 days.