Traditional Finnish Lemon Mead (Sima)

Instructions

Wash the bucket and bottles well, then rinse them with boiling water just before use. The fermentation is short and the drink is finished within a week or so, so this is enough to keep it from spoiling.

Boil 4 litres of the water. Wash the lemons well, peel off the zest without taking any bitter white pith, and put the zest in your container.

Slice the peeled lemons, cut away the white pith from around the slices, and add them to the container. Add both sugars, pour in the boiling water, and stir until most of the sugar has dissolved.

Stir in the remaining 4 litres of cold water so the mixture turns lukewarm, between 35°C and 45°C. Check with a thermometer if you are unsure.

Add the yeast once the temperature is right. You can dissolve it in a small cup of the liquid and stir that back in, or simply drop in a crumb of fresh yeast. Leave the container overnight at room temperature.

The next day, put one spoonful of sugar and a few raisins into each bottle, then pour in the sima. Leave the bottles at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for 2 more days, until the raisins have swollen and floated to the top.

Move the bottles to the refrigerator and serve the sima cold. It keeps for at least a week there. Plastic soda bottles are safest, since pressure builds up inside.