This weekend I tried using the last of the blooming sweet woodruff to make May Wine by following a recipe from the Herbfarm Cookbook. We have a patch of this herb growing under what we think is an old elderberry bush, now tree-sized.
To make this traditional, German May Day beverage, you just insert about 24, 2-inch springs of the herb into a bottle of riesling. Shake, then let sit for about 24 hours. I have just read that sweet woodruff is actually slightly poisonous, though the amounts used for May Wine (or Maiwein in German) are supposedly safe. Too late, anyway, since we served and drank some of the refreshing, cool, honey-flavored wine as an aperitif for the official season-opening of our deck today. Just about 27 days late for a traditional May Day celebration with the wine, but I am glad I finally got around to the experiment. It was easy to make and made a lovely bottle.
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