Chouchen (

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

: ''chouchenn'') is an alcoholic beverage native to

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

. A form of mead, it is made from the fermentation of

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

in water. Chouchen normally contains 14% alcohol by volume. Traditionally,

buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum''), or common buckwheat, is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as ''Fagopy ...

honey is used, and this imparts chouchen's strong colour and pronounced flavour. Tuesday, August 18, 2020 In Brittany, the fermentation process is begun by the addition of freshly pressed apple juice. Yeasts can also be used, as in the beer-making process. To reach the required alcoholic strength, for a litre of chouchen, approximately a third of a litre of honey is needed. Chouchen is drunk chilled (though without ice), and generally as an aperitif. It can also be added to melon, in a similar way to

port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often ...

, or as a hot wine in the winter. There are different kinds of chouchen in Brittany, some of which are prepared with a mixture of seawater as well as fresh water and honey. Originally chouchen was made of cider and honey. The historical reputation of chouchen as a powerful intoxicant arises partly from claims that its effects were boosted by the venom of bees that became mixed up in the brew. While this claim cannot be verified, bees and their venom are not ingredients of the modern product. But, since in ancient times, it was the entire honey comb that was dipped in the cider, it is very possible that a few bees or discarded stingers remained stuck in the mixture and, aided by the fermentation, would see the potency of their venom magnified . There is another drink similar to chouchen, called chufere, which is made of honey and cider. It is generally of a lower strength in alcohol than chouchen, typically eight to nine percent alcohol by volume, and has become less popular and less common than chouchen.

Notes

{{Honey-based alcoholic drinks Mead Breton cuisine French alcoholic drinks