SC - Grapes VERY LONG for the gentle who missed the thread

[ChannonM at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/15/99 9:49:26 AM Eastern Standard Time, troy at asan.com 
writes:

<< I'm inclined to favor the idea that
 the statement should read, must is made from raw grapes >>

<<It does seem to be fairly frequently used as a sweetener, though,
and I doubt very much that must, a fairly heavy, unfiltered grape
juice/mash is used as verjuice was used later.>>

Have you considered that there may be more than one type of must? The passage 
from Anthimus is expanded upon by Grant; and I quote his book pg 124, 

The best must was made from grapes picked when no more that the size of chick 
peas (cf. Corpus of Latin Glosses 3.579.10), before the rising of the Dog 
Star in July, and when still covered in the first bloom (cf. Corpus of Latin 
Glosses 3.579.12). Thehse grapes were pressed to produce a dry red and rather 
bitter juice (Pliny Natural History 12.130-2).  Dioscorides (On Medical 
Substances 5.5) specifies that must should be made from the juice of unripe 
Thasian or Aminean grapes. In medicine must could be used in the treatment of 
many maladies, from faintness  to weak digestion (Pliny Natural History 
23.53, cf. 14.77-80)

I think that there is support for recipes being prescriptions for health, the 
root of the word is significant in this consideration:
imperative of recipere to take back, take in, receive. See Receive.] A 
formulary or prescription for making some combination, mixture, or 
preparation of materials; a receipt; especially, a prescription for medicine. 

As such, there may be significance that a sour grape juice is used over 
vinegar. The 13th and 14th C French used both significantly, yet we don't say 
that if they want sourness that they would use one vs the other- they just 
used both. Why is it? I would like to do further research into the medicinal 
uses of both and then we could possibly justify why. It has been put forth 
that a great deal of early French cooking is connected to Galen's theories 
(see Scully for one), likewise Roman cooking was greatly influenced by this 
Physician to Marc Anthony(if memory serves me). 

More to think about. Boy, I do I have a lot to think about. To bad I don't 
have the time to go with it. ;)

Hauviette
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