SC - Re: crabapple verjus + raisins

[allilyn at juno.com]

<<That's possible. I was speaking rather speculatively. I've never known
crabapple juice to ferment into an alcoholic product, let's say. It
should be easily tested, though, with some fairly simple equipment.
>>

Don't get TOO simple.  At age 9, I gathered the windfalls (after the
farmer had cleaned the press for the year and we won't discuss spanking)
pressed them in the wooden press, strained the mess through one of
Mother's good linen napkins (more  'discouragement') , put it into a
glass jar, covered with some sort of cloth rubber banded to keep out
flies and let it breathe--(how does a 9 yr. old know to let wine
breathe?) and set it in the sun on the back window sill of Dad's car. 
This I got away with, he was always more accepting of my curious
experiments.  He'd told me of putting bootlegger liquor in oak barrels,
and hiding it in the roadster trunk, so that the bouncing as he drove
mountain roads would age it quickly.  I guess I figured the car travel
would make the apple juice turn into cider more quickly.  It didn't--just
went to vinegar.  No fermentation, really.  I think my non-adventursome
Mother made my throw it out, wouldn't cook with it.

This month's 'experiment' involves making raisins.  I bought some grapes
at market--green, seedless table grapes--but they were pretty sour.  I
left them on the counter to sweeten, and noticed that one had gone
bad--no, gone raisin!  My kitchen in winter is about the temp and
humidity of an English or German summer kitchen, so I wondered if they
could have made raisins from their table grapes, which I know they grew. 

 I think of raisin production as an outdoor event, involving much strong
southern sun.  What would happen in a cool, cloudy (just kept them out of
the sun from the windows) slightly moist kitchen?  It is taking
forever--still several green, though wrinkled.  The raisins are brown,
wrinkling nicely, and getting very sweet as the drying contrates  the
sugars.  I eat one every day to check the progress.  There's no alcohol
taste.  They are not fermenting in any stage.  

Now, I'll have to watch for plums in the market.  They, being much
larger, may rot before pruning.  Usually, if I want to dry fruit, I do it
in a convection oven.  I realize these are modern hybrid grapes, but the
process can still teach me a thing or 2.

Regards,
Allison,     allilyn at juno.com


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