SC - Re:Peeps - OT

[Susan Laing]

At 08:47 -0400 2001-04-03, grizly at mindspring.com wrote:

> Am I off track in thinking there could be a misinterpretation of "verjuice grape varities"?  It seems the track of thought here is that there were varieites grown to make verjuice.  I am thinking that there are just varieties (grown for some other primary purpose) whose green fruit, possibly from culls/trimming as done today, made best verjuice rather than specific cultivation for this use.


In the books I've looked at from my own library I haven't found a 
specific quote, but my brain is telling me that in several places 
over the years I've found references to farmers growing the grapes 
specifically to be harvested for the production of verjuice.  The
references seemed so commonplace at the time that I didn't think 
them worthy of taking notes, the way I would do if there had been 
only one obscure reference.

There was a big demand for verjuice, it's mentioned as being stored
in barrels, and a number of pages are devoted to substitutes for 
when it wasn't available.  There would be many economic reasons 
for a farmer to choose to devote some of their crop exclusively to 
verjuice, insurance against bad weather being just one.  There 
would also be economic pressure to develop varieties that yielded 
more of a better tasting verjuice.

The quotes I have already given, and those to follow, among other 
things mentioning four varieties that were either devoted to, or 
preferred for, verjuice seem quite sufficient for me.  They aren't, 
however, the proverbial smoking gun.

A book on French medieval viniculture might answer the question
definitively.  Alas, I don't have one.


I can add one more (non-smoking) reference:  In Menagier (Power p.
215) "Note that at that season wherein fresh verjuice is made..."

Also another, from Scully, Early French Cookery, 1995, p. 27:  
"Verjuice is a variety of grape that is fully formed by midsummer 
but whose taste is acidic and bitter.  Because this taste was so 
highly esteemed in the late Middle Ages, and because both the juice 
and the mash of verjuice grapes are used so extensively in the
recipes of this period, it is vital for us, if we cannot obtain
those ingredients, to be able to substitute something that is
very similar.  What seems in most instances to be a satisfactory
alternative to verjuice is plain grape juice invigorated with a
dash of lemon juice for tartness."

And a third, Scully on the same page quoting from Taciuna sanitatis:
"[Verjuice] is made from sour grapes which have been harvested before
the sun enters Leo.  They are condensed by being left in tubs for
several days together with the marc, covered with a heavy cloth, 
until the marc rises and the dregs are deposited on the bottom,
clarifying the verjuice...."

  Note: the sun currently enters Leo about July 23.  In the Middle
  Ages it would have entered Leo earlier in the year relative to
  the seasons.  I believe that in 1400 it would have entered Leo 
  about July 16 modern calendar.


Thorvald