[Sca-cooks] Verjus

[Wanda Pease]

I have a Thompson seedless grape in the back yard, originally planted in
about 1945.  I tried picking the grapes and mashing them in a conical sieve
then letting the juice drip and putting it into a freshly scalded crock
which was allowed to sit in a cool place for a couple of weeks.  It didn't
seem to ferment much, but it did mold.  Next batch went into the crock for a
couple of days with scalded cheese cloth over the top, then into the fridge.
Was tasty and tart.  I'll have to get a bottle of the labeled stuff to see
if they are anything alike.

Regina


> Verjus is merely the juice of unripe grapes.  I can't imagine
> that there is
> more to it than picking the grapes at an earlier stage of
> development,  and
> bottling it as one would any fruit juice.
>
> Determining when to pick the grapes for verjus would be one of the things
> you brother needs to experiment with for a while.  My best guess would be
> when they are just nearly full size [to get the greatest
> proportion of juice
> per grape] but not full ripeness.  But would it be tart enough then, about
> as tart as kitchen vinegar?  Only taste-testing could tell.