[Sca-cooks] sour grape juice vs. verjus?

[David Walddon]

Sorry I meant grape based. 
I had a long drive today with two kids in the car and a ferry ride from HELL! 

Sour wine is not vinegar it is sour wine. 
Wine fermented by vinegar bugs is vinegar. 
Sounds like Herrera has a verjuice recipe (along with how to preserve it!). 
Eduardo 


________________________________________________________

Food is life. May the plenty that graces your table truly be a VAST REPAST. 

David Walddon
david at vastrepast.com
www.vastrepast.net



On Apr 1, 2011, at 9:25 PM, Robin Carroll-Mann wrote:

> On Fri, Apr 1, 2011 at 11:50 PM, David Walddon <david at vastrepast.com> wrote:
>> Hmm I don't have De Honesta at hand (I am out of the country) but I think
>> there might be instructions on making wine based verjuice
> 
> Wine-based?  Or grape-based (versus apple-based)?  Sour wine is vinegar.
> Verjus is the juice of unripened grapes.
> 
> The Obra de Agricultura by Gabriel Alonso de Herrera (16th c. Spanish
> agricultural manual) has a short chapter on preserving verjus (agraz).
> He says to take the grapes when they are big and sour, before they
> begin to ripen.  Crush them in a stone mortar, add a little salt, and
> leave them in the sun for 2 or 3 days.  Store the juice in a glass or
> glazed vessel.  Herrera says that some people don't add salt, but salt
> preserves the verjus better.  Some people add a little oil for the
> same purpose.
> 
> Herrera says that verjus is better tasting and healthier than vinegar.
> What I find amusing is that he says that it's useful in regions where
> oranges don't grow or are hard to obtain -- bitter orange juice being
> one of the most popular sour ingredients in late-period Spain.
> 
> Brighid ni Chiarain
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