Verjuice

Recently there has been an addition to the Contra Costa Winegreower’s Association, Wedl Vineyards.  They are just around the corner from us and they currently bottle an EXCELLENT Zinfandel wine.   Fortunate for us we have been able to participate in the winemaking process at the ground level.

Part of the grape growing process requires the “dropping” of fruit.  This is fruit that is too young or too far mature, basically fruit that will not be at the right stage when the brix are high enough for picking.  This is also done to concentrate the flavors in the remaining bunches to boost the flavors for the end product.  That is not to say that this fruit is not good, it is and useable for table consumption.  This is the fruit that I use for the zinfandel pies and the vin cotta (next on the list to be made this year).  The green grapes can be turned into “Verjuice”.  Verjuice or Verjus comes from the French and translated means literally green juice.   It is made from the un-ripened grapes by removing the stems and dropping the rest in a blender, pulsing and then filtering the juice.  Why would one do this, because the enhancement from the juice is amazing! 

 

Verjuice is generally used as a substitute for lemon juice or vinegar, but it is really much much more than that.  Verjuice is a natural flavor enhancer, adding amazing flavor and richness. The grapes used here are generally high in acid and low in sugars.   It is zesty, delicate, and elegant used only as creative as the chef’s imagination.  Verjuice has the same acid base as wine, imagine that, since it comes from the same grapes, and in dishes with wine, it will not distort the essence of the wine as lemon juice or vinegar will.  It then becomes the perfect condiment to use when you are cooking with a good quality wine in a dish, which you should do anytime you cook with wine.

After blending

Verjuice is extremely versatile and can be used in any dish sweet or savory, meat, veggie, or fruit.  You can use it in dressings and vinaigrettes instead of vinegar, sauces, gravies, and reductions adding complexity were ever you use it.

Verjuice is available online if you are not as fortunate as I am to have a vineyard around the corner, and it will keep refrigerated up to 3 months once opened.

Verjuice has been around for ages some stating 4000BC.  But in 1980 it made a dynamic comeback.  This unique ingredient has been the target of revival by Australian restaurateurs and wine farmers and is currently produced in Australia, as the largest producer, followed by South Africa.  This unique product is ever still the elusive one being found only in high-end supermarkets and specialty food stores in South Africa. 

Historians set out on a quest on 1999 to reinstate the tradition of the making of the juice and are doing so in small quantities commercially.  A visit to Burgundy in ’01 revealed that there was no presence of the product in either food stores or vinoteques or despite the copious amounts used in Dijon in the making of the mustard of the same name.

Although verjuice can be made from almost any green fruit, current day processing equipment makes grapes the obvious choice.  And in my book the flavor spike that it provides is wonderful and truly does compliment the good wines used in the makings of a great dish.  So cleans your palette and prepare your mouth for the deliciousness that Verjuice adds to you food and meal!  Live, Love, and Eat!