Ideas for Truly Weird Ingredients

[Chris Amirault]

Here in Providence RI, there are an amazing number of backyard grape arbors, and we have our own hardy one filling the air with perfume. I cannot tell you what kind of grapes they are, though they seem to resemble Welch-y concord grapes: big, round, and sweet.

Most of the arbors were planted by Portuguese immigrants upon their arrival to this area decades ago. We have the great fortune to have one such elderly man tend to our grapes during the summer and fall; he just shows up now and again, tastes them, and nods to us. Two weeks ago he came by with his huge PVC buckets and harvested a wagonful of the things. And, as with every year that we've lived here, we just received a recycled Carlo Rossi jug full of homemade, uncorked, foaming, purple, shockingly sweet "wine."

We've tried to share in the spirit of our little community event the last two years and drink a toast with a glass of the stuff, but, honestly folks, it's undrinkable. This year my wife is pregnant, so if it's getting quaffed, only dad's gonna quaff, and the slightly scuzzy bubbling that marks this year's vintage isn't comforting. Finally, we can't really ask our benefactor for advice: he can neither speak nor hear, and his wife isn't fluent in English -- though she did use urgent gestures to indicate that, if we screw on a cap, the jug will explode forthwith.

So, eGers, I ask you three questions:

(1) Have you found yourself in a similar dilemma, faced with truly strange items that cry out for inclusion in a dish whose design and execution you cannot fathom? What did you do?

(2) Any good recipes for a couple of tons of concord grapes?

(3) Have you any ideas about what we should do with this roiling concorde nouveau 2004?

Any and all responses appreciated!

[jsolomon]

Find a mother and make vinegar?

Edit to add: for personal consumption, baked sausage (Italian-style-ish) with grapes is divine. You may also want to see if there are any places which might take donations of grapes, i.e. soup kitchens, schools, churches... I assume they're pleasant enough out-of-hand.

Edited September 26, 2004 by jsolomon (log)

[bloviatrix]

Concord Grape Sorbet?

Your own preserves?

[Chris Amirault]

Concord Grape Sorbet? Your own preserves?

←

Yes, great ideas, particularly the preserves -- any recipes handy?

Edited September 27, 2004 by chrisamirault (log)

[lovebenton0]

I would first suggest you try a batch of the grapes in preserves, jams, or jellies (or all of them!) using the basic recipe included in your gelling medium. Especially if you're new to this.

I make "Back Fence Grape Jelly" (from guess where? ) every year from our grapes. And jams. The grapes themselves are not good to eat off the vine (muscastel and mustang grapes have bitter thick skins, but they also add rich flavor when cooked for the canning). Ours are exquisite every year in the jellies and jams. Nothing in the store tastes as good as that. No gourmet grape concoction I've ever had is the same as these.

Very good with sausages, yes, and dark bird flesh. You can also mix the grapes with other fruit, such as cranberries for relishes, or make sweet toppings for ice cream, serve with coffeecakes, sweet rolls, or breads. Add to berry pies and cobblers. (About 3 or 4:1 -- berries to grapes.)

You're blessed with readily edible fruit, chow down! The fruit itself is the treasure.

Homemade grape juice is also wonderful. No fermentation problems there!

And the donation idea is great, if you have such a big haul.

Edited November 7, 2004 by lovebenton0 (log)

[andiesenji]

As suggested by jsolomon, I would go to a health food store and get a bottle of the unfiltered cider vinegar that contains the mother and add 1/4 cup to a quart of the "wine" and put it away in a dark place for 3-4 months, which should be sufficient time for the mother to take over and create vinegar.

Some truly awful raw wines have been converted into excellent vinegar, in fact, one vintner here in California turned a disaster into cash back in the late 70s when he did this following a year when grape crops were affected by out of season storms coupled with a strike by farm workers.

Jelly, jams, preserves and juice are also great options. You can also remove the grapes from the stems, spread them on a tray and freeze them, then transfer to bags for later processing if you are overwhelmed with a huge amount.

If they are seedless and very sweet, you can dry them and make wonderful raisins. Don't try it with seeded grapes, it is a lot of work to split them and remove the seeds. I expect yours have seeds as most Concord varieties do. I know of only one cultivar that is seedless and it is a relatively new introduction.

You can cook them down a bit and put them through a food mill to remove the seeds and the tough part of the skins which will leave you with the pulp and this can be thinly spread on a silpat mat on a sheet pan and dried in a very low (140 degrees) oven to make grape "leather"......

[Chris Amirault]

Thanks, y'all! I appreciate the ideas, and will very happily use them next year. Alas, they are a bit too late for this fall. Cheers, Chris

[sparrowgrass]

Spend a buck and a half and buy yourself an airlock like this:

from a brewing store. Be sure to get one with a cork at the bottom that fits your bottle.

Stick it in the top of that foaming jug, and let that baby work till the fermentation stops--might take a month or more. Then, when absolutely no bubbles are being formed, put the cap on the bottle, put it in the cellar (or back of the closet) for 6 months.

Then try it. It might still be bad, but it certainly will be improved.