Must facts for kids
Must is freshly crushed fruit juice, usually from grapes. It still has the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit in it. The solid parts of the must are called pomace. Pomace usually makes up about 7% to 23% of the must's total weight. Making must is the very first step in creating wine.
Must has a lot of natural sugar, usually between 10% and 15%. Because of this, it is also used to sweeten many different foods. Unlike grape juice you buy in stores, which is filtered and clear, must is thick and cloudy. It can be different shades of brown and purple.
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Making Wine from Must
When making wine, the winemaker decides how long the solid parts (pomace) should stay with the juice. This time is very important for how the final wine will taste. When the winemaker thinks the time is right, the juice is drained away from the pomace. The pomace is then pressed to get out any juice still held within it.
After this, yeast is added to the juice. This starts the fermentation process, which turns the sugar into alcohol. The leftover pomace is often returned to the vineyard or orchard to be used as fertilizer. Sometimes, a small amount of unfermented must is saved. This can be added later to make the wine sweeter before it is bottled.
Must in Balsamic Vinegar
Must is also a key ingredient for making Traditional Balsamic Vinegar. This special aged vinegar comes from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It is protected by European rules that ensure its quality and origin.
To make this vinegar, special bacteria are used to turn the must into vinegar. This process, called acetification, happens slowly. Both the acetification and the aging take place in special wooden barrels. These barrels are made from different types of wood like oak, chestnut, mulberry, and juniper. After aging for at least 60 days, experts test the vinegar.
Must for Mead
The word "must" is also used by people who make mead. Mead is an alcoholic drink made from honey. For mead, "must" refers to the unfermented mixture of honey and water. In beer making, a similar term is "wort".
Must in Cooking
Long ago, in ancient Greece, people boiled must to make it thicker. This thick syrup was called siraion. They used it as a sweetener in many recipes, even pouring it over pancakes. The Romans also used thickened must in their cooking as a sweetener. They boiled must in metal pots to make a milder syrup called defrutum or a stronger one called sapa. It was often used to add a sour taste or to preserve fruit dishes.
Today, reduced must is used as a syrup in Greek, Balkan, French, and Middle Eastern cooking. It is known as petimezi, pekmez, or dibis. In Greece, petimezi is a main ingredient for a must-custard called moustalevria. It is also used in a sweet snack called soutzoukos.
Moustokoúloura, or "must cookies," are also popular Greek treats. They are made from a sweet dough mixed with flour, olive oil, spices, and must. These cookies come in different shapes and sizes. They are dark brown because of the must and spices in them. In South Africa, must is used to make a sweet bun called Mosbolletjies.
Must in Church Services
In the Roman Catholic Eucharistic liturgy, must can sometimes be used instead of sacramental wine. This is allowed only if a priest or a person attending the service cannot drink wine for a good reason. The local church leader must give special permission for this. Normally, wine is always used.
Official Catholic documents say that must for church services must be fresh grape juice. It can also be juice preserved in ways that stop it from fermenting, like freezing. However, it cannot be pasteurized grape juice (juice that has been heated to kill germs). This rule has been in place for a very long time, going back to early popes and thinkers like Thomas Aquinas.
See also
In Spanish: Mosto para niños
