Verjuice facts for kids
Verjuice (say it like VUR-jooss) is a very sour juice. It's made by squeezing unripe grapes or other sour fruits like crab-apples. Sometimes, people add lemon or sorrel juice, or even herbs and spices, to change its taste.
Long ago, in the Middle Ages, verjuice was used a lot in Europe. People used it in sauces, as a seasoning, or to add flavor when cooking. Today, it's still used a bit in the Southern United States.
Verjuice was once used in many ways that we now use wine or different kinds of vinegar. But as wine and flavored vinegars became easier to find, verjuice was used less often. Still, it's part of some French dishes and recipes from other European and Middle Eastern countries. You can sometimes buy it in special food stores.
In Australia, a cook named Maggie Beer helped make verjuice popular again. Now, more restaurants in South Australia are using it.
Modern cooks often use verjuice in salad dressings. They choose it when wine will be served with the meal. This is because verjuice gives a sour taste without changing the flavor of the wine, which vinegar or lemon juice might do.
In Arabic, verjuice is called husroum. It's used a lot in Syrian cooking. In Syria, families often make husroum together over several days. The juice they make is then shared among family members to use all year. They do the same for olive oil and tomato paste.
In Persian, it's called ab-ghooreh. It's a key ingredient in Persian dishes, like Shirazi salad.
Verjuice: A Modern Comeback
Maggie Beer, an Australian cook and food writer, helped bring verjuice back into style. She started making it for sale in 1984. This happened after a harvest of Riesling grapes couldn't be sold. She asked a winemaker friend to help her turn the grape juice into verjuice.
At first, sales were slow in Australia. But about 15 years later, verjuice started selling well around the world. After that, other places like France began making their own local verjuice.
In 2015, a brewery in Canada, Niagara Oast House Brewers, even made a special beer using local verjuice from Pinot Noir grapes.
Other Meanings of Verjus
Sometimes, the word verjus has been used for other things. For example, some old cooking books from the Middle Ages say that grape seeds kept in salt were also called verjus.
In a part of France called Ardèche, a type of cider made from crab-apple juice is called verjus. Also, in old English cooking texts, "verjuice" sometimes meant just apple juice or crab-apple juice.
See also
In Spanish: Verjus para niños
