Benefits And Homemade Verjuice recipe, along with Delicious Sour Grape Paste, Traditional Sour Grape Pickle and Sour Grape powder.
How To Prepare Homemade Verjuice:
Verjuice is one of the most flavorful enhancers for traditional dishes. Verjuice is used in various soups, stews, and salads. Iranians have been making this beloved condiment at home for a long time. For high-quality verjuice, it's preferable to use the best type of grapes, namely green, coarse, juicy grapes with thin skin and no seeds.
Sour Grape:
Sour Grape is an unripe and sour grape, rich in vitamin C and beneficial for health.
The ingredients for preparing delicious homemade Verjuice are:
- Fresh sour grapes: As needed
- Salt: A small amount
Making fresh and delicious Verjuice at home is a very easy task.
The first step involves separating the stems of the sour grapes, removing all short stems, branches, and extra leaves. The presence of the tail or stem of the sour grapes can lead to an astringent flavor.
In the second step, wash all the sour grapes thoroughly. Then, pour them into a colander and spread them on a clean cloth to allow any excess water to drain away.
In the third step, use a blender or juicer, extract the juice from the sour grapes. If you use a juicer, usually the skin and seeds of the sour grapes remain behind the filter. Therefore, after juicing, you'll have a consistent and clear sour grape juice . However, if you use a blender or mixer to extract the juice, you'll need to filter the juice afterward.
You can also take the sour grapes to a store for juicing. If the grape juice is not uniform and clear, pour it into a cloth or strainer and press well to extract the liquid.
In the fourth step, boil sour grape juice. After filtering the sour grape juice, pour it into a pot and heat it until approximately one-eighth of it evaporates.
In the fifth step, after boiling the sour grape juice, you can add some salt to it. Allow the sour garepe juice or Verjuice to cool completely after boiling. Then, pour it into a glass container and seal the lid tightly.
*One of the most common methods to enhance the color of Verjuice is placing it under sunlight. For this, you should expose the Verjuice container to sunlight for a while until its color turns red.
Note:
It is necessary for the Verjuice container to have a few centimeters of empty space at the top to prevent spillage. To prevent the container from molding, it must be dry and clean. Additionally, you can add a bit of olive oil or sesame oil inside the Verjuice container, then seal the lid tightly.
How to make Verjuice without boiling the sour grapes:
If you prefer not to boil the sour grapes and want to preserve Verjuice naturally, you can pour the extracted juice into a clean and dry glass jar after juicing and then store it in the refrigerator.
In conclusion, we will mention a few benefits and side effects of Verjuice.
The benefits of Verjuice for the body
- Weight Loss Aid: Helpful for weight loss.
- Rich in Antioxidants: Abundant in various antioxidants.
- Cholesterol Reduction: Contributes to reducing blood fat.
- Liver Health: Beneficial for the liver.
- Acne Reduction: Helpful for individuals who develop acne from consuming warm- temperament foods.
- Blood Pressure Management: Beneficial for managing blood pressure.
- Fever Relief: Useful for reducing fever.
- Appetite Stimulant: Acts as an appetite stimulant.
- Digestive Aid: Assists in digestion.
- Gut and Stomach Disorders: Beneficial for addressing intestinal and stomach disorders.
- Anti-Constipation: Has anti-constipation properties.
- Blood Infection Prevention: Useful for preventing various blood infections.
- Rich in Vitamin C: Abundant in vitamin C.
- Anti-Inflammatory: Beneficial for inflammatory conditions resulting from vitamin C deficiency, and more.
Side effects of excessive Verjuice consumption
- Bloating and Stomach Cramps: May lead to bloating and stomach discomfort.
- Not Suitable for Cold-Temperament Liver Conditions: Not recommended for individuals with a cold-temperament liver.
- Digestive Issues: Could worsen digestive problems.
- Not Suitable for Weak Nerves: Not advisable for individuals with weak nerves.
- Not Recommended for Pregnant Women.
Sour grape paste and its benefits
They Sour Grape refers to the unripe grapes, green in color with a sour and tangy taste, widely used in many Iranian dishes. Sour grape paste is one of the pastes that can be used in many dishes, serving as a condiment instead of tomato paste.
The sour grape has a cold and dry temperament, but its pastes, due to the heat involved in its preparation, doesn't retain the inherent cold temperament of sour grape.
Benefits of sour grape paste
- Reduces bile and blood heat in the body.
- Helps eliminate bile and phlegm in the stomach, relieving thirst and soothing stomach heat and inflammation.
- Assists in treating jaundice.
- Clears intestinal worms.
- Due to its content of potassium tartrate, sour grape paste aids in the treatment of acute sciatica and rheumatism.
- Sour grape paste, with its vitamin C content, contributes to improving scurvy, a condition resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C in the body.
- Thanks to its organic acids, sour grape paste aids digestion, especially in the elderly.
- Highly appetizing.
- Sour grape paste, containing vitamin C, can improve mucosal inflammation in the mouth and throat, as well as gum bleeding resulting from vitamin deficiency.
Note:
Consuming sour grape paste in moderation can strengthen the liver and alleviate bodily weakness.
How to make sour grape paste:
Sour grape paste can be prepared in two methods.
First method: Extract the sour grape juice and heat it until it thickens to the consistency of pastes.
Second method: Wash the sour grapes and place them in a clean, unblemished enamel container. Sprinkle salt over them and put the container on low heat. Then seal the container and patiently wait for the grapes to fully cook and soften. Afterward, strain them through a sieve. If the paste is still thin, simmer it a bit more until it reaches the desired thickness. Be cautious during the thickening phase, ensuring the flame is low and stirring continuously to prevent burning.
Store the prepared paste in a sealed container inside the refrigerator.
Consumption amount of sour grape paste
Use approximately one tablespoon.
Adverse effects and harms of excessive and prolonged consumption of sour grape paste
- Excessive consumption of sour grape paste is not recommended for individuals with high blood fat and fatty liver conditions. It might impair digestive capabilities in the liver, resulting in further fat accumulation.
- While it's recommended during pregnancy, excessive consumption can lead to miscarriage.
- It delays puberty in girls.
- It is harmful to the chest and causes coughing unless consumed with its antidotes.
- Excessive and prolonged consumption reduces sexual desire.
- It causes bloating and stomach cramps, and it's advisable to consume it with its antidotes such as Gulqand, Anise, and fig.
Sour Grape Pickle
In the past, people used pickles and sour dishes to preserve vegetables throughout the year. Pickles and sour dishes can be used as condiments and flavor enhancers alongside various foods.
Considering the season of sour grapes, this article discusses a very simple method of preparing sour grape pickles.
Ingredients for making sour grape pickles
- Askari sour grapes
- A little Peeled garlic
- A little bit of Fresh tarragon leaves and dill leaves
- Boiled salt water (Salt should be enough to make the water completely salty, imparting a slightly bitter taste)
- Grape leaves as needed
Recipe for delicious and flavorful sour grape pickles
- Start by dividing the sour grapes into small portions, then wash them and place them in a colander to drain and dry.
- In the second step, arrange the sour grapes in a glass jar, and intersperse peeled garlic, tarragon, and dill leaves among the grapes.
- In the third step, pour the pre-prepared salt water over the grapes, ensuring it covers them completely.
- Finally, place grape leaves on top of the sour grapes and seal the jar tightly.
Recipe for making sour grape powder
Another method of using sour grapes is to make sour grape powder.
To make sour grape powder, carefully wash the sour grapes. Then, spread them on a cloth for a few weeks until they dry. Finally, grind the dried sour grapes into a powder and use it to add flavor to your dishes. To enhance the shelf life of sour grape powder, it's recommended to add a little salt.
Sources:
- Professor Khodadadi's book
- Dr. Ravazadeh's website (Iran Patogh - Parsineh)
- Chi Shi website
- Namnak
- Kourosh Magazine
- Personal informations and experiences