Sour Grapes

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Sour Grapes
by MM
04-Jul-2011
 

Having too much wild-life in the backyard is a blessing and at the same time a scourge if trying to grow fruits/vegetables.  We have three large grape vines that produce lots of leaves and sour grapes.  Although, I have no complaints about the dolmeh from the leaves, we never get to eat any of the grapes since the animals get there first.  In previous years, I harvested a little sour grapes here and there to add to khoreshes.  But this year, I decided to harvest ALL the sour grapes and started to look up how to best (or easy) preserve sour grapes.  So, here are some ways I found:

Verjuice: What to Do With Sour Grapes - “crush the grapes in a blender, pass the pulp through a sieve, and either use it immediately or freeze it.

GOOD: produces verijuice

BAD: too much work and no sour grapes are left

 

Freezing fruits/vegetables right off the vine: “That said, they are typically best used for jam or smoothies because freezing breaks them down so they taste fine but look ugly.”

GOOD: produces ready to use frozen sour grapes / appears to be the easiest way to preserve sour grape till next season

BAD: some breakage of sour grapes

 

Preserve in verijuice (*) or citrus juice and refrigerate

GOOD: (*) the first recommended method by family

BAD: too much work and too much of sour grapes are used for verijuice

 

Preserve in brine (follow wiki preservation of pickles?)

GOOD: produces good looking sour grapes

BAD: some work, but may be worthed

 

After looking over several sites, it seems that some chefs recommend using either “fresh or frozen sour grapes or drained Persian sour grapes in brine”.  So before I start freezing the sour grapes that I have harvested, I wanted to see if the IC users had any experiences or better methods?

OK, just like the internet where most sour grape stuff was political, you can pour your heart out here too, but you can also try to "preserve" that sour grape comment for another time!

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MM

Faramarz

by MM on

I love ghooreh with most Iranian khoreshts.  That is why I decided to harvest them this year and direct the animals elsewhere.

The more I look in the net, the more it seems that dry freezing them in freezer-bags is the way to go.  I know that Michigan growers use freezer-bags to preserve "aalbaaloo" for off-season use.

PS, grape-vines are wonderful once established.  All they need is lots of sun and occasional watering.  Established grape-vines will take over the whole yard if you let them grow as they please.


Faramarz

خورشت کدو با غوره

Faramarz


Dear MM,

I don't have much to contribute when it comes to gardening, but Khoresht Kadoo & Ghooreh is one the tastiest and simplest Persian delights. You need cherry tomatoes and your choice of beef or chicken and saffron rice, of course. Happy Cooking!