Hello all,
We have blackberries on my fiance's property. He has about thirty 5 yr old
thorny plants and last January we planted 100 of the new thornless
varieties, needless to say we hope to have lots of berries this year. Last
year at then end of the season fiance made some wine with the berries that
were too ugly to sell. He is not all that experienced with wine but very
experienced with beer brewing. We're not really sure how to judge the
outcome of this wine because neither of us are connoisseurs. We are
thinking of making Wine Jelly or Blackberry Vinegar out of it. If I had to
describe it, I would say it tastes kind of like a cross between beer and
wine. It's got beautiful color, of course, it's got some alcohol and
whatever sugar was left in it fermented out in the quart jars to give it a
little bit of zing (carbonation I guess). It's also got a little bitter
flavor. It does not taste sour and it does not taste like Vinegar. It's
nice, but the flavor to me is not all that great. I mean I could drink it
just for the health/ antioxidant benefits, but it would be nice if it tasted
a little better. It's almost like it has an "unfinished" taste. There is a
little bit of lees in the bottom of the glass when you get done, if that is
the right word. I'm sure w/o tasting it you all can not advise properly,
but I'll ask a couple questions about making vinegar or jelly.
I've researched making vinegar and looked for culture on the Internet, I
found 8oz jars for around $12. The issue is that I have about three gallons
of wine and recipe for vinegar states I have to use 96oz of mother. (I
think it's 8oz starter, 8 oz water, 16 oz wine).
I wrote a guy on Ebay and he quoted me that amount and said if I wanted a
large amount he'd order it. Everything I've read says the mother continues
to grow and get larger and you can cut off pieces and give them away/sell/
whatever. Why would I need THAT much starter? I'm thinking you can just
put in 16oz or so and let it go. I think Blackberry Vinegar with some
Rosemary would be divine.
The other option would be to make Jelly. I could wait till I get some Basil
going and flavor it with that or other herbs. I know the Vinegar would be
good, I'm just not sure about the jelly.
--
Rita Foust
Garland, TX
Zone 7b-8a
Farmer Jones Eco-Friendly Plants & Produce
http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M10383