RFCJ RECIPE ARCHIVE
Posted by : Ruth Heiges Raisin Wine #1 (2) - pareve
"On 14 Sep 1997, Tasgal Richard wrote: I have seen many references to raisin wine in fiction which takes place in Jewish Eastern Europe, but never with enough description to tell what it is exactly. I have never seen it in mentioned in gentile contexts. Neither have I seen it in stores or cookbooks. And as far as I can tell, virtually no one made it after emigrating from Eastern Europe. So what is it?" I found it in two cookbooks: "Jewish Cookery," by Florence Greenberg (Penguin, UK) and "Jewish Cooking in America," by Joan Nathan (Knopf, USA). What I take from reading the two is that raisin wine is a non-alcoholic wine over which a proper blessing can be made. There are strict laws of kashrut for making wine, including the fact that it can be made only be a Jew. This is particularly critical because of the sacramental uses. Raisin wine evidently developed as an answer to the lack of availability of kosher wine (often the case in Eastern and Central Europe and also the situation in the US, where the first kosher wine was made around the era of the Civil War). If, as you note, no one made it after emigrating from Eastern Europe, it probably has to do with the fact that the sweet, kosher, concord-grape wines such as Mogen David were readily available for a reasonable price. BTW, I think some of the sweet Israeli wines are made from raisins, though they are alcoholic. Here are two recipes from Florence Greenberg. Raisin Wine (1) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cut 1 lb. raisins in halves, put in a saucepan with 3 pints cold water and simmer _very gently_ until the water is reduced by one third. This should take several hours. When cold, strain through muslin. If additional sweetness and flavoring are required, add a little sugar and cinnamon before boiling. Raisin Wine (2) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seed and chop 1 lb. raisins, put into a stone jar with 1/2 lb. sugar and half a sliced lemon. Pour over 2 quarts boiling water and stir till sugar has dissolved. Cover with muslin and stir every day for a week. Then strain and bottle. Ready for use in 10 or 12 days. If you have access to Joan Nathan's book, you will probably enjoy her research. Ruth
