Verjus Blanc - White Grape Juice

Verjus Blanc - White Grape Juice

25.4 oz - California

Verjus is a nice, lightly acidic alternative to lemon juice. Many chef's like it because it does not conflict with their wine selection.

White Verjus (pronounced vair-ZHOO) is the tart, fresh juice of unripe wine grapes. It is a culinary ingredient indigenous to the world's wine-producing regions and is used in sauce-making, for poaching fish and meat, and to dress lettuces, vegetables, and fruit. Verjus, or "verjuice" as it is sometimes called, literally means "green juice"—referring to the fact that it is made from fruit that has yet to fully ripen.

The White Verjus Blanc from Fusion is used to add acidity to foods—an important component in both food and cooking.

Napa Valley Verjus Blanc is made from white wine varieties such as Chardonnay. The grapes are removed from the vine in midsummer, at a point in the growing cycle called veraison. At veraison, the berries begin to change color from green to black and soften enough to be pressed.

As the grapes arrive at the winery, they are loaded into large pneumatic presses, where the juice is gently extracted and transferred to refrigerated stainless steel tanks. The non-alcoholic grape juice is allowed to settle for a couple of days before being lightly filtered and packaged.

Fresh white verjus is at its best immediately after pressing. The challenging part of production is preventing the juice from fermenting and turning into wine, as crushed grapes will spontaneously ferment due to airborne yeasts.

Commercially, grape juice is usually stabilized by either adding powerful preservatives like benzoic acid or using traditional canning methods, where the juice is heated to a temperature high enough to kill yeast cells and bacteria. Both methods can adversely affect the flavor of the finished product.

At Fusion Foods, the goal is to produce the most natural, fresh-tasting juice by preserving its delicate aromas and flavors. To achieve this, they use a technology called aseptic packaging. With this process, no strong preservatives are necessary, and the fresh verjus is exposed to high temperature for only four seconds. The packaging material is sterilized en route to filling, which occurs in a small chamber of sterile air. Industry experts expect orange juice manufacturers to adopt this revolutionary packaging technology in the near future to improve flavor.

usage suggestions:

* Use White Verjus instead of lemon or vinegar in dressings or sauces as an acid substitute.

* Use to deglaze pans or in a reduction

* Make a refreshing sorbet

* Use in mixed drinks or as a non-alcoholic wine substitute

The Fusion Foods White Verjus Blanc contains Sulfur Dioxide