Verjuice
Verjuice ( ; from Middle French "vertjus" 'green juice') is a highly acidic juice made by pressing unripe grapes, crab-apples or other sour fruit. Sometimes lemon or sorrel juice, herbs or spices are added to change the flavour. In the Middle Ages, it was widely used all over Western Europe as an ingredient in sauces, as a condiment, or to deglaze preparations. It is still used to some extent in the American South.

It was once used in many contexts where modern cooks would use either wine or some variety of vinegar, but has become much less widely used as wines and variously flavoured vinegars became more accessible. Nonetheless, it is still used in a number of French dishes as well as recipes from other European and Middle Eastern cuisines, and can be purchased at some gourmet grocery stores. The South Australian cook Maggie Beer has popularised the use of verjuice in her cooking and it is being used increasingly in South Australian restaurants.

Modern cooks use verjuice most often in salad dressings as the acidic ingredient, when wine is going to be served with the salad. This is because it provides a comparable sour taste component, yet without "competing with" (altering the taste of) the wine, the way vinegar or lemon juice would.

Verjus, called "husroum" (حصرم) in Arabic, is used extensively in Syrian cuisine. In Syria, much of the production of "husroum" is still done over the course of several days by female members of land-owning clans—even if many of them live in cities. The "husroum" produced during this time will be distributed to various households within the extended family and used throughout the year. The same is true for the production of olive oil and tomato paste.

Verjus, called "ab-ghooreh" (آب‌غوره) in Persian, is used extensively in Persian cuisine, such as in Shirazi salad.
Q1473289
Middle French
MEDIA
Q10978
grape
Concept
Q104819
crab-apples
Concept
Q500
lemon
Concept
Q26297
sorrel
Concept
Q207123
herb
Concept
Q42527
spice
Concept
Q12554
Middle Ages
TIME
Q10886
widely used
Concept
Q27496
Western Europe
LOC
Q178359
sauce
Concept
Q2596997
condiment
Concept
Q322444
deglaze
Concept
Q49042
American South
LOC
Q282
wine
Concept
Q41354
vinegar
Concept
Q142
French
LOC
Q6730185
Maggie Beer
PER
Q9266
salad dressing
Concept
Q124794
sour
Concept
Q124794
taste
Concept
Q4119264
Syrian cuisine
Concept
Q9168
Persian
Concept
Q1342397
Persian cuisine
Concept
Q5674757
Shirazi salad
Concept
Q1060458
Verjuice
Concept
subclass of
subclass of
country of origin
cuisine