I’ve made exactly two meals with this stuff (Blue Apron) and I like it, I need more.
Basically it’s the bottled juice of unripe grapes, used in place of vinegar or citrus juice in recipes. One of the supposed advantages is that it doesn’t clash with wine. That typically applies for me only every few weeks (fewer if I’m cooking for myself, I’m likely to order wine with meals in restaurants) but I like it better than vinegar or citrus in general, it just seems to add a less jarring, or even harsh flavor note. I’m impressed.
I know how “verjus” is pronounced in French, but apparently the Australians kicked off the current renaissance in its use, and they seem to be spelling it “verjuice”… which is fine, but I’m not certain how they pronounce the first syllable. Especially since I’m a wombat, I really should know that. I’ll check into it. There’s at least a touch of irony in the fact that the Australian woman who seems to have kicked it off is named Beer… maybe she has an interview video somewhere.
Now I need to explore what’s available. Would be easier to research if there weren’t two spellings. I’ve checked five grocery stores and one gourmet store… nothing. It doesn’t seem cheap, for something that’s basically unprocessed, and I’m not sure I can use up a 750ml (wine-bottle-sized) bottle before it goes bad on me, so I’m a little reluctant to pay $20 or $25 for one.
Still, I really think this has potential. Might be a “hack” I used even more often than (hint) mango chutney as a glaze on pork and chicken. More as… I learn more.
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Update: Still frustrated. Cannot find any source of this locally, and on-line prices don’t seem to range much less than $25 per bottle when shipping is factored in. Ebay actually has sales of 4 oz and 1 oz listed at obscenely high prices per ounce, with apparently deliberately-deceptive pictures of larger bottles. I suspect the seller is decanting it, so the buyer may receive vinegar by the time it’s shipped. what this certainly does reflect though, is both consumer curiosity and strong resistance to the going price.
Not sure what’s going on here, but I keep asking myself if I’d cook with a $25 bottle of wine, and the answer is probably not. Put another way, are there $25 bottles of wine that I’d rather cook with than this stuff? Probably.
Since I have no experience with any of these brands, I have no idea what I would really be getting for the money. Barrier-to-entry.
It’s not that $25 is an impossible hurdle, but no one particularly likes feeling that they’re being taken advantage of either.
Sadly, whatever the virtues of verjus/verjuice may be, unless it’s the elixir of youth or something the very few existing manufacturers seem to have priced it way out of the market for what it is… and that may just be the end of that. Unless something changes, it looks like it will remain an expensive gourmet curiosity like truffles, not the kitchen staple that it might have become.
– Robert the Wombat
Update: I admit it, my will power is less powerful than my curiosity. Stick in reference to killed cats here.
I found an outfit in Colorado that was willing to sell a 750ml bottle of Fusion (California) Verjus Blanc for a little over $22 shipped. Not exactly a great deal, but it looked likely to be as good as I was going to find anytime soon, so I ordered it. For that price you get slow shipping, so we’ll see.. someday.
Update: I recived the verjus (verjuice) a week or so ago. Tried mixing it in a couple of things, it was fine but… not sure, I think it just works better in some contexts than in others. It’s less jarring than vinegar, but sometimes you want that brightness. Late last week I did pork chops and used it to make a pan sauce, it tasted good until I got distracted and the sauce over-cooked, I had to throw it out. Fortunately I had spiced the chops well, so it wasn’t much missed. Saturday, though, I cooked chicken thighs (and jasmine rice with savory, and hot green beans tossed with olive oil, lime juice and salt) and I made essentially the same pan sauce and this time didn’t burn it, just the fond, water, salt & pepper, verjus and butter. The lady of my life had no idea what it was but asked immediately, pronounced it “delicious”, so I guess it works. She’s not shy when saying something doesn’t.
– Robert the Wombat