Blackberry Acid
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Dissolve tartaric acid in cold water.
Cover blackberries with the solution and let stand for 48 hours.
Do not squeeze; strain carefully through a bag.
Ferment
For each pint of juice, mix in ½ pound of sugar and let stand for two weeks in a non-air-tight container.
Bottle the mixture, cork tightly, and let stand until fermentation stops.
Serve
When serving, mix 1 cup of juice with 4 cups of water, adding more sugar if needed.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Blackberries
- Provide the fruit flavour, colour and the juice that ferments into the drink.
- Tartaric acid
- Adds the sharp, sour bite that balances the sweetness of the drink.
- Sugar
- Feeds the fermentation and sweetens the finished drink.
The step that matters
Strain without squeezing. Pressing the blackberries forces out bitter pulp and solids that can cloud the juice and add harshness. Straining gently keeps the liquid clear and smooth-tasting.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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