Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrivé!

New beaujolais has arrived.

The third Thursday of November brings us this year's beaujolais! This rather unique wine, contrary to the popular saying that* wine gets better with age, is only suitable for drinking when young and fresh. It does not keep very well and has a distinctive, light taste that makes it unsuitable to many "heavy" dishes. It is made from Gamay Noir grapes using the carbonic maceration technique, which is responsible for the light, fruity taste. Because of the nature of this process, beaujolais nouveau must be pasteurized.

The ephemereal nature of this wine has been the chief reason for its festive, cheerful image. Since it has to be drank fresh, the usual practice is to organize parties at which the current year's harvest is consumed, and the Beaujolais day, the aforementioned third Thursday of November, marks the first day of the year when the wine can be sold. Restaurants and vineyards all around the world offer Beaujolais nouveau for degustation, and organize local versions of the fête. Interestingly enough, the second largest fan of the wine - after France, of course - is Japan, but Beaujolais Day is celebrated pretty much everywhere. Part of the reason for my writing this here is the fact that I'll be attending one of those this evening. Hopefully You will have something great to drink as well, since today is a day to celebrate.

So, santé!

* This is quite a common misconception. That is to say, wine can be stored for long periods of time, and often will mellow and enrich the taste. The process is called aging. However, the actual period over which a wine can be safely left to age depends on many of its characteristics. Rosé stores badly and should be drank more or less immediately, and white can be stored, in most cases, for about two or three years, depending on alcohol percentage. Red is the most durable, but five to eight years is the maximum shelf-time You should allow.

This is because wines that are meant to be left for aging tend to be bottled separately, with different techniques and at a different point of the manufacturing process. Aging wine in bottles will always be inferior to storage in barrels, which, in some cases, can reach about 200 years. However, You should not expect the wines on Your kitchen shelf to keep that long.

Herbal Tinctures - Part 2

Theoretic introduction is done, so it's time for some practical advice on the matter of herbal tinctures. After all, theory is easy to access these days, but some things You only learn with time.

Since tinctures are alcohol-based brews, they are highly resistant to bacterial contamination. This means they will keep long and, usually, they can be stored in second-hand bottles or jars that only need thorough washing by means of preparation. (Oil macerates or ointments, on the contrary, need a container that has been at least sterilized by boiling, and even then You're being casual about it.) However, there's still a few things that should be taken care of with alcoholic tinctures.

• Choosing ingredients

Not every herb lends itself well to alcoholic extraction, so You're safest when following trusted recipes, as it's near-impossible to list all cases and exceptions. Not every case will benefit from an alcohol-based remedy, either, so you may want to choose the ingredients with a specific situation in mind. In magic, this of course means a right herb for a right spell ; in herbalism, the ingredient must be right for the patient. Common mistletoe plant (visci herba) is, for example, often used in remedies for chronic headaches, but given to someone with low arterial pressure it might prove quite disastrous.

• Mixing ingredients

When making a tincture from more than one ingredient, remember they can, and will, interact with each other. By no means can You presume that similar herbs (or those with similar properties) can be safely mixed and prepared together. If You have Your heart set on a multi-component tincture, always make sure that whatever You're mixing can be put together safely. (And I'm not even touching here on interaction of herbs on other medicines - that's a topic all of it's own). Again, it's best to follow recipes that's been checked and proved fine, not combine all that you can find in your cabinet.

• Choosing the alcoholic base

This has proven to be quite a problem for apprentice herbalists, as I know from experience. Most good recipes will give the exact alcoholic strength needed, so that the maker can achieve the desired effect by careful mixing of spirit and water. However, this requires some careful calculations. When in doubt, use a medium-strength alcoholic base (~40%) as higher concentration could damage some active substances, or make the tincture unsuitable for some patients.
More importantly, the kind of alcohol depends on the intended use for the tincture : medical rubbing alcohol can be used for external purposes, but absolutely not if the resulting potion is to be consumed. Rectified spirit (sometimes uncut, sometimes mixed in right proportion with water) is the best bet here, since it can be used for both purposes without problems. If a lower alcoholic percentage is sufficient, clear vodka can be substituted.

• Doing it right

Generally, if You have a dependable recipe and are following it, You'll be good. Some ingredients need to be stored in the dark while infusing, some shouldn't be exposed to alcohol too long, some need shaking or stirring and some absolutely do not. If You have a recipe that doesn't specify these details, it might be best to look for one that does, so You know what You're doing.

A lot of this knowledge will only accumulate over time as You practise the skills required, so remember to keep notes. Still, even with those uncertainties, alcoholic tinctures are by far the easiest herbal preparations to make.

Herbal Tinctures - Part 1

So, we're having Spring around. Things are growing, sprouting leaves and all that. Soon, there will be a new supply of fresh herbs for us to use for anything that a Kitchen Witch might want, and this means more or less everything. But fresh herbs are not available forever, which is why herbalism has devised many techniques for preserving them. I've already outlined some of those, and today, we'll explore the subject of alcohol tinctures in more detail.

One of the oldest and simplest tricks in the book, a tincture is a preserve obtained by the simple expedient of putting an ingredient of choice in a receptacle, pouring alcohol over it and waiting. While no particular skills are needed to do this,  maybe accept for a steady hand, You will still need considerable knowledge if You are to make an effective and safe herbal tincture: knowing exactly how much alcohol (and what kind) to add, how long to wait and what to apply the result to.

Tinctures can be made of both fresh and dried ingredients with the fresh ones being, naturally, stronger. There are some exceptions, but no need to obsess over them. They are handy for internal use, and there is some backing to the theory of flavoured alcoholic drinks having evolved from medicinal tinctures, especially those intended to cure the digestive system. External use of alcohol-medicines depends on the condition of the patient's skin, and the ailment in question (thank you, Captain Obvious), but they can be very helpful in that field, too. A tincture of calamus rhizome and certain additional ingredients is extremely effective against dandruff, for example. There's also a whole range of recipes for obtaining alcoholic beverages that way.

Herbal tinctures are easy to make, inexpensive, and keep well. If You're a beginner in the field, this is a good way to start.

Wine

Wine is sunlight held together by water
-Galileo Galilei

No cooking-related text would be complete without at least a reference to wine, the noblest and most pleasurable of all alcoholic beverages. One of the oldest achievements of mankind (beer is thought to be even older), wine is being made and enjoyed all over the world, by simple peasants of Massif Central and Russian millionaires alike.
There is a reason why wine commands a science all of its own. A topic so vast  is practically impossible to compress in a few words of a blog post, even for an experienced Kitchen Witch. But the crime of not touching the subject at all would be much greater, so I will endeavour to present the absolute basics of oenology here, if only to have an excuse for taking pictures of wine glasses.

Simplifying things, it can be said that wine comes in two basic varieties : white and red. There is an ongoing debate about the classification of rosé, the 'pink wine', but the majority of specialists seems to consider it a variety of red.  Another popular way of describing wine is the use of terms 'dry' and 'sweet'. These terms may come in handy when dealing with absolute basics. However, as time and knowledge progresses, they are replaced with a subtler categorisation, often a sum of grape variety, country of origin or even exact region and other information.

Knowledge of wine is a skill that requires long honing, time and taste. Since You never know the wine until You try, a certain amount of trial and error will also occur. However, once a wine that suits Your palate is found, You will be introduced to the ultimate pleasure : sipping good wine calmly, on Your own or with a dear person. Not many pastimes can compete.
A skill even harder to acquire is the ability to match a dish You are serving to an appropriate wine. Choose it right, and You will create a perfect meal. Choose it wrong, and the food and drink will engage in a war right in the middle of Your mouth. Again, some trial and error is to be expected before You can match Your cooking, Your wine tastes and whatever the market has to offer. But there are some tips that can help those in need of guidance.

• White wine

Delicate and subtle, white wine is sometimes considered 'lesser' in comparison to its dark, deeply coloured counterpart. In fact, most people, when they say 'wine', mean red wine. Yet it would be a big mistake to miss out on what white has to offer, both as an independent drink and in terms of meal accompagnement. Only white wine (dry or semi-dry) can be served with fish : indeed, offering red wine with any kind of seafood results in a disaster (semi-dry or dry rose wine is the best choice for fruits de mer like shrimp, though).  Poultry is another area reserved for white wine, although, as an exception, red is recommended with turkey. There are no exceptions when it comes to fish.

White wine in general tends to be milder (in terms of taste, alcoholic strength is a different matter)  than red wine, so it should go with milder dishes : salads,  vegetarian meals or spring and summer cooking, based mostly on vegetables and fruit - these are foods that will work with white wine very well. On the other hand, it will contrast unpleasantly with many cheeses, especially if it's semi-sweet or sweet.

White wine should always be served chilled : the lighter the wine the colder is should be (in terms of taste, not actual colour).
It is also the best choice for romantic evenings. While it may seem that red's deep and symbolic colour would be more appropriate, white wine does not lay heavily on the stomach (making you lazy) or on the head (making you sleepy). It also has the advantage of not leaving a dark, unpleasant patina on the mouth.

• Red wine

Red wine is stronger and richer in taste than white. Its aroma can vary greatly, from a sweet aftertaste reminiscent of fruit juice to heavy-bodied dry wines with a taste of coffee or oak wood. This depends mostly on the grape variety, although You will never be certain of a wine's taste until You try.
A good red wine should have a very dark colour, almost black. If You have a reasonable amount in a glass and it's still transparent, looking more like a syrup, then the wine contains too much water. Red wine is never served chilled : the minimum temperature here is 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 Farenheit). If You have been keeping it in a lower temperature - in a fridge, or in the basement - it will need at least three hours' time to warm up, so if You have guests invited, remember about this.

Red wine has a strong taste, so it should go with strong dishes. The general rule is simple : the heavier the meal, the stronger the wine. (Again, in terms of taste and not alcohol percentage.) While a semi-dry Carignan is my favourite for Spaghetti Napoli or Spaghetti alla Crema,  it is still too mild to go with stronger cheeses like roquefort or a mature camembert. Red meat, especially grilled or roasted, should always be served with a full-bodied, dry red wine that can match the intensity of its taste.

Pink wine is often served with seafood, such as shrimps calamari, though white is also appropriate here. It's also a good choice for spicier vegetable dishes which might dominate white wine too much. Perfect for aperitifs, especially on a hot day.

• Magical uses of wine

Practically since its invention, around 6000 b.c., wine has been used in ceremonies. Many religions have adopted it as a sacred drink - in ancient Greece it was one of the things worthy of being sacrificed to the gods, and the libations in honour of Dionysus in ancient Rome are famous to this day. Judaism also has many ceremonies that require the use of wine, such as the time of Pesach, when drinking wine is obligatory, or a Jewish ceremony of marriage, which requires the newlyweds to drink wine from the same cup. And, of course, no Christian mass can be celebrated without a chalice of wine, which might explain why Vatican has the highest wine consumption per capita in the world.

A Kitchen Witch can use wine to prepare various enchanted drinks. The addition of herbs and other magical ingredients to a right wine will make a powerful potion, be it to protect, bring fortune, happiness or just chase the sorrows away, especially if the potion is left to mature, allowing the alcohol to extract the ingredients' properties. Such an enchanted tincture is definitely more potent than a simple brew.
Together with mead, birch sap and water, wine is also a great drink to be served on celebrations such as the Equinox and the Solstice.