We had a surprise grape harvest this year – it is only the second year we’ve had grapes at all, and it was incredible to part the undergrowth and find so many. Very tasty they were too, but we realised that we’d have to do something with them as there were far too many to eat. Luckily our friend Ingrid had lent us her steamer-juicer. This incredible thing basically juices most things without a load of messing around removing stalks and stems. Here it is –
It is in 3 parts. In the bottom bit, you put water, which will produce the steam when it goes on the stove. The middle bit is where the juice will collect and it has a cone in the middle to allow steam to get up, but no juice to get down into the water, as well as a pipe to draw it off. At the top, is the part where the fruit goes covered by a lid. Here it is full of grapes ready to steam –
juice being drawn off as the magic is worked –
and here’s what is left once the juice has all been steamed out –
We got about 10 litres of juice from the heap of grapes that we began with, which for a very unkempt, 3 year old vine really isn’t bad going.
