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Abghooreh (verjuice)
Abghooreh (آبغوره): sour juice of unripe grapes from Shiraz and Fars
In early summer, families across Shiraz and the vineyards of Fars thin their vines and press the hard green grapes into abghooreh, a sharp, clean sour juice stored in bottles for the whole year. It sours khoresh, brightens salad shirazi and is splashed over kebabs and rice in place of lemon. The grapes must be truly unripe, hard and mouth-puckering; once they soften the juice turns sweet. A common mistake is skipping the boil and salt, which lets the juice ferment in the bottle. Chef's tip: let the boiled juice settle overnight and pour it off the sediment for a clear, bright abghooreh.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 20
Ingredients
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Sort the 4 ⅜ lb hard unripe green grapes, discarding any soft, bruised or mouldy ones. Blitz them in batches in a blender for a few seconds only, just enough to crush them; long blending crushes the seeds and makes the juice bitter.
15 minStep 2: Pour into a sieve lined with muslin over a bowl and squeeze hard to get all the juice out. You should have about 1–1.2 litres of cloudy green juice.
15 minStep 3: Pour the juice into a pan, add the 2 tsp fine salt and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Skim the froth and boil gently for 10 minutes.
15 minStep 4: Cool, then leave in a jug in the fridge overnight so the sediment sinks. Pour the clear juice off into sterilised bottles, leaving the sludge behind.
5 minStep 5: Seal and keep in a cool, dark place for up to a year, or in the fridge once opened. Use a few tablespoons wherever a dish needs a clean sour note.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 5 kcal
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 1 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does abghooreh (verjuice) take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 20 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
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