Wines are great for cooking and serving with food, and this Five Finger wine is just great for that.
“Ah want some homemade wine madame Gloria,
Gimme de homemade wine, it nice.
Ah want some homemade wine madame Gloria,
Gimme de homemade wine, it sweet…”
Just like Scrunter’s song, “Homemade Wine” celebrates homemade wine making in Trinidad and Tobago which is an art in itself. And a delicious one at that too! From recipes scribbled on a copybook page or passed on by word of mouth, to possibly closely guarded secret ingredients or techniques, making homemade wines using our local fruits, plants, barks and flowers is a treasured pastime.
Homemade Five Finger Wine
Wine from plants, barks and flowers??? Yep, that’s right. We have taken plants like the famous Chadon Beni (Eryngium Foetidum), Aloes ( Aloe vera), Timarie ( Neptunia Aquatica ), the aphrodisiac bark Bois Bande ( Roupala Montana ) and even Hibiscus flowers to make wine. Personally, I haven’t tasted the chadon beni and timarie but common ones like guava, passion fruit, cashew, cane, rice etc I have had at one time or another while house paranging, at a lime or from friends…. I even heard of some people using dasheen to make wine….in fact I think we Trinis could take almost anything to make wine LOL!!
Anyhow, today I’m going to show you how to make five finger wine. From the looks of it though, you could substitute the five finger with any other fruit and make any other type of wine as well. The steps are simple to follow; just make sure everything is sterilized with hot water. Here’s five finger ( carambola, star fruit) wine. Enjoy the fruitiness!
Five Finger Wine Recipe
FIVE FINGER WINE
Ingredients:
25 five finger (star fruit, carambola)
1½ pack yeast (16.5 g)
12 pounds sugar
2 1/4 gallons of water (i.e. 2 gallons and 4 cups)
½ pound raisins
Direction:
Wash and slice the five finger.
Add the five finger to the water in a bucket.
Note: We used what we call a “pigtail” bucket to set the wine. The water was boiled and cooled beforehand.
Add the yeast and 6 pounds sugar and stir.
Cover the container and leave in a cool dry place for 21 days….
Ok 21 days has passed….Well at least pretend 21 days has passed LOL! ….
This is how the five finger looks now.
Pour out and sweeten the wine with the remaining 6 pounds of sugar.
Strain using a cloth
Note: Make sure everything is sterilized in hot water before use.
Pour out in sterilized bottles, add raisins and leave for ten days.
Note: Adding the raisins and leaving for the ten day period helps make the wine clearer.
DO NOT COVER THE BOTTLES TIGHTLY.
After the ten day period strain the wine again. The second picture shows some of the impurities (dead yeast) that settled at the bottom of the bottle.
Bottle the wine and store in a cool dry place. Serve chilled or with ice.
Tips:
Storing wines. Store your wine in a dark place and free of vibrations.
If you wish to use this wine to add flavor to a dish, makes sure the main flavor of the food match the wine. This wine will match well with tomatoes or to grilled meats. For meats, use it as a baste by mixing about 3 tablespoon of wine with 2 tablespoon of olive oil or melted butter.
Ok before I go I would like to leave you all with the song “Homemade Wine” by Scrunter….See how many types of Trini homemade wine you could name!
Ah gone!
Five Finger Wine
Ingredients
- 25 five finger star fruit, carambola
- 1 1/2 pk yeast 16.5 g
- 12 lbs sugar granulated
- 2 1/4 gal of water i.e. 2 gallons and 4 cups
- 1/2 lb raisins
Instructions
- Wash and slice the five finger. Add the five finger to water (that was boiled and cooled) in a large bucket. Add the yeast and 6 pounds of sugar and stir. Cover the container and leave in a cool dry place for 21 days.
- Pour out and sweeten the wine with the remaining 6 pounds of sugar. Strain using a clean cloth Pour out in sterilized bottles add raisins and leave for ten days.
- Note: Adding the raisins and leaving for the ten day period helps make the wine clearer. DO NOT COVER THE BOTTLES TIGHTLY.
- After the ten day period strain the wine again. Bottle the wine and store in a cool dry place.
- Serve chilled or with ice.
Notes
By the way, The Simply Trini Cooking Cookbook is now available at Amazon in Kindle and paperback copy. The cookbook contains over 600 recipes. Order your copy today!