Today we are visiting a recipe for Vin Pur de Pommes (Pure Apple Wine) from the 1879 cookbook, Nouvelle Cuisinére Canadienne.
Obviously, France is known for its wine made from grapes, but the wine industry was not yet fully established in Québec. However, alternatives were found by fermenting fruits readily available in North America, such as the recipe below for apple wine, given in the original French and followed by a loose English translation.***Please see CAUTION below regarding the potential dangers of fermenting fruit at home!
Original French Text:
Vin pur de pommes.—Prenez 15 gallons decidre de bonnes pommes mûres et saines en
sortant delà presse, auxquelles vous ajouterez soixante livres de bonne cassonade que vous
laisserez dissoudre dedans; mettez ensuite ce mélange dans un quart bien net que vous
remplirez moins deux gallons, puis mettez ce quart dans un endroit froid, en ayant soin de
lmlaisser la bonde ouverte pendant quarante-huit heures. Au bout de ce temps, appliquez
la bonde, sans toutefois la fermer trop juste; il faut y laisser une petite ouverture pour l'air tant que la fermentation durera. Lorsque la fermentation aura entièrement cessé, mettez la bonde bien serrée. Ce vin n'est bon qu'au bout d'un an, et il ne faut pas qu'il soit remué.
English Translation:
Pure Apple Wine. — Take 15 gallons of cider from good, ripe and healthy apples coming out of the press, to which you will add sixty pounds of good brown sugar that you let dissolve in it; then put this mixture in a container that you fill to at least two gallons, then put this container in a cold place, being careful to leave the drain open for forty-eight hours. At the end of this time, apply the bung, without however closing it too tightly; you have to leave a small opening for the air as long as the fermentation lasts. When fermentation has completely ceased, put the plug tight. This wine is only good after a year, and it must not be stirred.
***CAUTION: If you plan on doing this yourself, be extra careful with the fermentation process. You do not want to end up with an explosion in your pantry or basement, or worse yet, getting sick from improperly fermented apples! Please be careful!