Could you make me some marrow wine?

[brumbrew]

So a friend asked me if I could make him some marrow wine.

Of course I said yes. But I sure wasn't expecting this when he turned up on my doorstep.

It's a monster!

Anyone have any tried and tested recipes? I seem to remember my grandfather hanging it in a stocking, filling it with sugar and waiting for it to rot down.

Or do I just boil the life out of it with lemons and raisins?

 

[terrym]

No, but I can provide a good recipe for marrow and ginger chutney, which might be more successful!
Anyone who grows courgettes or marrows (like me) will be looking for ways of getting rid of their glut at this time of year, so I think your friend has found another outlet!
Spicy marrow bake with chorizo sausage also goes down well in this house :thumb:

 

[brumbrew]

My courgettes failed last year :-( flowers and tiny fruits. But the slugs got them.

So I suppose I failed the courgettes :-(

He did say he has more. But I've never seen one that big 😅 ooo er missus.

 

[Dutto]

I really like that idea of your Dad's!

Cutting the top off at the stem, scooping out enough of the centre to get a kilo of sugar in there and then hanging it over a bucket in one leg of an old pair of tights sounds very similar to my Grandma's attitude to making wine. i.e. Do as little as possible.

The sugar should slowly dissolve and seep into the flesh of the marrow as it draws out the liquid and gains flavour ...

... and at the same time, the stocking and marrow skin should prevent the ingress of fruit flies or any wild yeasts. (With a loosely tied top it should also be possible to add more sugar if required.)

When the liquid starts seeping out through the skin of the marrow the process will be complete and at that time (with a bit of luck) it should be possible to untie the top of the stocking and pour/squeeze/scoop out the sugar/marrow pulp and leave the skin behind.

If that stage has worked okay I would then treat the recovered fluid and pulp like any juice obtained from Lidl. i.e. boil it up, cool it down, add strong tea etc etc.

Best of luck and please keep us posted on progress.

I hope you realise that if the marrow wine is successful "water into wine" will be your next task! :lol:

 

[brumbrew]

It's just something I seem to remember. A hanging rotten looking thing in the shed/workshop with a bucket under. I believe there were funnels and demis included.

Given the size of this thing I'm inclined to slice it in half and try both methods.

One shall consult the internet once I've slept. Night shift.

It's so weird eating chips and steak with a beer at 8 in the morning

 

[Dutto]

........ Night shift.

It's so weird eating chips and steak with a beer at 8 in the morning

Which is probably one of the reasons that Shift Work is supposed to shorten your life. (Up to seven years I read somewhere.)

Back in the day British Home Trade ships ran a "Four On, Four Off and a Dog Watch" system as follows:

Day One
Midnight > 4am - Work.
4am > 8am - Off.
8am > Noon - Work.
Noon > 4pm - Off.
4pm > 6pm - Work. (Dog Watch)
6pm > 8pm - Off.
8pm > Midnight - Work.
Working Day = 14 hours.

Day Two
Midnight > 4am - Off.
4am > 8am - Work.
8am > Noon - Off.
Noon > 4pm - Work.
4pm > 6pm - Off.
6pm > 8pm - Work. (Dog Watch)
8pm > Midnight - Off.
Working Day = 10 hours.

Without a word of a lie I often sat on the edge of my bunk to work out "Am I getting up to work or going to bed to sleep?" A mind numbing system, but like most things you get used to it, eventually! :whistle: :whistle:

Happy Days ... :thumb:

... and good luck with the marrow no matter which method you choose! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Oscroft]

There's a marrow wine recipe at http://www.wine-making-guides.com/marrow_wine.html

Neither tried nor tested, sorry - and I'm sure I'd add some grape ingredients too, either juice, concentrate, or raisins/sultanas.

The great Cyril has a version in First Steps that uses 5lb of marrow per gallon and adds 1oz of root ginger, bruised.

Alan

 

[Godsdog]

So a friend asked me if I could make him some marrow wine.

Of course I said yes. But I sure wasn't expecting this when he turned up on my doorstep.

It's a monster!

Anyone have any tried and tested recipes? I seem to remember my grandfather hanging it in a stocking, filling it with sugar and waiting for it to rot down.

Or do I just boil the life out of it with lemons and raisins?

Done that years ago and failed miserably. The only success it provided was a swarm of fruitflies

 

[cheapbrew]

I have a gorgeous courgette wine I'm drinking from last yeasr crop, but marrow will do just the same, I'll dig out my notes and post it up after me dinner. basically just courgette and sultanas.

 

[brumbrew]

I have a gorgeous courgette wine I'm drinking from last yeasr crop, but marrow will do just the same, I'll dig out my notes and post it up after me dinner. basically just courgette and sultanas.

I thought just as much.and as for the other method I may try it, but I've seen dozens of fruit flies around.

 

[brumbrew]

Will update on Sunday when I process the marrow.

As for night shut, I'm not to bothered however if you asked me to add three numbers together after, my cognitive abilities are through the floor :-(

 

[cheapbrew]

Here ya go Jamie,

Cut the marrow in half de-seed and remove peel, cut flesh into 1 inch chunks, put 2kg into your FV and pour over 2L boiling water, stir and when cooled add 1 crushed campden tab and 1tsp pectolase, leave 48 hrs then add,
900g sugar,
1 banana thinly sliced,
250g mixed fruit, (raisins/sultanas),
3 bag mug of tea,
the juice of a lemon or two, (or 3 tbsp lemon juice)
1tsp glycerine,
1 tsp yeast,
1 tsp yeast nutrient,
stir twice daily for a week then sieve off pulp and into a clean DJ to finish, I stopped at 0.994 and back sweetened slightly
this recipe gives OG of 1080 ish, if you like stronger wine add more sugar.

I also have a recipe somewhere similar to the hanging one for marrow rum, I'll have a look for it in the morning.
Also Like Terry, we love our marrow chutney

 

[brumbrew]

Cheers cheapbrew. Might leave out the bannana though. Not really a fan, although I'm learning to like it from the wheat beer.

 

[cheapbrew]

You cannot taste the banana it just gives it a little body, otherwise it comes out a bit thin.

 

[Oscroft]

That sounds like a good recipe. It's got some grape product, banana for body, and some tannin and acid - without those, I'd imagine marrow wine to be a bit thin and bland.

(And yes, a banana or two used for body really doesn't add any banana flavour)

Alan

 

[brumbrew]

I'll give it a try then. Cheers guys :-) misuss wants a Sunday drive out somewhere nice 😖

So I'll upload pics when I'm back.

 

[cheapbrew]

I forgot to mention that you will probably need to top up your DJ after racking off the pulp, depending on how much water you use to melt the sugar with.

 

[pomme homme]

Even with just four plants, I always produce more than I can use - even though I try to pick the fruits as courgettes, when they are so much smaller and tastier. Still some manage to grow away to marrow size. Those I feed to the chickens - they'll eat the lot, flesh, seeds and skin - and then I eat the chickens! I haven't thought about making chicken wine, though ..... !

 

[brumbrew]

Chopped half the marrow added to fv with sliced lemon, handful of mixed fruit peel, some pectolase and campden tablets. Will wait 2-4 days before straining into another fv or demi with sugar and mashed banana.

Going to try the other method when I see how hot the weather gets this week. For now the other half of the marrow is in the fridge.

 

[brumbrew]

Been reading about the hanging in tights method. It seems it's just to get the juice then ferment in demi after. Might balance it in a bucket to stop the fruit flies. Then keep adding juice to a demi.