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Must (from the Latin ''vinum mustum'', "young wine") is freshly crushed
fruit juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such as ...
(usually grape juice) that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace and typically makes up 7–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must is the first step in winemaking. Because of its high glucose content, typically between 10 and 15%, must is also used as a sweetener in a variety of cuisines. Unlike commercially sold grape juice, which is filtered and pasteurized, must is thick with particulate matter, opaque, and comes in various shades of brown and purple.


Winemaking

The length of time the pomace stays in the juice is critical for the final character of the wine. When the winemaker judges the time to be right, the juice is drained off the pomace, which is then pressed to extract the juice retained by the matrix. Yeast is added to the juice to begin the fermentation, while the pomace is often returned to the vineyard or orchard for use as fertilizer. A portion of selected unfermented must may be kept as
Süssreserve The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, wh ...
, to be added as a sweetening component before bottling. Some winemakers create a second batch of wine from the used pomace by adding a quantity of water equivalent to the juice removed, letting the mixture sit for 24 hours, and draining off the liquid. This wine may be used as a drink for the employees of the winemaker or as a basis for some pomace brandies.
Grappa Grappa is an alcoholic beverage: a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Italian origin that contains 35 to 60 percent alcohol by volume (70 to 120 US proof). Grappa is made by distilling the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems (i.e., the poma ...
, however, must by law be produced only from the pomace solids, with no water added.


Balsamico

The must is also an essential ingredient for the production of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar, the special aged vinegar from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, protected under the European
Protected Designated Origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...
system. Selected bacterial colonies or the lenta in superficie (slow surface) or lenta a truciolo (slow wood shavings) methods are used for acetification, and then there is a maturation phase. Both the acetification and the maturation take place in precious sessile oak ( Quercus petraea), chestnut, oak, mulberry, and juniper barrels. After a minimum maturation period of 60 days, a group of expert technicians will test the resulting product analytically and organoleptically.


Mead

This term is also used by meadmakers for the unfermented honey-water mixture that becomes
mead Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining character ...
. The analogous term in beer brewing is wort.


In cookery

In ancient Greece, must condensed by boiling was called siraion (σίραιον) and was used as a sweetener in the kitchen in various recipes (and as a syrup over teganitai (pancakes)). From the Greeks, the Romans in ancient Rome also used the condensed must in cooking, as a sweetener. Must was boiled in lead or
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
kettles into a milder concentrate called
defrutum Grape syrup is a condiment made with concentrated grape juice. It is thick and sweet because of its high ratio of sugar to water. Grape syrup is made by boiling grapes, removing their skins, squeezing them through a sieve to extract the juice, a ...
or a stronger concentrate called sapa. It was often used as a souring agent and preservative, especially in fruit dishes. Currently, reduced must is used in Greek, other Balkan countries, French and Middle Eastern cookery as a syrup known as petimezi, ''pekmez'' or ''dibis''. In Greece, petimezi is a basic ingredient for a must-custard known as moustalevria, and a sweet-meal known as soutzoukos,
churchkhela Churchkhela ( ka, ჩურჩხელა, ) is a traditional Georgian cuisine candle-shaped candy. The main ingredients of Churchkhela are grape must, nuts, and flour. Almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, and chocolate and sometimes raisins are thre ...
. The ''Moustokoúloura'' or "must cookies" are also popular Greek cookies, which are based on a sweet dough made by kneading flour, olive oil, spice, and must. They are made in various shapes and sizes, and they are dark brown in color because of the must and the spice in them. In the wine making areas of South Africa must is used to make a sweet bun known as Mosbolletjies. The term petimezi is a Hellenized word of the Armenian/Trebizond term petmez. Petmez was a type of syrup that was made with berries of the White Mulberry tree; petmez was used in Byzantium (Trebizond was part of the Byzantine Empire), where White Mulberries grew in abundance, for their berries and for the silk worms that feed exclusively on Mulberry leaves.


Roman lead poisoning hypothesis

Geochemist Jerome Nriagu published an article in the '' New England Journal of Medicine'' in 1983 hypothesizing that defrutum and ''sapa'' may have contained enough lead acetate to be toxic to those who consumed them regularly.


In Christian liturgy

In Roman Catholic Eucharistic liturgy, must may be substituted for sacramental wine, on condition that the
ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (Every Little Thing album) (2011) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016) * "Ordinary" (Wayne Brady song) (2008) * ...
has granted permission for the benefit of a priest or lay person who should not, usually because of alcoholism, ingest wine; but in normal circumstances it may not be used in place of wine."Gluten Allergies/Alcohol Intolerance and the Bread and Wine used at Mass"
circular letter Prot. 89/78-174 98 of 24 July 2003, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to Presidents of Episcopal Conferences.
Official Roman Catholic documents define must (''mustum'' in Latin) precisely as "grape juice that is either fresh or preserved by methods that suspend its
fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
without altering its nature (for example, freezing)", and it excludes pasteurized grape juice. This teaching goes back at least to
Pope Julius I Pope Julius I was the bishop of Rome from 6 February 337 to his death on 12 April 352. He is notable for asserting the authority of the pope over the Arian Eastern bishops, as well as a dubious claim that he set 25 December as the official birthda ...
(337–352), who is quoted in Thomas Aquinas's '' Summa Theologica'' as having declared that in case of necessity, but only then, juice pressed from a grape could be used. Aquinas himself declared that it is forbidden to offer fresh must in the chalice, because this is unbecoming owing to the impurity of the must; but he added that in case of necessity it may be done. Aquinas himself declared:
Must has already the species of wine, for its sweetness Aut dulcis musti Vulcano decoquit humorem"; Virgil, ''Georgics">Georg.'' i, 295">Virgil">Aut dulcis musti Vulcano decoquit humorem";
Georg.'' i, 295indicates fermentation, which is "the result of its natural heat" (''Meteorologica">Meteor.'' iv); consequently this sacrament can be made from must. ... It is forbidden to offer must in the chalice, as soon as it has been squeezed from the grape, since this is unbecoming owing to the impurity of the must. But in case of necessity it may be done: for it is said by the same Pope Julius, in the passage quoted in the argument: "If necessary, let the grape be pressed into the chalice."''Summa Theologica'', III, q. 74, art. 5, reply to objection 3
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Liturgical norms

The latest document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the matter, issued on 24 July 2003, gave the following norms, which simplify those previously in force:
The Ordinary (Catholic Church)">Ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (Every Little Thing album) (2011) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016) * "Ordinary" (Wayne Brady song) (2008) * ...
is competent to give permission for an individual priest or layperson to use mustum for the celebration of the Eucharist. Permission can be granted habitually, for as long as the situation that occasioned the granting of permission continues (e.g., the priest is an alcoholic). When the principal celebrant at a concelebration has permission to use mustum, a chalice of normal wine is to be prepared for the concelebrants. Given the centrality of the celebration of the Eucharist in the life of a priest, one must proceed with great caution before admitting to Holy Orders those candidates unable to ingest alcohol without serious harm. Attention should be paid to medical advances in the area of alcoholism and encouragement given to the production of unaltered mustum.


See also

* Amazake – similar early product in rice wine making *Apple cider * Arrope * Julmust *Wort – similar product in brewing beer * List of juices


References


Further reading

* Baldy, Marian W. ''The University Wine Course: A Wine Appreciation Text & Self Tutorial'', 2nd Edition. San Francisco: The Wine Appreciation Guild, 1995. . * Gozzini Giacosa, Ilaria. ''A Taste of Ancient Rome''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. . * Herbst, Ron, and Sharon Tyler Herbst. ''Wine Lover's Companion''. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barron's, 1995. . * Nriagu, Jerome O. "Saturnine Gout Among Roman Aristocrats: Did Lead Poisoning Contribute to the Fall of the Empire?" ''New England Journal of Medicine'' 11, no. 308 (17 March 1983): 660–3. . * Whittaker, John. ''Winemaking Made Easy''. Edmonton: Lone Pine Publishing, 1993. .


External links


Further information
from the USCCB's Committee on Divine Worship
Further information
from th
Liturgy Office
of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales {{CatholicMass, collapsed Catholic liturgy Eucharistic objects Fruit juice Winemaking