Courgette wine - mark II

Sunday 7th October 2012
Two hours after getting home from Ireland.

Monday 8th October 2012

Tuesday 9th October 2012

Wednesday 10th October 2012
Cold air arrives

Autumn is now most definitely in the air, for today a notable chill arrived and the wind had a bite to it. It's probably really a sign that we are into the middle of Autumn, but I don't want to think about what that means - the ushering in of winter. Actually, winter is a beautiful time of year and we tend to hunker down and snuggle up in front of the fire. It's a time to reflect, to look forward and begin to put plans in action.

Anyway, with the change in seasons the courgettes have finally stopped showering us with their wonderful fruits, but it was very welcome while it lasted and we've got plenty preserved in the form of relishes, frozen griddled slices, fritters, bhajis and soups.
If you remember, we even stooped to trying to make courgette wine with 32lbs of courgettes which came out of the garden in a single day!

Well, that effort went disastrously wrong. Sue used a recipe off the internet which contained no yeast. We're pretty new to brewing our own alcolholic (ed. alcoholic, and no, I've not been at it already!) beverages, so presumed the yeast would come naturally, as it does when we make our cider. There were even questions on the website, unanswered, asking if there was really supposed to be no yeast.
Well, I think I can give the answer...that recipe needed yeast, for all we ended up with was a bucketful of mouldy, cabbagey water.

So, unperturbed, Sue used some of the last overgrown courgettes to have another go, this time following a different recipe (sorry, I don't know where she found it) which did include yeast. And this time, hallelujah, frothy yeast action!
 
I'm still holding judgement on the result and we have to wait a year to find out, but at least it looks more promising.

Next up, pumpkins!!!