Rapid Rice Wine

To eat food you've grown is just fine;
There is no better way you can dine
- I think it's just great
To fill your own plate -
But best is to drink your own wine.

I don't know about you, but I like a glass of something when I eat. Or cook. Or entertain. In fact, I like a glass of something, full-stop.

So here is a simple recipe for a wine that's ready in a mere three weeks, but will improve if kept longer.

Equipment

A 5 gallon fermenting bin, sterile
A 1 gallon saucepan or stock-pot
A cooker (1 fast ring needed)
3 1 gallon demijohns, sterile
3 bungs with airlocks fitted, sterile
A siphon tube, sterile
A funnel, sterile
A nylon mesh, sterile
18 wine bottles and corks, sterile
A corking device
A long handled stirring spoon, sterile

Ingredients - makes 3 gallons, plus a little for sampling.

2 kg rice (cheapest will do)
1.5 kg raisins
4.5 kg sugar
3.5 gallons boiling water
wine yeast
yeast nutrient
finings

Method.

The basic requirement for wine-making is to keep everything scrupulously clean, and even sterile, if it comes into contact with your fermenting or fermented brew.

Firstly, then, put your raisins (whole, no need to chop), and your rice into your fermenting bin. Boil up your first gallon of water in the stock-pot, and dissolve 1.5 kg sugar into it. Bring back to the boil, and then pour over the rice and raisins. Repeat, twice. Finally, boil up the last half gallon, and add it, neat. Fit the lid, and let everything cool over night.

The next day, add the yeast and nutrient according to the makers instructions. Stir. For the next 21 days, you need do nothing, except stir on a daily basis, and maybe siphon off a little every few days to taste, and see how it's getting along.

At the end of this time, siphon off into your demijohns, through the mesh and funnel, to keep them pesky raisins out of your wine. At this point, if your wine isn't sparkling clear, and you care about that, you can add finings to precipitate the cloudiness. Again, go by the manufacturers instructions.

Once your wine is clear, you can either drink it, or bottle it for keeping. Good luck!

I find 3 gallons costs me about £12.00 to make, including the cost of fairly-traded sugar, or about £0.67 per bottle. What's more, this wine can be substituted, without much compromise and in equal quantities, into any recipe that calls for dry sherry.

Best, 2ndRateMind.

Here's where to get gear, yeast etc, in Bristol: http://www.citikey.com/business/10039491/

Here's a few words on sterilising: http://thehungerstop.blogspot.com/2009/06/sterilising-jars-and-such.html

A Word About Boiling Rice

If you have your own method of cooking rice, (and most people do, and they are remarkably dissimilar) and it works for you, stick to it. Ignore this section - it is for people who are daunted by rice, perhaps because they have tried to cook it before, and it ended up a glutinous mess stuck to the bottom of their saucepan.

Cooking rice is nothing to be afraid of, but it is not something to do by remote control. Due care and attention is required.

Use a good quality rice - basmati for Indian dishes, Thai fragrant or similar for Thai or Chinese dishes.

Use a large saucepan. Rice likes freedom as it boils.

A cup of dried rice per person is about right. You need a ratio of three times the amount of water to rice, or more.

Begin by adding the water to your saucepan, with a teaspoon or two of salt. Bring to the boil. Add the rice, stirring with a metal implement to separate any coagulated grains. Bring back to the boil, and then turn down the heat to a lazy simmer. Then let it cook for 5 minutes.

The next bit is where care is required. Do not allow yourself to be distracted; there is a fine line between underdone rice, rice that's ready, and disaster. Test the rice in your mouth - if it's gritty, it needs more time. Keep testing, every minute or so. As you gain experience, you will be able to tell when your rice is done by eye - it goes an opaque white - and even by sound - the simmer becomes quieter. During this time, add more water as required, boiling from the kettle, to keep the rice entirely submerged.

When your rice is pliant to the mouth, and tastes and textures are what you would expect, turn it out into a large sieve. Shake off any excess moisture, and turn it out into your serving dish, fluffing it up as necessary.

It's that easy.

Best wishes, 2ndRateMind