Monday, March 12, 2012

Falling in Love With Pomegranate Wine

Lately I have been pondering the making of pomegranate wines. Normally, my scope of production is larger scale for commercial markets and I know that the potential for well made pomegranate wine is huge. This is true, not only because it can taste great, has an "exotic" attraction to it but also because it is a very healthy wine too. But today I wish to look at making this wine for personal use as well because I think everyone should try some of this wonderful elixir!

The word pomegranate is derived from French "pome garnete" and means "seeded apple." There are over 800 seeds in one pomegranate, they're tasty but difficult to eat with all the layers between the seeds. I think the wine version can be more fun!

The history behind the pomegranate is also quite interesting. The fruit has been used throughout history as symbols of fertility, hope, and royalty. In Greek Mythology, they believe that Aphrodite, the goddess of love, planted it on the isle of Cyprus. Due to the number of seeds in each pomegranate the fruit was connected with procreation and abundance.

Pomegranate's health benefits are almost legendary. Basically, a 100 ml of pomegranate juice has 3 times the antioxidants of 100 ml of red wine or 100 ml of green tea. Research has stated that if you eat pomegranates on a daily basis, the fruit's antioxidants can help prevent hardening of the arteries.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Choosing a Home Brewing Kit

There are many different home brewing kits on the market to day so it can be difficult choosing one that will suit your needs. Each home brewing kit has a target audience for example some will appeal to the more casual home brewer while others more for the more advanced home brewers.

Many home brewing kits such as Mr Beer, Coopers and the beer machine are targeted for the casual home brewer with many of the features of the kit aimed at making it as easy as possible to brew. All these kit will use something that is known as a beer can or premade wort this removes a significant amount of time from the brewing of a beer.

The process to make a beer for the casual home brewing kit involves mixing the premade wort with some sugar or a combination of malts. Water is then added to this mix until it reaches the right amount for the kit then the yeast is pitched and the fermentation begins. After this you will be able to bottle your beer and age it for a time you think is suitable. The longer you age a beer the more the tastes and texture will develop.