New Additions to the Tee-Tiny Experimental Kitchen

I have been experimenting with Vin Cotto and with Verjuice for the past month or so. They are new to my kitchen but not to the world, and Verjuice has been around since antiquity. Both are non-alcoholic. Verjuice is a sort of grape vinegar that I think will be useful in an herb dressing to put on summer tomatoes. It is clean tasting and tart.

Vin Cotto, which comes from boiled grape must, is sweet, and if molasses were made from figs I think this thick dark syrup would taste like it.I bought several bottles, and have already used up one. It is a nice topping for ricotta and brie cheese and a tasty sweetener to add to muffins and pastries.

Some might call these "hard to find ingredients", but I think that term does not mean what it used to. If you have a computer, and if the creek hasn't washed out your driveway so that UPS cannot get up it, you can add both to your pantry, though they are not dirt cheap.

But we all need a little luxury from time to time-