Verjus ... ver-r-versatile ... ver-r-tasty

Verjuice, a word derived from the French for ‘green juice', is produced from the freshly pressed juice of unripe grapes. The juice is unfermented and thus contains no alcohol or sugar. It featured in cookbooks back in 1375, and the Romans probably knew of it but it was forgotten until recent times. In South Africa, The Verjuice Co, set up by entrepreneur Janice Botha, began producing in 2002.

The company's offerings use South African Pinotage grapes blended with other noble red and white varieties from the Cape winelands. There are two pure verjuice condiments, the company's brand being onion-skin coloured and the Green Harvest brand being a pale yellow limited release. The company also makes ‘Caramelised Verjuice Syrup', a versatile and elegantly balanced sweet-sour syrup, ‘Spicy Verjuice Chutney' a fruity chutney made with verjuice instead of vinegar, and a sweet-sour condiment of preserved ginger in verjuice syrup.

Now Stafford Bros & Draeger is distributing the products to major food chains, delicatessens and fine-food stores. Look for it near the balsamic vinegars and olive oils.