Tart Persimmon Wine

“While the good masters of Astapor conferred among themselves in low voices, Dany sipped tart persimmon wine from a tall silver flute…” (Storm of Swords)

Tart Persimmon Wine, on the right

Our Thoughts:

This was our first foray into home brewing, and we’re totally hooked now. You would have been amused to see us come home and rush to the kitchen to watch the airlock bubble as the yeast did its work. After following the process below, we let our bottles sit for about 3 months, then cracked open a bottle for sampling.

It is indeed very tart, and toes the edge of being just a bit too dry. It’s fresh and crisp, with only a hint of the fruit it started as. Vote? A very fun project, with a nice, drinkable result. Dany would drink it, and so would we. Try serving very chilled, with a swirl of honey, in a tall flute.

*FURTHER UPDATE*

It’s good! Several months after bottling, we cracked a bottle open to taste, and found that the flavors are mellowing beautifully. It still has the characteristic tartness for the wine Dany drinks, but is now downright pleasant to drink.

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Shrimp-and-Persimmon Soup

“She was breaking her fast on a bowl of cold shrimp-and-persimmon soup when Irri brought her a Qartheen gown, an airy confection of ivory samite patterned with seed pearls.” (II:637)

Shrimp and Persimmon Soup

Our Thoughts:

This cold soup was a surprising mixture of flavors. An interesting choice for a breakfast, but once you think about it, a rather healthy one: fruit and protein. The combination of the persimmon and shrimp made us feel like we were dining in a Mediterranean seaport. Lime juice adds a lovely freshness to the soup, while the shallots create a decidedly savory flavor.

Although different from our normal fare, this soup is going in the personal cookbook. Also, the persimmon soup, sans shrimp, would be a wonderful base for a variety of other soups and stews, whether served hot or cold.

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Breakfast in Mereen

“Dany broke her fast under the persimmon tree that grew in the terrace garden… Missandei served her duck eggs and dog sausage, and half a cup of sweetened wine mixed with the juice of a lime. The honey drew flies, but a scented candle drove them off.”

-A Storm of Swords

Breakfast in Mereen

Our Thoughts:

We need a duck. To lay eggs. For us to eat. Because this was one of the most decadent breakfasts we’ve ever encountered. The yolks of these eggs stay creamy even after being hard boiled, and the texture combined with the subtle flavors imparted by its tea-immersion is just wonderful. Then you take a bite of the sausage and get an explosion of meaty, spiced nomminess.

Not feeling all that keen to search out dog sausage, let alone actually eat it, we swapped in some delicious lamb sausage instead. Lamb seems to be nearly everywhere in Westeros and Essos, so it is a reasonable substitute. We wanted the eggs to look exotic, so we used a Chinese technique for tea staining them.

The honey-sweetened wine is a variation on Ancient Roman Mulsum, and is very refreshing and very drinkable on a warm summer morning. The crispness of the drink counters the heaviness of the other elements of the meal, as does the fresh fruit.

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