Must

Must(from theLatinvinum mustum;lit. 'young wine') is freshly crushedfruit juice(usuallygrape juice) that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is calledpomaceand typically makes up 7–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must is the first step in winemaking. Because of its highglucosecontent, typically between 10 and 15%, must is also used as a sweetener in a variety of cuisines. Unlike commercially sold grape juice, which is filtered and pasteurized, must is thick with particulate matter, opaque, and comes in various shades of brown and purple.

Winemaking

The length of time the pomace stays in the juice is critical for the final character of the wine. When thewinemakerjudges the time to be right, the juice is drained off the pomace, which is then pressed to extract the juice retained by the matrix.Yeastis added to the juice to begin the fermentation, while the pomace is often returned to thevineyardororchardfor use asfertilizer.A portion of selected unfermented must may be kept asSüssreserve,to be added as a sweetening component before bottling. Some winemakers create a second batch of wine from the used pomace by adding a quantity of water equivalent to the juice removed, letting the mixture sit for 24 hours, and draining off the liquid. This wine may be used as a drink for the employees of the winemaker or as a basis for somepomace brandies.Grappa,however, must by law be produced only from the pomace solids, with no water added.

Balsamico

The must is also an essential ingredient for the production oftraditional balsamic vinegar,the special aged vinegar from theEmilia-Romagnaregion of Italy, protected under the Europeanprotected designation of originsystem.^{[citation needed]}Selected bacterial colonies or the lenta in superficie (slow surface) or lenta a truciolo (slow wood shavings) methods are used for acetification, and then there is a maturation phase. Both the acetification and the maturation take place in precious sessile oak (Quercus petraea), chestnut, oak, mulberry, and juniper barrels. After a minimum maturation period of 60 days, a group of expert technicians will test the resulting product analytically as well asorganoleptically(via taste, aroma, the palette and other senses).^[1]

Mead

This term is also used by meadmakers for the unfermented honey-water mixture that becomesmead.The analogous term in beer brewing iswort.^{[citation needed]}

In cookery

In ancient Greece, must condensed by boiling was called siraion (σίραιον) and was used as a sweetener in the kitchen in various recipes (and as a syrup over teganitai (pancakes)). From the Greeks, the Romans inancient Romealso used the condensed must in cooking, as a sweetener. Must was boiled in lead orbronzekettles into a milder concentrate calleddefrutumor a stronger concentrate called sapa. It was often used as a souring agent and preservative, especially in fruit dishes.

Currently, reduced must is used in Greek, other Balkan countries, French and Middle Eastern cookery as a syrup known as petimezi,pekmezordibis.In Greece, petimezi is a basic ingredient for a must-custard known asmoustalevria,and a sweet-meal known assoutzoukos,churchkhela.TheMoustokoúlouraor "must cookies" are also popular Greek cookies, which are based on a sweet dough made by kneading flour, olive oil, spice, and must. They are made in various shapes and sizes, and they are dark brown in color because of the must and the spice in them. In the wine making areas of South Africa must is used to make a sweet bun known asmosbolletjies.

The term petimezi is a Hellenized word of the Armenian/Trebizond term petmez. Petmez was a type of syrup that was made with berries of the White Mulberry tree; petmez was used in Byzantium (Trebizond was part of the Byzantine Empire), where White Mulberries grew in abundance, for their berries and for the silk worms that feed exclusively on Mulberry leaves.

Roman lead poisoning hypothesis

Geochemist Jerome Nriagu published an article in theNew England Journal of Medicinein 1983 hypothesizing that defrutum andsapamay have contained enoughlead acetateto betoxicto those who consumed them regularly.^[2]

In Christian liturgy

InCatholic Eucharistic liturgy,must may be substituted forsacramental wine,on condition that theordinaryhas granted permission for the benefit of a priest or lay person who should not, usually because ofalcoholism,ingest wine; but in normal circumstances it may not be used in place of wine.^[3]

Official Catholic documents define must (mustuminLatin) precisely as "grape juice that is either fresh or preserved by methods that suspend itsfermentationwithout altering its nature (for example, freezing) ",^[3]and it excludespasteurizedgrape juice.^[4]

This teaching goes back at least toPope Julius I(337–352), who is quoted inThomas Aquinas'sSumma Theologicaas having declared that in case of necessity, but only then, juice pressed from a grape could be used. Aquinas himself declared that it is forbidden to offer fresh must in the chalice, because this is unbecoming owing to the impurity of the must; but he added that in case of necessity it may be done.^[5]

Aquinas himself declared:

Must has already the species of wine, for its sweetness [ "Aut dulcis musti Vulcano decoquit humorem";Virgil,Georg.i, 295] indicates fermentation, which is "the result of its natural heat" (Meteor.iv); consequently this sacrament can be made from must.... It is forbidden to offer must in the chalice, as soon as it has been squeezed from the grape, since this is unbecoming owing to the impurity of the must. But in case of necessity it may be done: for it is said by the same Pope Julius, in the passage quoted in the argument: "If necessary, let the grape be pressed into the chalice."^[6]

Liturgical norms

The latest document from theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faithon the matter, issued on 24 July 2003, gave the following norms, which simplify those previously in force:^[3]

Theordinaryis competent to give permission for an individual priest or layperson to use mustum for the celebration of the Eucharist. Permission can be granted habitually, for as long as the situation that occasioned the granting of permission continues (e.g., the priest is an alcoholic).
When the principal celebrant at a concelebration has permission to use mustum, a chalice of normal wine is to be prepared for the concelebrants.
Given the centrality of the celebration of the Eucharist in the life of a priest, one must proceed with great caution before admitting to Holy Orders those candidates unable to ingest alcohol without serious harm.
Attention should be paid to medical advances in the area of alcoholism and encouragement given to the production of unaltered mustum.

References

^"Balsamic Vinegar".Italia Regina.Retrieved6 June2017.
^Grout, James."Lead Poisoning and Rome".University of Chicago. Archived fromthe originalon 19 October 2017.Retrieved22 July2011.
^^a ^b ^c"Gluten Allergies/Alcohol Intolerance and the Bread and Wine used at Mass",circular letter Prot. 89/78-174 98 of 24 July 2003,Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,to Presidents ofEpiscopal Conferences.
^"The Use of Mustum and Low-Gluten Hosts at Mass".United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. November 2003.Retrieved5 August2008.
^Summa Theologica,III, q. 74, art. 5, reply to objection 3.
^Summa Theologica,III, q. 74, art. 5, reply to objection 3

External links

Further informationfrom theUSCCB's Committee on Divine Worship
Further informationfrom theLiturgy Officeof theCatholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales

[1] "Balsamic Vinegar".Italia Regina.Retrieved6 June2017.

[Grout2011-2] Grout, James."Lead Poisoning and Rome".University of Chicago. Archived fromthe originalon 19 October 2017.Retrieved22 July2011.

[CDF-3] "Gluten Allergies/Alcohol Intolerance and the Bread and Wine used at Mass",circular letter Prot. 89/78-174 98 of 24 July 2003,Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,to Presidents ofEpiscopal Conferences.

[4] "The Use of Mustum and Low-Gluten Hosts at Mass".United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. November 2003.Retrieved5 August2008.

[5] Summa Theologica,III, q. 74, art. 5, reply to objection 3.

[6] Summa Theologica,III, q. 74, art. 5, reply to objection 3

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