Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
7.7 petIMeZI
Petimezi (the origin of the word is Turkish) is a Turkish syrup-like liquid obtained after the
evaporationofjuicesof(speciically)grape,ig,ormulberrybyboilingwithcoagulants.Itisused
asasyrupormixedwithtahiniforbreakfast.
The same product with another name appears in ancient Greece. It was called
epsetos
(thin
syrup)or
siraion
(concentratedsyrup)withunknownuses.Romanscalledit
defrutum
(whenmust
was halved during boiling),
caroenum
(when two-thirds was evaporated during boiling), or sapa
(thicksyrup).Finally,Italiansnamedit
saba
or
vino cotto
.
7.7.1 pekmez
areintheformofpekmezandraisins,particularlysulta-
nas.Thereisalsoanotherkindofpekmezmadefromcarob,called
keçiboynuzu pekmezi
or
harnup
pekmezi
intheTurkishlanguage(Ermurat2006).
MostofthegrapeproductsinTurkeyareintheformofpekmezandraisins,particularlysulta-
Turkeyareintheformofpekmezandraisins,particularlysulta-
7.7.2 production
Grapesandigsreservedforproductionaresqueezedbyamortarorpressertoproducegrape
juice.Thejuiceiscookedat50°C-60°Cfor10-15min.Aspecialkindofsterilewhitesoil,usedto
purifythejuicefromparticles,shouldbeaddedtothejuicewhileitisbeingcooked.Soilisalsouse-
fulforbalancingthetaste.TheMinistryofAgricultureinTurkeyadvisesproducerstouse1-5 kg
ofsoilfor100kgofgrapejuice.
Grapejuiceisstoredincontainersfor4-5htoensurethatallparticlesinthejuicesinktothe
bottom.Theliquidpartofthejuiceiscollectedfromthecontainerandtransferredtoboilersfor
furtherheating.Thisboilingprocessgivespekmezitsdarkcolorandhighviscosity.Pekmezhas
adarkcolorbecauseofthecaramelizedsugarintheboiledgrapejuice.Thejuicelosesitsluidity
becauseofwaterlossbyevaporation.Additionally,pekmezproducesaspecialsmellwhenprepared
incooking.
Petimeziisthethick,viscoussyrupmadebyboilingmust,usuallyfoundinareasmakingwine
(Figure7.15).
AthinaiosoftheancientGreekgastronomyoftheirstcenturyafterChristreferstotherepul-
sionofhumanstocannibalismbecauseofthegrowthofcookingfocusingonadishwithishand
Figure 7.15
Petimezi, the modern revival of an ancient sweetener.
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