Eggplant Wines, Sherries, and/or Meads

• 4 lbs eggplant
• 2 lbs granulated sugar
• 1/2 oz citric acid
• 1/4 tsp tannin
• water to make 1 gallon
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• Chablis wine yeast

Bring 1 gallon water to boil. Meanwhile, slice the fruit thinly. Removing the peeling is optional. Put sliced eggplant and sugar in primary. When water boils, pour over contents of primary and allow to cool to room temperature. Add remaining ingredients and cover with clean cloth. Ferment 3 days, then strain liquid into secondary and fit airlock. Rack every 30 days into sanitized secondary until wine clears and no further sediments are dropped during a 30-day period. Stabilize and rack into bottles. This wine improves with age. [Recipe adapted from Leo Zanelli’s Home Winemaking from A to Z ]