Just stumbled accross this while viewing fruit trees on another site. While I'm no expert on the subject I can recall my grandfather making fig wine in the barn back in the 50's. He was an Italian immigrant that spoke barely an english word but he was a master at grafting fruit trees and growing them. He had his own fig trees (not sure of the variety) and would make fig wine that was to die for! I don't recall all this science listed here. I know he had an apparatus that had hose running from one bottle to another to which he watched the bubbling very close. He didn't freeze the figs but instead would lay them out in the sun for several days before wine preparation. He did add sugar and I'm pretty sure yeast but what variety, I don't recall. It took far more than 24 hours, I would think it was weeks but again, that's a long time ago. When finished, he would put it in bottles......any glass bottles he had. Then he would lay it at about a 10-15 degree angle in a rigging he made and turn the bottles periodically until all the sediment was in the bottom of the bottle. We would drink the previous years wine while he made the current years. My grandfather died when I was very young so I don't totally recall the process. One of my uncles made it as well but would never reveal the technique......how selfish of him! I would love to make some now if I could find a recipe and the proper steps to follow. Fig wine is to die for but I also think the proper variety of fig is of as much importance to a fine fig wine!! I don't think back then they could purchase all the chemical listed here. I think they just used whatever they had in the kitchen pantry.

Just looked up that recipe and it sounds super! I almost always use Granny Smith apples in recipes because they are always available in stores here in Misery and I love the sweet/sour taste. Other favorites? tracydr writes > ... If using the mushrooms, could I use dried instead? Drying mushrooms seems to really intensify the flavor. Yeah, I know... duh! I just mean more than expected. The "browning and seasoning sauce" in the recipe is something new to me & was surprised to see cornstarch.

I'm not a fan of venison but have used this deer recipe for beef & it's excellent: PEPERED VENISON STEAKS 4 venison backstrap (loin) steaks, 4-6 oz each, 1" thick Marinade: 1 cup dry red wine 1 cup canola oil 1 medium onion, chopped 3 TBL Creole mustard 1 tsp dried oregano 2 garlic cloves, minced 4 TBL coarse black pepper 1 1/2 tsp salt 1 TBL canola oil, if frying If the venison is frozen, thaw it in red wine to keep the meat moist. Reserve the wine to use as part of the marinade. Puree the marinade ingredients together in a blender or processor. Arrange the steaks in a shallow glass dish & pour the marinade over them. Refrigerate at least 4 hours but preferably overnight. Drain the steaks, reserving the marinade in a small saucepan. Combine the pepper w/the salt & rub each steak with equal portions of th pepper-salt mixture & let the steaks sit, tightly covered at room temperatore for 30-45 minutes. If grilling, fire up enough charcoal to form a single layer of coals beneath the meat. Meanwhile, bring the marinade to a boil then reduce the heat & simmer until it's reduced by half. Taste & adjust the seasoning. Keep the sauce warm while you fix the steaks. Place the steaks over hot coals that are covered w/gray ash. For pan frying, place the TBL of oil in a heavy skillet, bring the heat to medium-high & add the venison. Cook the meat until desired doneness, turning only once. If pan-frying, deglaze the pan by adding the sauce to it & scraping up any browned bits. Serve immediately with sauce on the side. Good w/buttered noodles.~~Texas Home Cooking

I saw a recipe today for one, and another for a cream cheese and muscadine pie, that is bold :) but worth a try. I wonder has anyone frozen them as is to use later? I have probably 50 lbs of them!!!