Edulcorate (pronounced ih-duhl-kuh-reyt)
(1) In the production of food and beverage, to sweeten.
(2) Figuratively, to make something more acceptable or
palatable (in the figurative sense of that word).
(3) In chemistry, to free from acids, salts, or other
soluble impurities by washing; to purify.
1800–1810: From the Medieval Latin ēdulcorāre & the New Latin ēdulcorātus,
the construct being ē- (an
alternative form of ex- (out of;
from)) + the Late Latin dulcorātus (sweetened
(past participle of dulcorāre)), the
construct being the Latin dulcor (sweetness)
+ -ātus. The Latin suffix -ātus was from the Proto-Italic -ātos,
from the primitive Indo-European -ehtos. It’s regarded as a
"pseudo-participle" and perhaps related to –tus although though similar formations in other Indo-European
languages indicate it was distinct from it already in early Indo-European
times. It was cognate with the
Proto-Slavic –atъ and the
Proto-Germanic -ōdaz (the English
form being -ed (having). The feminine
form was –āta, the neuter –ātum and it was used to form adjectives
from nouns indicating the possession of a thing or a quality. Edulcorate, edulcorated
& edulcorating are verbs, edulcorative is an adjective and edulcoration is
a noun (the noun use of edulcorate is non-standard and is used casually in
industry to refer to cleansing or sweetening agents in which case the
(unattested) noun-plural would be edulcorates (ie the same as the third-person
singular simple present)).
Edulcorating the already edulcorated. Lindsay Lohan at the opening of the Magnum Pleasure Store, Covent Garden, London, July 2015: strawberry chocolate pearls & nuts over a freshly-dipped Magnum. Never do in moderation what can be done in excess.
COVID-19 lockdowns and isolation induced many to take up
the production of foods such as bread and pasta but there was also interest in
wine-making. It appears that like the amateur
bakers, many home-based vintners were new to the business, taking advantage of suddenly
available time to ferment, presumably to lower the cost the increased intake of
alcohol lockdown seemed to encourage. Shop-front
stores supporting the hobby noted the most common request received was for products
which could be used to edulcorate (sweeten) wine, it being common for the first
bottle of a new batch to be too dry for the taste of many. The excessive dryness in home-made wine
happens because the process usually is to add wine yeast and leave the mix uninterrupted
to ferment, unlike a commercial winery which will take a number of measurements
during the fermentation process, stopping it when the desired sweetness is
achieved.
A simple to use edulcorating agent is wine conditioner,
something ideal for a home ferment. Wine
conditioner is a mix of non-fermentable sugar, water, and sorbate, an all-in-one
solution for those interested in drinking their wine rather than making its
production an art and it’s especially convenient because it’s best used
immediately before bottling. That’s
because except for experts, no form of sweetener should be added prior bottling
because wine noticeably will change from month to month when very young and thought
it may seem too dry in the early days, it will often will mellow, even to the
point where no edulcoration is required and a premature addition of conditioner
can produce something excessively sweet.
Before adding the conditioner, manufacturers recommend re-racking to a
new fermenting bucket or carboy to avoid stirring up sediment. Add the wine conditioner a little at a time,
stirring gently and waiting a few minutes before tasting. It can be bottled at the point at which the
desired taste is achieved; there is no right and wrong in this because it’s a
matter of personal taste.
More challenging to use but offering the possibility of
more complexity are red and white grape concentrates. Unlike conditioners, grape concentrates
contain fermentable sugars, thus a metabisulphite must first be used otherwise
the yeast will be activated, fermenting the sugars and removing sweetness. For this reason some wine makers add a second
dose of metabisulphite to kill the remaining active yeast cells and both concentrates
can be added just before bottling. Pre-filtered,
they leave no sediment and are mixed in to taste, just like the conditioner. Obviously, the simple way to sweeten
something is to add sugar but, except for experienced users, it’s not
recommended because even if a metabisulphite is added, some active yeast may
remain and because sugar is easily femented by yeast, carbonation can
result. It is though a quick solution
and many skilled home users use nothing but sugar, again, adding a little at a
time, stirring and bottling when the taste proves palatable. Especially with fruit-based wines, packaged
fruit juice is a handy agent because almost all contain preservatives
(frequently metabisulphite) so they’ll be no ongoing fermentation and the
process is the same: mix, stir and taste.
