Before Christmas, I had to rush out of the house to catch my flight home. In my rush, I forgot to do the dishes. I returned yesterday after about a fortnight away from the house to be greeted by a sinkfull of dishes.
I thought it appropriate to tackle them tonight and began by dismantling the tower of filthy plates, cups and cutlery. As I neared the bottom of the pile I found my Tayto cup full of a vile looking substance. It caught my eye, and my nose. It had the strangest aroma, almost alcoholic, so I investigated further by putting my nose down for a sniff. The vile and repulsive smell I was expecting wasn't there, it was instead what smelt like a rather nice spirit.
I was confused. How could the repulsive mess in front of me smell like a fine spirit? I hadn't been drinking any spirits from that cup and I hadn't spilled or poured any spirits over the dishes. The only conclusion that I can come to is that over the fortnight or so, the scraps of water and various rotting foods have combined and fermented into some sort of alcoholic drink. My curiosity got the better of me, I HAD to taste it. I reluctantly lifted the cup, removed the skin from the top of the liquid and had another sniff. I wasn't wrong, this smelt good. I put it to my lips and had a very tiny sip.
Wow. It was nothing short of stunning, relatively speaking of course considering it had been sat in my sink for a fortnight. I can't pinpoint the taste but it's something of a mixture between a young malt whiskey and some form of brandy. I have no idea if it contains alchol or not but it certainly smelt like it. I was seriously tempted to gulp the rest down but for fear of catching some weird Jumanji disease, I refrained and poured it down the sink.
Is it possible for random food and liquid scraps to ferment into some sort of alcoholic drink? I might experiment further.
I thought it appropriate to tackle them tonight and began by dismantling the tower of filthy plates, cups and cutlery. As I neared the bottom of the pile I found my Tayto cup full of a vile looking substance. It caught my eye, and my nose. It had the strangest aroma, almost alcoholic, so I investigated further by putting my nose down for a sniff. The vile and repulsive smell I was expecting wasn't there, it was instead what smelt like a rather nice spirit.
I was confused. How could the repulsive mess in front of me smell like a fine spirit? I hadn't been drinking any spirits from that cup and I hadn't spilled or poured any spirits over the dishes. The only conclusion that I can come to is that over the fortnight or so, the scraps of water and various rotting foods have combined and fermented into some sort of alcoholic drink. My curiosity got the better of me, I HAD to taste it. I reluctantly lifted the cup, removed the skin from the top of the liquid and had another sniff. I wasn't wrong, this smelt good. I put it to my lips and had a very tiny sip.
Wow. It was nothing short of stunning, relatively speaking of course considering it had been sat in my sink for a fortnight. I can't pinpoint the taste but it's something of a mixture between a young malt whiskey and some form of brandy. I have no idea if it contains alchol or not but it certainly smelt like it. I was seriously tempted to gulp the rest down but for fear of catching some weird Jumanji disease, I refrained and poured it down the sink.
Is it possible for random food and liquid scraps to ferment into some sort of alcoholic drink? I might experiment further.
