Here we are in mid-May. Probably
there are gardens and plants blooming, depending on where you live. That’s
certainly true here. Are you still staying at home? Or have you started to go
places more frequently with new guidelines like face masks and getting your
temperature taken? It’s an unsettling time, for sure.
Since Easter, we’ve been looking
at some of the ingredients Bible women had and used. We are applying stories
and recipes from my book A Sampler of Bible Beauty as we consider what
the women of centuries ago can teach us. Each week, we are thinking about ways
to reach out to those affected by the COVID19 virus, too. So far we’ve
considered milk, grains, fruit, and honey. All of these are staples that could
have been gathered fairly easily.
Today we move to an ingredient
that was not just found and collected. Wine and vinegar had to be processed.
Someone had to learn how to take grapes and convert them into wine. (Beer was
also an early, maybe even earlier, fermented drink using grains.) And as some
of us know, wine left too long can become vinegar.
Fermenting products may have,
like cheese or yeast, have been the result of a pleasant accident. Or some
ingenious person may have experimented and discovered the benefit of adding
sugar and yeast to crushed grapes or grains. Left alone for the right amount of
time, this became a refreshing drink that made you feel good. An added
advantage was that it could be drunk even when or if the water supply was
tainted.
There are many references to
wine in the Bible. The first instance is after the Flood. Noah drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in
his tent (Genesis 9:21). A few generations later, Lot’s daughters use wine
to make their father drunk. (Genesis 19:32-35).
Wine was used for entertaining,
just as it is today. Job’s sons and
daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house
when they are killed. (Job 1:13 )
Esther invites the King and his advisor Haman to a banquet that included wine. At the banquet of wine the king said
to Esther, "What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your
request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!" (Esther 5:6)
There are warnings against
excesses of wine in Proverbs and other places. Some people made the choice not
to partake of wine. For instance, when Daniel was taken into the king’s household as one of
the young Jewish captives, the king
appointed for them a daily provision of the king's delicacies and of the
wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at
the end of [that time] they might serve before the king. But Daniel purposed in
his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's
delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the
chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. (Daniel 1:5-16)
In the New Testament, wine is
important. The first miracle Jesus performs in changing water into wine at the
wedding in Cana. It is the story I used in A
Sampler of Bible Beauty to introduce wine as an ingredient. The miracle
amazes the steward of the feast. When the
master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not
know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the
master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, "Every man
at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk,
then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!"
(John 2:9-10)
Jesus warns against putting new wine into old wineskins, or else
the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But
they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved" (Matthew
9:17, Mark 2:22 , Luke
5:37) Several of his parables relate to wine or the growing of grapes. During
the Last Supper, the symbolism of the wine of Passover is changed. This is my blood of the new covenant, which
is shed for many, he says. (Matthew 26:28 and Mark 14:24)
When on the cross, Jesus is
offered sour wine, mixed with myrrh, a standard pain killing remedy. When
Pentecost occurs, some of the bystanders mocking
said, "They are full of new wine." (Acts 2:13 ) Paul advises Timothy to use a little wine for your stomach's sake
and your frequent infirmities. (1 Timothy 5:23)
Vinegar is also mentioned in the
Bible. Women of the Bible used it for flavoring. Ruth is urged, by Boaz, to “dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he
passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back.
(Ruth 2:14)
Proverbs notes that vinegar can exacerbate pain or irritation. Like vinegar on a wound is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. (Proverbs 25:20 ) or As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the lazy man to those who send him. (Proverbs 10:26)
Whether accidental or planned, the fermentation of grapes, grains and other ingredients into an alcohol was a fortunate advance. Women (and men) soon found many uses for the new product. And when it soured to vinegar, it was still useful for seasoning and cleaning. It could even be flavored with fruit and herbs.
In this COVIDtide (a phrase coined by Mark VanKoevering, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington) some breweries have turned to making hand sanitizer rather than beer. From small local ones to major giants like Anheuser Busch companies are stepping up to help produce this much needed product. It's yet another way individuals and companies are helping one another during this time.
You can even make your own sanitizer. All you need is rubbing alcohol and aloe vera gel (to make it the normal gel consistence). One recipe suggests a 2/1 ratio of alcohol to aloe vera. You can add essential oils for scent if you want. There are lots of other recipes online on sites like Pinterest if you are interested in trying this. (Note: You cannot use beer or wine or rum that you might have in your cupboard because the alcohol content has to be at least 60% according to the CDC.)
Meanwhile, you can make a facial with some wine, tea leaves, and honey, or flavor some vinegar for your salads.
Rhoda’s Red Wine Facial
1 tablespoon red wine
1 tablespoon green tea leaves, powdered
1 teaspoon honey
Grind tea leaves into a powder, stir in wine and honey. Apply to face, leave on for 15-20 minutes, rinse off.
Jemimah’s Flavored Vinegars
Marinate herbs or fruit in vinegar to make different flavors to augment salads. Whole raspberries, blueberries, figs, oranges, and pears make delicious vinegars. Herbs like thyme, tarragon, or oregano flavor vinegar nicely. Use the whole sprig of the herb, not the ground or leaf herb, which will result in cloudy vinegar.
More recipes and stories of women of the Bible are found in A Sampler of Bible Beauty by CynthiaDavis.
