Foodie Friday: Curious Cookery of the 19th Century - Tomato Wine

In various 19th century agricultural publications, we've found a number of foods and recipes that seem odd to us today.  For the next few weeks the Foodie Friday edition of Special Collections News will feature some of those, and we'll call the postings "Curious Cookery of the 19th Century."  Today's Foodie Friday is Tomato Wine, a beverage mentioned in the Southern Planter, April 1859 (p. 255).  The journal doesn't have a recipe, but it gives the ingredients:  just tomato juice and sugar.

Tomato Wine

Superior wine from the tomato is now manufactured.  It is made with no other ingredients than the pure juice of the tomato and sugar, and very much resembles champagne--a light transparent color, with a pleasant, palatable flavor.  It can be made equal to the best champagne.

Tomato wine article from the Southern Planter, April 1859.
Tomato wine article from the Southern Planter, April 1859.

If you prefer to look at the original print copy of the Southern Planter, you can do so at the NC State University Libraries' Special Collections Research Center.  Just contact us through our online form and provide the call number:   S1 .S6 v.19 (1859).