KOCHI: James P. Mathew, a farmer from Kanjirapuzha, Palakkad, has been visiting various offices for the last few years seeking permission to produce wine from Kerala's own jackfruit. He has even visited the office of the Prime Minister in this regard but to no avail.

The wine produced by James from jackfruit was tested at CSIR's laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram. On April 25, 2007, the lab reported that the wine had good taste, aroma, and quality.

His struggles

• 2008 - Excise demanded govt decision on production permit
• 2009 - A pilot project was submitted to the Minister of Agriculture but to no avail.
• 2016 - An application to the Governor was forwarded to the government. However, there was no action.
• 2017 - An application to the President was forwarded to the government. No results
• 2017 - A letter was sent to the Chief Secretary when a complaint was lodged with the Prime Minister’s Office. No action.

Kerala consumes 12 lakh litres of wine every year

This wine comes from Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.

Ingredients for jackfruit wine

Ripe jackfruit- 5kg

Sugar - three kg

Water - five liters

Cinnamon sticks - 15 pieces

Cloves - 20 nos

Potassium meta bisulfate - 500 mg

Wine yeast - 20 g

Production

Dissolve 20 g of wine yeast in half a liter of lukewarm water and after one hour it will become a starter solution. Crush the ripe jackfruit and add sugar, boiled water, crushed cloves, and cinnamon. After two hours, it should be added to the starter solution and sealed in jars. After 15 days the solution should be filtered and the egg whites should be added to it after whisking. The mixture should be sealed again for 20 days. Clear wine can be filtered and used.