So I've seen people make meads and wine with fruit jams. So I was curious does anyone cook down their fruit first before fermenting with it? Advantages/disadvantages?
Some people say that mashing releases harsh tannins from the seeds but I never had a problem with mashing mine... maybe my palate isn't that sensative.I do not cook mine down (raspberry, black berry, oranges etc) I do wash them and sort out potential bad fruit. Sometimes we get good deals on frozen berry and I dump them in after washing. Maybe some fruit would benefit from heating to free up some sugars like the beer process.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I hope that was supposed to be pectic enzyme...adding pectin to meads would have to be disastrous. Don't think I've ever drunk a jellied mead; might be interesting though.I added a healthy dose of pectin to my last batch of blackberry and it was still hazy. It has settled out in the secondary. We are debating adding some more to the secondary.
Hehe, is that like "high freezing" at 45°F? ;-)Low boil at 150F works good for me.
Lighting my fruit on fire...now that brought all sorts of painful images to my mind. :-DIts pretty cool to light your fruit on fire. And makes you break the seal on the 151. Game over.
Yep, Heat + acid + untreated aluminum (ie Reactive) = Nasty taste.My pressure cooker is aluminum, and old (Circa 1950) and has started to corrode.
I would be afraid to use any jams at all; seems like too much work to try and get it into a nice final product without the pectin thickeners in it. I always opt for fresh whole fruits, or maybe a little simmer at 150° to sorta pseudo-pasteurize it. But that's it. No more boiling delicate florals and fruits for me. If it can't survive the mazering process without heat, then I don't need it.So I've seen people make meads and wine with fruit jams. So I was curious does anyone cook down their fruit first before fermenting with it? Advantages/disadvantages?
I have been using a canning pressure cooker tosteam extract juice from fruit, and it has worked very well.
Juice only, no pulp, seeds, or skins to deal with.
Caveat: My pressure cooker is aluminum, and old (Circa 1950) and has started to corrode.
I just had to dump five gallons of Cyser, five gallons of wild plum melomel and five gallons of persimmon mel because the aluminum leached into the juice, creating a taste not unlike connecting a penny to a filling with aluminum foil in your mouth.
Now shopping for a stainless steel cooker.
Yes pectic enzyme, you are correct. But now you may have just found a new taste sensation, Mead Jelly.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have three jars of delicious mead jelly in my fridge right now. I highly recommend it. No kidding. Search the net and you will find several good recipes for it.