Pasta water whiskey anyone?

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Zeotropic
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Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by Zeotropic »

I did a search for pasta water whiskey and I don't find any record of anybody using pasta water to make whiskey.
So i was pouring the precious starches down the drain from my kids macaroni and cheese and I thought I should start saving it and either add it to a mash or do an all pasta water mash and call it Italian whiskey. [emoji1787]
My thought on how to make an all pasta water mash is to save it in the fridge until I get enough for a run and then convert it with enzymes and ferment.
Does that sound remotely reasonable?

Also I might do the same thing with potato water and possibly combine them.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by Alcophile »

I doubt there is enough starch in it to make it worthwhile
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Post by jonnys_spirit »

I’d also think not enough starch alone but if you can save 50 gallons you could use it with a wheat malt for a nice batch.

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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by Zeotropic »

If I was to save some as an experiment and check the specific gravity should I convert it with enzymes first or just check it raw unconverted?
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by NZChris »

Convert a sample so that you can measure the SG.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by Zeotropic »

NZChris wrote:Convert a sample so that you can measure the SG.
I will report back when I do that.
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Durhommer
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by Durhommer »

I ferment pasta before it was a mess I boiled it down to goo
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by Demy »

I used wheat flour and it is an excellent product, I think the pasta water has very few starches, you should have a huge amount and concentrate it a little with a boil ... but I don't know if it's really worth it!
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by Zeotropic »

Demy wrote:I used wheat flour and it is an excellent product, I think the pasta water has very few starches, you should have a huge amount and concentrate it a little with a boil ... but I don't know if it's really worth it!
Yeah that would be really energy intensive unless you could make use of waste heat from something else.

I making spaghetti tonight so I will save my pasta water and I'm also going to use as little water as I can to boil the noodles so as to get more concentrated starch. If nothing else I can use it in a mash for a bit of wheat flavor.

I will keep you-all posted on the results.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by Zeotropic »

Durhommer wrote:I ferment pasta before it was a mess I boiled it down to goo
That sounds pretty messy.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by Durhommer »

Yeah I'm thinking rice water would help too
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by rubberduck71 »

Zeotropic wrote: Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:39 am I did a search for pasta water whiskey and I don't find any record of anybody using pasta water to make whiskey.
So i was pouring the precious starches down the drain from my kids macaroni and cheese and I thought I should start saving it and either add it to a mash or do an all pasta water mash and call it Italian whiskey. [emoji1787]
My thought on how to make an all pasta water mash is to save it in the fridge until I get enough for a run and then convert it with enzymes and ferment.
Does that sound remotely reasonable?

Also I might do the same thing with potato water and possibly combine them.
Might need to move this to the "You might be a distiller if..." thread!!!

I'm forever tainted since I started this hobby a year ago. Can't walk through a grocery store the same.

Love to hear starch content & maybe some Angel Yeast experiments...

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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by Zeotropic »

rubberduck71 wrote:
Zeotropic wrote: Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:39 am I did a search for pasta water whiskey and I don't find any record of anybody using pasta water to make whiskey.
So i was pouring the precious starches down the drain from my kids macaroni and cheese and I thought I should start saving it and either add it to a mash or do an all pasta water mash and call it Italian whiskey. [emoji1787]
My thought on how to make an all pasta water mash is to save it in the fridge until I get enough for a run and then convert it with enzymes and ferment.
Does that sound remotely reasonable?

Also I might do the same thing with potato water and possibly combine them.
Might need to move this to the "You might be a distiller if..." thread!!!

I'm forever tainted since I started this hobby a year ago. Can't walk through a grocery store the same.

Love to hear starch content & maybe some Angel Yeast experiments...

Duck
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My wife knew something was up before I finished the first sentence. She said is this interest or obsession. I just replied obsession. [emoji1787]
Last edited by Zeotropic on Sun Jan 24, 2021 3:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by jward »

Do you salt you pasta water?
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by Zeotropic »

jward wrote:Do you salt you pasta water?
I didn't this time.

I had spaghetti tonight.
It ended up so close to nothing that i couldn't tell the difference on the hydrometer and it didn't taste sweet.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by Tummydoc »


rubberduck71 wrote: .


I'm forever tainted since I started this hobby a year ago. Can't walk through a grocery store the same.


Duck
How true. My grocery discount store was closing out 5 lb bags of Aunt Jemima white cornmeal mix for $ 0.25.(corn meal and wheat flour) I bought 130 lbs for $6.50. I spent the summer mashing with enzymes to fill a 5 gallon barrel.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by SmokyMtn »

I remember someone in Jimbo's wheat bourbon recipe mention tater water. They boiled the taters and used the water in the mash. Wasn't pasta, but they claimed it did help the end product. A starch water none the less. Can't imagine using it for a base. But it could be adjunct to trial and error.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by Zeotropic »

SmokyMtn wrote:I remember someone in Jimbo's wheat bourbon recipe mention tater water. They boiled the taters and used the water in the mash. Wasn't pasta, but they claimed it did help the end product. A starch water none the less. Can't imagine using it for a base. But it could be adjunct to trial and error.
That's a start. I think there is potential in the water things are cooked in just not much potential alcohol.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by dukethebeagle120 »

Sound like something you'd make in jail
its better to think like a fool but keep your mouth shut,then to open ur mouth and have it confirmed
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by still_stirrin »

I’d imagine you’d have to eat a lot of mac’n’cheese before you could make even a shotglass of whiskey. Sometimes the effort isn’t worth the “savings”.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by SpeakEasy »

Building off of the O/P.... Would it be worth saving to maybe use as mash water? Maybe add 1-2% ABV to a mash just to augment and add some flavor?
This could actually be interesting.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by still_stirrin »

SpeakEasy wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 6:25 am... Would it be worth saving to maybe use as mash water?...
Maybe, if you worked in a restaurant that made a lot of pasta. Otherwise, how long could you keep a quart here and there of cloudy water before it started to stink, or “go off”?
SpeakEasy wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 6:25 am... Maybe add 1-2% ABV to a mash just to augment and add some flavor?
I believe the “flavor contribution” would be negligible. As Zeotropic already commented, “little to no flavor” in the water.

There are probably better ways for fermentable recycling than pasta water...unless you have a lot of it on a regular basis. Then, you’re simply looking at it as a “method of disposal”....sort of like pig farmers and the craft brewing industry’s spent grain disposal.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by v-child »

+1 for recycling water but I doubt that enough starch is left to convert to fermentable sugars.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by Zeotropic »

v-child wrote:+1 for recycling water but I doubt that enough starch is left to convert to fermentable sugars.
That was my conclusion. I heated it treated it with enzymes and then let it cool. Then I checked the SG and I could not distinguish it from plain water.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by StillerBoy »

I make a potato water sugar wash.. and makes a nice neutral, smoother than plain sugar wash.. no different than adding bran or some other ingredient.. I use 1L of potato water per gallon.. (approximately 1 lb of potatoes per liter of water)

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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by JakeB »

StillerBoy wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 8:07 am I make a potato water sugar wash.. and makes a nice neutral, smoother than plain sugar wash.. no different than adding bran or some other ingredient.. I use 1L of potato water per gallon.. (approximately 1 lb of potatoes per liter of water)

Mars
Interesting, I might try this. Do you use the water left over from making potatoes, or do you cook the 1lb of potatoes in to the water? I haven't been fully happy with the neutral I have made as of yet. I have done birdwatchers (not a fan of the odd sweet aftertaste) and plain old sugar wash (much better when I sub EC-1118 for the bread yeast, but still doesn't stack up to commercial stuff...). Wanted to make a vodka my wife likes, but no luck so far... She is a bit picky, always take it off slow, comes out smoother than commercial but something about the sugar bite doesn't sit with her...
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by v-child »

When I want a really nice neutral( call it vodka), I make a rice mash. Good flavor, a bit floral, and certainly doesn't chew the end of my tongue off.
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by StillerBoy »

JakeB wrote: Thu Mar 04, 2021 1:14 pm Do you use the water left over from making potatoes, or do you cook the 1lb of potatoes in to the water? I haven't been fully happy with the neutral I have made as of yet.
The wife saves the potato water whenever we have boiled potatoes or mash ones (I keep the potato wash in the deep freeze in between batches).. otherwise, whenever I want to make a batch and don't have enough freeze, I make some up based on 1 lb per liter.. russet potatoes are the one I use mostly.. diced in cube of about 3/4" and cooked for 10 min.. drain and cool.. and I use about 1 L per gal of water for the batch.. the trick to doing the potatoes is not to over cooked them.. so for 6 lb of potatoes, I boil them is 4 L of water for 10 min at medium boil, remove from heat and add 2 L of cold water.. that stops the potatoes from going all mushy..
JakeB wrote: Thu Mar 04, 2021 1:14 pm Wanted to make a vodka my wife likes, but no luck so far... She is a bit picky, always take it off slow, comes out smoother than commercial but something about the sugar bite doesn't sit with her...

Your sugar bite is mainly cause by using to much sugar.. stay at about 750 gr. per gal.. plus don't strip to low, like stopping at an overall average at 50%.. and reflux the low wine to 95%, leaving the heads and tails out..

Mars
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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by The Baker »

I read a recipe on the internet, from I think a well known still supplier.

Boil the potatoes.

Throw away the potato water!
Seemed a bit silly to me.

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Re: Pasta water whiskey anyone?

Post by JakeB »

[/quote]
Your sugar bite is mainly cause by using to much sugar.. stay at about 750 gr. per gal.. plus don't strip to low, like stopping at an overall average at 50%.. and reflux the low wine to 95%, leaving the heads and tails out..

Mars
[/quote]

I have been inverting 4kg and making a 5 gal batch from that. Haven't done any stripping for neutrals, that may help. Put wash straight through cm column, balance 15 min, then pull off 100ml fore shots. My column is a cm design, I set the cooling output temp at half way through the range that produces getting a drip drip spurt off take speed and take off a heads jar until I can't detect any heads (usually about 200 - 400ml). This jar still has good ethenol in it so it goes in the next batch as feints. Then I hold that cm temp until I get about 1 drip per sec, switch to a tails jar and bring the cm temp up to collect tails. Comes out very clean with no taste of heads, maybe sugar bite is not the right word. There is something about it that is not quite as nice as the commercial stuff. I think it comes down to faint flavour coming through from the source wash, or lack of faint grain flavour. For neutral so far I have done bw and posw. To me posw came out better, but there is still something about it... That's why I was interested in your idea of using potato water, though I have yet to try a tffv which might suit our tastes better. Anyway, thanks for the help, feel a bit like I'm getting off topic so I'll stop now...
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