Fruit mash
Moderator: Site Moderator
-
- Novice
- Posts: 53
- Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2021 7:21 pm
Fruit mash
After blending the fruit should I boil the fruit some or just add hot water to it when mashing in?
-
- Site Donor
- Posts: 1815
- Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2020 10:17 pm
- Location: Northwest France
Re: Fruit mash
For the record, you don't mash fruit. Mashing is the process of using malted grains to convert the starches into sugar. Your fruit already has sugar.
As for heating fruit it depends on what you're trying to do. A lot of wine recipes call for boiling water to be poured over the whole fruit to kill wild yeasts and bacteria so that when you pitch your yeast there's less of a fight. If you want to use the natural yeasts then use cold water. If you've already blended the fruit, boiling water will be more likely to cook it somewhat which will change the flavours in the final wash (not necessarily for the worse).
As for heating fruit it depends on what you're trying to do. A lot of wine recipes call for boiling water to be poured over the whole fruit to kill wild yeasts and bacteria so that when you pitch your yeast there's less of a fight. If you want to use the natural yeasts then use cold water. If you've already blended the fruit, boiling water will be more likely to cook it somewhat which will change the flavours in the final wash (not necessarily for the worse).
"I have a potstill that smears like a fresh plowed coon on the highway" - Jimbo
A little spoon feeding *For New & Novice Distillers
A little spoon feeding *For New & Novice Distillers
-
- Novice
- Posts: 53
- Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2021 7:21 pm
Re: Fruit mash
Ok thank you I poured boiling water on fruit and stirred and let cool till I pitched the yeast
Re: Fruit mash
Agree 100% with Normandiestill. I add cooking or hot water rarely hence when I use commercial yeast, no problem. On cooking I have always placed this problem, what changes is taste even if most don't cook fruit.
Re: Fruit mash
try dicing up your fruit and chuck it in the freezer for a week or so as this does tend to bring out all the sugars, everytime I do it I take a brix reading before and after and the brix always rises a point or 3 depending on the fruit