Banana madness

Discussions of fruits, veggies and grains other then just mashing

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Bradster68
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Banana madness

Post by Bradster68 »

I understand a few have played around with the whole banana thing. No pun intended :D.
I'm about to start my own journey. At the least I'll have some banana wine and some no so strong flavoured brandy( as most reports say).
Imma try a bunch of different ways and recipes, but none will contain sugar.
I'll be using peels some times as enzymes, and also no peels and liquid enzymes sometimes. Some heated in a pot and some directly from oven to fermenter
I have 440 lbs so there's lots to go around.
Currently I am baking said bananas in a homemade oven that sits overtop of my woodstove in the barn.
I read somewhere that "the best banana ever was found baking in the hot sand on the beach". :D
So my oven is a balmy 100 deg. I can bake roughly 60lbs at a time. They are coming out black and dripping with sweet sugary juice. It's not a pretty oven,but its getting the job done. I figure about a week and I'll have them baked.
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NZChris
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Re: Banana madness

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I wish you good luck. From what I've read and experienced, you are going to need some. I have posted about finding a yummy, black, sun cooked, banana on a remote beach, so maybe that was my post you were referring to.
Bradster68
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Re: Banana madness

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NZChris wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 12:05 am I wish you good luck. From what I've read and experienced, you are going to need some. I have posted about finding a yummy, black, sun cooked, banana on a remote beach, so maybe that was my post you were referring to.
Thanks Chris.it absolutely was something I read that you had quoted. Maybe I'm a sucker for punishment, but I have to satisfy my own curiosity. And iv got nothing but free time here in the bush🍻
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Re: Banana madness

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I had my first try at bananas last October. I made a number of mistakes, which resulted in losing most of the ethanol to an acetobacter. I did get some brandy which is aging on wood that is distinctively banana. I will likely try again.

It would be interesting to hear your progress and which yeast you use and like the best. I've heard of both rum, champagne and white wine yeast being good candidates.
Bradster68
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Re: Banana madness

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zach wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 1:14 pm I had my first try at bananas last October. I made a number of mistakes, which resulted in losing most of the ethanol to an acetobacter. I did get some brandy which is aging on wood that is distinctively banana. I will likely try again.

It would be interesting to hear your progress and which yeast you use and like the best. I've heard of both rum, champagne and white wine yeast being good candidates.
I will definitely be posting my results. Hardest part is getting the nanners to turn black from baking without drying them out. I find low and slow is best and your left with a juicy sugary liquid.crazy my grandson can't get enough of the blackened sugary ones.Imma try bakers,ec1118, and rum yeast. It'll be a while I'm sure as aging will be a key factor.
BUT I'm glad to here u say the flavor has carried through.biggest controversy seems to be that the flavor doesn't carry over.Iv made brandy form wine and feel you don't need much flavor. A subtle hint here and there with the toasted or charred oak is appealing to me.Like they say to each their own. And I actually love the brandy made from a cheap wine kit.maybe I'm a cheap brandy whore :lol:
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Re: Banana madness

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Bradster68
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Re: Banana madness

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squigglefunk wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 6:41 am viewtopic.php?p=7734117
This was an Interesting read SF.Glad to see I'm not the only one who has messed around with banana madness. The hardest thing was finding a ratio of water to banana.i found from 4lb per gallon to 20 lb per gallon. Iv now changed from the oven to hanging over the stove. It was very difficult to bake them In the oven without drying them out, it took constant attention. Some of them were almost totally gone when I peeled them. Almost like they evaporated totally. Not sure why?. So now I'm trying a different approach to getting them to blacken by ripening. Some turned out very sugary but some just gone with nothing left inside the peel.also iv now omitted the peels because of the pesticide scare.maybe I'm a little paranoid. So now itll be sugary ripe banana and liquid enzymes. And also,it almost impossible to get a gravity reading, no matter where I put the hydrometer it stayed. I would float at 1.1 or .99 because of the thick gooey slush.
I also love the banana flavor and hope to make some good product from this excursion.
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Re: Banana madness

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Bradster68 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 5:58 pm Almost like they evaporated totally. Not sure why?
Should only be moisture gone....any sugars , starches and flavour should still be there.
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Re: Banana madness

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Saltbush Bill wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 6:07 pm
Bradster68 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 5:58 pm Almost like they evaporated totally. Not sure why?
Should only be moisture gone....any sugars , starches and flavour should still be there.
Very strange Bill. My oven temp was around 100 deg so not really hot I figured. Like a hot summer day in the sand :D But it's almost like they were dehydrated.there was some residue left inside but I'd say at least 90 % was gone, and it was very dry.I Like I said it took constant attention so maybe I left them too long. I'm hoping my new drying rack will ripen more slowly allowing more air to circulate around them.i have a fan also to keep the warm air moving. I'll now pay a little closer attention to see if this works better. Iv already got a 5 gallon ferment going with peels and no enzymes and a 20 gallon going with some liquid enzymes. So it's not a total bust yet
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Re: Banana madness

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Bradster68 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 5:58 pm
squigglefunk wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 6:41 am viewtopic.php?p=7734117
i found from 4lb per gallon to 20 lb per gallon.
I guess if I do the math on my banana/honey run it was prob about 3.5/4 lbs per gallon, (im guessing around 35 gal total) plus a gallon of honey and 25 lbs of sugar ...

there is enzymes in the fruit itself I believe, as there is in many foods. I had no problem carrying the banana and honey flavors into the final spirit , just I took deep cuts like a rum and it is something that everyone who tastes seems to really like even after a short while on oak. smooths out quickly.
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Re: Banana madness

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Watching a TV doco a few years ago, the presenter was saying that banana flavor is a combination of a variety of VOCs, all of which had to be present to create banana smell, none of them smelling like banana on their own.

So, when choosing your banana cut, tasting and smelling individual jars is probably a mistake and may explain why so many distillers fail to capture banana in their heart cuts. That nasty jar that they chose not to include might have contained a necessary VOC.
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Re: Banana madness

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squigglefunk wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 7:21 pm
Bradster68 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 5:58 pm
squigglefunk wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 6:41 am viewtopic.php?p=7734117
i found from 4lb per gallon to 20 lb per gallon.
I guess if I do the math on my banana/honey run it was prob about 3.5/4 lbs per gallon, (im guessing around 35 gal total) plus a gallon of honey and 25 lbs of sugar ...

there is enzymes in the fruit itself I believe, as there is in many foods. I had no problem carrying the banana and honey flavors into the final spirit , just I took deep cuts like a rum and it is something that everyone who tastes seems to really like even after a short while on oak. smooths out quickly.
Thanks so much for the info SF. I hovered around 20 lbs for 15 gallon. It's bubbling nicely. Iv read your previous post and I'm going to try adding the honey to a batch also. Got a couple gallon on the shelf.
I figured this is a fruit so Lots of flavors to be found in heads and tails. I'm sure my cuts will be challenging. I'm very excited to see what I get.🍻
I drink so much now,on the back of my license it's a list of organs I need.
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Re: Banana madness

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Bradster68 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 4:38 am I figured this is a fruit so Lots of flavors to be found in heads and tails. I'm sure my cuts will be challenging. I'm very excited to see what I get.🍻
cheers ! Honestly I think that ferments made with good ingredients makes the cuts easier... esp the tails, I find all kinds of good flavors in there. I did save a jar of heads and tails from the banana run for future use and I have some of the leftover set back from the still in a 12 gallon carboy as my first "dunder pit" and it is looking scary AF.
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Re: Banana madness

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squigglefunk wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 5:01 am
Bradster68 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 4:38 am I figured this is a fruit so Lots of flavors to be found in heads and tails. I'm sure my cuts will be challenging. I'm very excited to see what I get.🍻
cheers ! Honestly I think that ferments made with good ingredients makes the cuts easier... esp the tails, I find all kinds of good flavors in there. I did save a jar of heads and tails from the banana run for future use and I have some of the leftover set back from the still in a 12 gallon carboy as my first "dunder pit" and it is looking scary AF.
Now that's interesting.....I never thought of a banana dunder pit... Hmmmm. Does it smell ok? I have an awsome looking ( if you like floating mold and shit :D ) and smelling rum dunder pit. Iv been making Bills rum since I started this hobby. And using dunder each time. Im on my 6th generation and there's definitely a flavor change that comes through. But a banana pit? You may be on to something there🍻
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Re: Banana madness

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Bradster68 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 5:15 am Now that's interesting.....I never thought of a banana dunder pit... Hmmmm. Does it smell ok? I have an awsome looking ( if you like floating mold and shit :D ) and smelling rum dunder pit. Iv been making Bills rum since I started this hobby. And using dunder each time. Im on my 6th generation and there's definitely a flavor change that comes through. But a banana pit? You may be on to something there🍻
It is dark brown, and smelled pretty good for the first month or so, there was a nice skin of what I think is kahm that formed on top,

that kahm then got a few spots of mold growing on it right under the opening (I think my old lady opened it to inspect it "WTF is this shit?")

the skin is breaking down now and sinking into the liquid, it still smells interesting, not as foul as it looks lol...... If I use it I suspect I will strain it and boil the shit out of it ... I dunno it might get tossed
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Re: Banana madness

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squigglefunk wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 5:23 am
Bradster68 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 5:15 am Now that's interesting.....I never thought of a banana dunder pit... Hmmmm. Does it smell ok? I have an awsome looking ( if you like floating mold and shit :D ) and smelling rum dunder pit. Iv been making Bills rum since I started this hobby. And using dunder each time. Im on my 6th generation and there's definitely a flavor change that comes through. But a banana pit? You may be on to something there🍻
It is dark brown, and smelled pretty good for the first month or so, there was a nice skin of what I think is kahm that formed on top,

that kahm then got a few spots of mold growing on it right under the opening (I think my old lady opened it to inspect it "WTF is this shit?")

the skin is breaking down now and sinking into the liquid, it still smells interesting, not as foul as it looks lol...... If I use it I suspect I will strain it and boil the shit out of it ... I dunno it might get tossed
Lol. Ahhh her curiosity got the best of her. Mine sticks her nose in every once and a while too. She's the reason I'm not using the skins anymore....."DO YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH SPRAY IS ON THOSE GOD DAM BANNAS ". Sooooo it's only organic skins for me now if I use them. I will be saving some dunder now though just to see what up. And besides my rum dunder could use a companion sitting beside it.🀣🀣🀣
I drink so much now,on the back of my license it's a list of organs I need.
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Re: Banana madness

Post by zach »

NZChris wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 11:53 pm So, when choosing your banana cut, tasting and smelling individual jars is probably a mistake and may explain why so many distillers fail to capture banana in their heart cuts. That nasty jar that they chose not to include might have contained a necessary VOC.
This kind of describes my experience. I somehow captured the banana flavor.

I kept one jar on either side of the clear hearts cut. I disposed of 300 ml of heads with 3 gallons of low wine (30%) , and I stopped the the spirit run once the nasty tails started coming through.

The mixture tasted funky, so I diluted and included some used oak chips (from brandy) in the glass jar for ageing. I've kept a loose fitting stainless lid on the jar.
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Re: Banana madness

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After weeks of ripening over a woodstove freezing and thawing many pounds of banana. I ended up with 15 gallons of banana wine. The taste is very bananafull. If that's a word I can use. Very creamy mouthful. This is my first rack so it'll be a while yet. I will distill some just to see what happens as far as flavor.
I drink so much now,on the back of my license it's a list of organs I need.
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