Re: fermenting fruit

[Guest guest]

If you mash up some fresh fruit and let it sit, it generally turns into wine. It

might mold if there isn't enough liquid on top. That's the basics ... fruit

really really wants to turn into wine. If you layer the fruit with sugar, then

there is less chance of mold, and you get a really nice sweet wine.

Now when you want to get fancier about it, there are all kinds of books and

techniques and equipment.

If you want to ferment fruit into something that isn't alcoholic, then you need

to use something like whey and/or salt: then it ferments bacterially rather than

with yeast, and it gets sour rather than boozy. Mostly though, I haven't had

much luck with that. I do make kefir cider with apple juice (the recipe is in

the files section under " kefir beer " ) and that is rather fantastic. It's

definitely cider though. It's ok for kids if it only ferments a day or so: after

that, the alcohol content is pretty wimpy for a " beer " but it will give you a

buzz if you drink enough of it.

If you let kefir beer sit long enough, it turns into vinegar, which is a rather

nice vinegar in fact, but not something one would " drink " .

Fruit is also nice marinated in wine or spirits. That makes a nice gift, in

fact: if you take some nice cherries at the top of the season, pack them nicely

into jars, and pour brandied syrup over them (or just plain vodka). Raisins

marinated in brandy are wonderful too: sprinkle them on ice cream ...

You can also toss fruit in with kimchi or kraut. The cabbage and salt force it

to be a lacto ferment rather than a yeast ferment, and it makes for very nice

kimchi. The fruit doesn't taste like fruit though: it tastes sour, like the

cabbage. When I've tried using JUST fruit though, I usually end up with a moldy

mess, or something alcoholic.

-- Heidi

fermenting fruit

hi everyone

i am not trying to make wine, but i just want to know that basics of

fermenting fruits in general.

should i salt them? or use sweet things like honey?

thanks

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