Cider Digest #0281

Published in

· 8 months ago

Subject: re: pectin haze etc. 
Date: 04 May 1993 10:50:00 -0700 (PDT) 
From: Philip Atkinson 356-0269 <PATKINSON@galaxy.gov.bc.ca> 

 
          David Hinz asked a couple of questions regarding yeast killing  
          preservatives, crushing apples and pectin hazes. 
           
          Most preservatives can be driven off by boiling. I have done  
          this a few times when I've resorted to store-bought apple juice.  
          It works on anything from soft cider to frozen concentrate. Of  
          course, you must cool the juice to 20 Celsius before you pitch  
          the yeast ... 
           
          Real apples can be a swine to juice. Try freezing them for a few  
          days and then pulping with ye olde spud masher. It works really  
          well. Elbow grease and ancient technology. 
           
          Pectin haze can be avoided by adding pectinase (a pectin  
          destroying enzyme available at any wine/beer making supply)to  
          the crushed apples or juice twenty four hours before adding  
          yeast. There is also an enzyme called rohamine-P that turns  
          fruits to mush overnight, but (alas!) it is ineffective on any  
          member of the rose family so apples are beyond its powers. 
           
          Natural cider in England -`rough', or `scrumpy' is always  
          cloudy. Sometimes there is even bits of things floating around  
          in it ... doesn't seem to put anyone off in the West Country. If  
          you really want crystal clear cider, you might want to make it  
          just like a wine and fine it with gelatin, isinglass, bentonite  
          or egg white. In all of these processes there's the danger of  
          oxidation, but you will find that you can get away with far more  
          oxidation in a cider than you could in a wine or beer. 
           
          Waes hael! 
           
          Phil Atkinson 

 
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