# Dried Apricot



## G259 (Feb 9, 2019)

I bought some dried apricots to try to make wine with. Then I noticed on the ingredients: Sulfur Dioxide as a preservative. I believe that the SO2 will dissipate over time though. In preparation, I washed each piece of fruit under running water, and sliced the fruit thinly. To 1 gallon of 100% apple juice, I added 2 lb. of fruit, and figure to wait a day or so before adding Pectic and the remaining ingredients later. I figure on using a Champagne yeast on this, what do you figure my chances are?


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## G259 (Feb 9, 2019)

I plan to bring the SG to 1.090 before pitching the yeast.


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## Scooter68 (Feb 10, 2019)

I've had some dried apricots (not fried-typos on a phone are easy to miss) that made my throat itchy - suggesting a lot of sulfur. If that were the case it vouco be an uphill battle to get a fermentation worling.


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## G259 (Feb 10, 2019)

Uphill for sure, that's why I washed each piece, in and out. I'll keep stirring it, maybe it will lessen it some.


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## G259 (Feb 10, 2019)

Wow, a day after adding the fruit to the apple juice, SG reads 1.092. I haven't added any sugar, just what is in the juice and fruit. I'm pretty sure that more will come out of the fruit, so I'm good to go! I'll keep stirring it occasionally, to see if some SO2 comes out, but also to add oxygen for the ferment. I'll pitch tomorrow, fingers crossed! Only 1 gallon, so it's a good test run.


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## Scooter68 (Feb 10, 2019)

Sounds good.


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## beano (Feb 10, 2019)

I'd like to know how this turns out. I've been hesitant about using dried fruits. Keep us posted.


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## G259 (Feb 11, 2019)

This has really turned into a thick soup! I siphoned some into a testing tube. The hydrometer is reading 2 values, when pulled up and dropped, it reads 1.090. When I push it under, it pops up to 1.100. I'm going with 1.095. I pitched the yeast, I have hopes, but am leaning to a no-go.


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## Johnd (Feb 11, 2019)

G259 said:


> This has really turned into a thick soup! I siphoned some into a testing tube. The hydrometer is reading 2 values, when pulled up and dropped, it reads 1.090. When I push it under, it pops up to 1.100. I'm going with 1.095. I pitched the yeast, I have hopes, but am leaning to a no-go.



Push a strainer down into the must so that the liquid flows into the strainer, scoop the liquid out into your measuring vessel to take your hydrometer reading. If everything was sanitized, you can return it all to the must.........


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## Scooter68 (Feb 11, 2019)

Johnd has given you excellent advice.

Your situation is NOT a panic point or go/no-go decision point. 

Peach wine must also does this. I just make sure I've dosed it with K-META when initially prepared, and wait a day or two until it thins out. 

Be sure that you added a double dose of pectic enzyme. That will help it break down that thick "pudding" must and help it clear. You may even need to triple the pectic enzyme. It won't hurt the wine.


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## Stressbaby (Feb 12, 2019)

Ditto on pectic. Double or triple it.

My experience with musts like this is that you are going to lose 1/3 or more of your volume when you rack off the gross lees. So I'd start now looking for a 1500 bottle or 1/2 gal carboy or something like that.


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## G259 (Feb 12, 2019)

Yes, it's bubbling visibly and audibly right now. I did double the pectic in the beginning, and it is thinner now, but I think I'll take the advice to triple dose it. I started a 3 gallon of peach - end of Oct. It now resides in 2 - 4L jugs! Will it be ok to add extra pectic now, or should I wait for the initial ferment to die down?


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## Scooter68 (Feb 12, 2019)

Adding now is fine, should not impact ferment. Would suggest you take another SG reading ASAP the way Johnd suggested. Your fermentation may have consumed some of the sugar already but at least you'll know that your ABV is at least 'X' when the ferment is done.


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## G259 (Feb 12, 2019)

It's 1 gallon, I'll take the chance. Initially, I just wanted to see if it was possible. At $3 a pound, I think I got a pretty good deal, but too bad the losses on this fruit.


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## G259 (Feb 13, 2019)

Next time (I have 2 more lb. of fruit) I will start with 1.5 gallons of apple juice, it seems to be a neutral, go-to juice.


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## G259 (Feb 13, 2019)

OK, ferment has slowed (or stopped), it's too soon, I didn't even bother with an SG. I'm assuming that it is the SO2 inhibiting the reproduction cycle of the yeast. I have a starter going and plan to pitch half of it tomorrow, then add more sugar, water, and nutrient, then keep pitching half of it. Sort of a forced reproduction of yeast cells. It's 1 gallon, I'm playing!


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## Scooter68 (Feb 14, 2019)

Never assume that. 
Measure the SG. 

I've had several fermentations finish (.990 finish) in less than 3 days from starting SGs right at 1.090 - 1.095. *It can and does happen.*


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## G259 (Feb 16, 2019)

finally got to test the SG, tried the strainer trick, but it is still like pea soup! This time my 2 readings are 1.020 and 1.030, I'll go in the middle again 1.025. Pitched another packet of yeast, bubbling very slowly.


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## Scooter68 (Feb 16, 2019)

If the must is that thick you aren't likely to "See" a lot of bubbling. The SG measurement, assuming the initial one was even close to correct, indicates that fermentation is happening. Sometimes these things take time, especially this time of year if the must temp is in the 60s'.

What was the total *starting volume* of the batch?

If you planned correctly you should have started with at least 1.25 to 1.50 gallons of must to end up with 1.00 gallons of wine. IF you did that then you might be able to strain off the pulp and solve that 'pea soup' issue. In the future you should always place fibrous (or High Pulp) fruits in a fermentation back so you can reduce that sort of problem as well as make it much easier to rack the wine when it's time to transfer into a carboy.


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## G259 (Feb 17, 2019)

Like I said, this is a fun thing that I thought I'd try. Volume was 1 gallon of juice plus 2 lb. of dried apricots (so 1.5 gal?). Next time (if ever) I will start with 1.5 gal. of juice, plus the fruit. Temp. is in the 70's. The 'bubbling' I'm referring to is from the airlock (1/60 sec.), I know that it is not an accurate measure of anything, but just a general gauge of what is going on.


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## G259 (Feb 17, 2019)

. . . starting to get concerned about the health of my must. Some alcohol must be present, so some preservation will occur, but still . . .


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## Scooter68 (Feb 17, 2019)

If that's an airlock on a plastic bucket... you're lucky to see any bubbles. The lids on those things rarely hold any seal at all. 

On the plus side you do have evidence of fermentation. Just be prepared with containers (Smaller "carboys") of less than a gallon. You could probably find them at a recycling center if you had more time. As others will suggest you can top off a one gallon carboy with a white wine after fermentation is done and you rack into a carboy. 

Find a good large stainless steel strainer and you can use that to strain out the pulp for that first racking. I've had to do that several times and it doesn't take long. Usually I rack with a siphon first until I start seeing a lot of pulp getting sucked up - then just pour the rest through a strainer into another bucket, then you can siphon that or just pour with a funnel. Not a lot of fun but it saves a lot more of the good fermented juices.

The first few batches 'offer' a huge learning curve with fruit wines - but that's the fun of the challenge. Take good notes on this batch and you'll keep improving and finding better processes as you go.


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## Scooter68 (Feb 17, 2019)

If your readings were correct:
Starting of at least 1.092
Currently at (last numbers you gave us) 1.025

Then the current ABV is 8.79% Not a high ABV but nothing to worry about especially if fermentation is continuing. 
Just keep the lid on the bucket and on your fears - It should be just fine. Sometimes the fermentation can slow as the numbers get down there.
At about 1.010 you should think about racking into a carboy. When you do rack it, if the volume loss isn't really high and the liquid level is somewhere between the vertical side of the carboy and the neck... I would just let it finish fermenting. See image for rough look at minimum level where you would want to be after that first racking.


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## ThreeSheetsToTheWind (Feb 24, 2019)

Have you tasted/smelled the wine? I'm having problems from adding just one pound of apricots to a 6 gal batch of chardonnay. 

I added mine to secondary, and the smell through the airlock was bubblegum, and I thought it was going to be amazing. It ended up tasting like burnt vinyl siding.


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## G259 (Feb 24, 2019)

It smells . . interesting, but I don't remember any lasting impressions, as I have a terrible memory! I don't think it smelled 'off', I think I knew it was fruit, not burnt anything. I siphoned it off the thick cap today, and was left with just over half of my 4L jug. The SG was 1.020, so I added a packet of yeast again (last time!) I saw another thread that suggested that boiling them would remove the sulphites. I have 2 lb of apricots left, maybe I'll try that, but use more apple juice for the volume loss.


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## ThreeSheetsToTheWind (Feb 24, 2019)

Good luck. Ill keep watching for updates.

I'm pretty sure I'm blacklisting them. Just not worth the headache for me.


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## Scooter68 (Feb 24, 2019)

That's the problem with using fruit that has gone through an unknown process before it lands in your fermenter.

Dried Fruits and other fruits not specifically prepared for use in making wine may have gone through treatments or been treated with chemicals that, while small in quantity, may have robbed the fruit of elements in fresh fruit or fruit prepared for wine making use.
This might be especially true of fruits with more delicate 'essences' that can be destroyed buy processing. 

I don't pretend to be a scientist or fruit expert but it makes sense that any heating or drying process could lose a lot of elements of the fresh fruit. Drying food can be a harsh process and especially so if the end product was not intended to preserve and protect all the elements of the fresh fruit. ( A piece of jerky can be pretty good but it's far from what that meat might have tasted like when fresh.)


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## ThreeSheetsToTheWind (Feb 25, 2019)

Very well put.


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## Scooter68 (Feb 25, 2019)

By the way - We once were members of a food coop that had among other things dried apricots -d ried without presevatives. They were tough and hard but once you sucked on piece for a few minutes it was decent. Not great but decent. The soft dried apricots I've had almost always smelled and/or tasted of the sulfite used to preserve it.

In the end remember that fruit drying, food drying, was a practice used to provide food during long nasty winters with the purpose of keeping body and soul together. _It wasn't expected to taste great _but rather to keep you alive and hopefully ward off sickness. Remember also the history lessons about scurvy and other diseases cause by lack of specific vitamins and minerals caused by those hard winters and sea voyages.
Jerky
Hardtack
Pemmican
and other such things - not the elements to make great dining.


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## G259 (Feb 26, 2019)

The 1/2 4L jug has cloudy clumped up whitish 'things' on the bottom, like clouds. I'll be lucky to get a 750 out of this! Three Sheets is on the right track for dried fruit!


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## ThreeSheetsToTheWind (Feb 26, 2019)

Scooter68 said:


> The soft dried apricots I've had almost always smelled and/or tasted of the sulfite used to preserve it.



I ate the rest of the apricots I had bought and, in the aftertaste, I could definitely detect a bit of what I smell and taste in the wine


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## ThreeSheetsToTheWind (Feb 26, 2019)

G259 said:


> The 1/2 4L jug has cloudy clumped up whitish 'things' on the bottom, like clouds. I'll be lucky to get a 750 out of this! Three Sheets is on the right track for dried fruit!



I can just imagine. I put mine in a nylon stocking but the stuff that got through it made a huge mess. Lots of light fluffy lees that wont compact out.


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## G259 (Feb 26, 2019)

. . . same here, Cumulus clouds! It compacted a 'little' overnight. I'll try to get a couple fairly clean 750's, and a 500, that I can reserve for top up in the future for these.

I plan to use the other 2 pounds of apricots in cooking, oatmeal cookies perhaps!


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## Scooter68 (Feb 26, 2019)

I've had issues with large quantities of lees making peach wine. 

What worked for me was to use normal siphoning method first, then take the lees and pour them into a large stainless steels strainer over a bowl. As the liquid drains off I roll the strainer around to push the lees into what eventually becomes a glob of lees. The rolling lets the liquid run through unclogged holes in the strainer. Normally it's best not to fill the strainer more than 2/3rd full. Repeat until all the lees are processed. With 3/4 gallon of lees from a 3 gallon batch I can often recover over a 1 quart of wine. 

Don't go too slow because you want to reduce the amount of time your liquid is expose to the air. BUT it does work well.

With those extra apricot - soak in water then strain of the water and use them in baking as suggested, ice cream, yogurt etc. All a better, and less stressful use than for wine.

We live and learn.


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## G259 (Feb 27, 2019)

Learn yes, I realized that the 'clouds', were really the apricots themselves! I am new, and normally do 100% juice from bottles, so I was concerned, I was not used to this. I think I'll run it through cheesecloth to help filter it. It looks hazy on top, so more pectic enzyme will be in order.


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## G259 (Feb 27, 2019)

You know, I have some 'white grape/ginger' wine, that I have reserved for blending. This may be a good opportunity to use it.


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## G259 (Feb 28, 2019)

I realized that it was the fruit, after noticing chunks and pieces rising to the surface, the falling as I tapped the glass of the carboy (degassing I'll assume).


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## Scooter68 (Feb 28, 2019)

Hardest thing for me is the patience to wait these wines out - to let them clear in their own time. You can hit them with chemicals all you want but that always runs the risk of stripping out colors and tastes so I try to avoid anything but Pectic Enzyme and Bentonite. I have used Chitosan but that even used with Bentonite, hasn't been 100% for me. 

With one exception so far time has worked for me.


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## G259 (Feb 28, 2019)

This was a fun(?) experiment, with knowledge gained, so a success! I probably won't do it again, but who knows? I haven't tried the resulting wine yet, so a slight possibility, if it is outstanding.


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## Scooter68 (Feb 28, 2019)

Don't expect much from a young wine. It's going to take at least 9-12 months for that wine to becomes something enjoyable. Right now if it's "Drinkable" you've succeeded. It is likely to be rather sharpish tasting - lots of bite and unless you have a lot of residual sugar OR you back-sweeten it, the flavor will not be much to talk about. Apricot can be a very delicate flavor the apple will dominate most likely.


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## G259 (Feb 28, 2019)

Oh yes, I have several going right now. 3-3 gallon, and 6-1 gallon. The oldest 1 gallon is a raspberry, 6/18. The oldest 3 gallon is a berry (Juicy Juice), 8/18. I have done a straight apple before, kind of a basic neutral flavor. My impression of it was that it would be better blended, or paired with another fruit.


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## G259 (Feb 28, 2019)

The only reason I don't use fermentation bags, is because I believe that the fruit has more contact with the wine, I have heard of squeezing the bag, but that's a step that I don't have to do. OK, I have to rack more, a trade-off.

I racked it to the 1 gal carboy today, using a funnel, strainer, and cheesecloth. It was 1/2 full, so I added some reserved white grape/ginger wine to top up. It is still hazy, and will add pectic if it doesn't clear.


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## Scooter68 (Feb 28, 2019)

Fermentation bags that I have used are nothing more than a relatively fine mesh. Contact with the wine is not going to be a problem with them. And I push them down into the must once a day for at least the first 3-6 days if it take that long for the fermentation.


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## G259 (Mar 1, 2019)

See, that's where I tend to cringe. I think that the wine exposure HAS to be greater if not in a bag, it HAS to! The bag that it's in HAS to restrict some wine circulation. I don't mean to be argumentative, but this has crossed my mind several times, and I have come to the same conclusion each time. The only thing I can think of, on the other side of the argument, is that the difference is negligible, thus the point is moot, but I'm still not sold on it!


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## G259 (Mar 1, 2019)

. . . easier racking notwithstanding, I'm just looking at the wine, and fruit concentration.


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## G259 (Mar 2, 2019)

The ginger wine had an ABV of 15%, and was dry, so if there is leftover sugar in the apricot I hope it balances out. Also, It brings up the ABV of the apricot, it was about 1/2 + 1/2, so I'll say that the resulting wine is probably close to 13%.

Already has a layer of lees on the bottom, starting to clear.


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## G259 (Mar 2, 2019)

I just had a thought, using the bag, does this possibly reduce losses because of less racking?


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## beano (Mar 2, 2019)

Yes, it does. And time also. Less floaters, less racking, less waste. And it will clear faster. Straining the must to get the buggers out is a real pain. Just my 2.0 worth. What works best for you is key

Beano Joe


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