# Steam Juicer...why not aluminum?



## prairiewine (Nov 12, 2009)

Thinking about getting a steam juicer after reading about how people are using them on this site.
Two questions:


1. Is it really important to get stainless steel? I find the price points for stainless steel are at least $150, whereas aluminum models can be found for $65 or so. Is the added cost really worth it?


2. Is there a quality degradation by steaming the fruit and juice instead of a natural enzymic extraction?


Thanks!


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## vcasey (Nov 12, 2009)

Here is a link to another steam juicer thread http://forum.finevinewines.com//forum_posts.asp?TID=8848&amp;KW= You'll find links to web sites that sells the product.
I would recommend stainless, the added cost is worth it and stainless does not react to the acids like aluminum does. I have not noticed difference in the steamed vs. not steamed juice and there is an added benefit, I can always just can the juice and get back to it at another time.
VC


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## Dean (Nov 13, 2009)

fruit is very high in acid. These acids can pit and leech the aluminium. There are already enough health concerns about non-anodized aluminium and their concentrations in our food. Why add more?


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## smurfe (Nov 13, 2009)

Dean answered it pretty good. Now if you are only going to do an occasional wine I am sure aluminum will be fine. If you are going to do a lot of fruit juicing, you will probably come out money ahead and get a stainless model. They sure have went up in price though. I see the one I bought is like $50.00 higher than when I bought mine. 

There are different grades of aluminum as well. I have a lot of aluminum crawfish pots. Some are fantastic and very heavy duty, a couple others are not and have pitted already. I bought them to save a buck but in the long run I am not going to save anything as I have to replace them already.


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## MaineGal (Nov 13, 2009)

Hey all, I'm new here, but wanted to add my 2 cents....
I have a stainless steam juicer and I love it. I use it frequently, but have not used it for wine yet.
Last year I harvested our grapes and put the grape juice up in canning jars. Used the pulp to make grape jam and it was wonderful.

A neat little trick is to put 2 or 3 marbles in the water pan when using the s/j'er....While the water is boiling, you will hear a slight rattle of the marbles.... When the water level is getting low, you will hear less of a rattle and will know that you need to add water. It has saved many s/j'ers from boiling dry.


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## prairiewine (Nov 19, 2009)

Well I made a decision on this. I really didn't have the wallet for a new stainless steel juicer, but I did find an aluminum Mehu Maija on kijiji last week for $60...so I bought it.


Thought I'd try it out even though it's aluminum just to see if I liked the steam process vs. the usual enzymic extraction that I do. If I don't like it or if I find the juice has an odd taste I could always sell it myself on kijiji too.


Tried it last night with some concord grapes and chokecherries. While the wine quality has yet to reveal itself, I gotta say the who process is MUCH easier and less messy. It also allows for better chemical analysis of the fruit juice on its own since it's pure juice. 


I found the chokecherries took FOREVER to juice...but that colour is so amazing.


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## smurfe (Nov 19, 2009)

Your gonna love that steam juicer. You may be lucky and it last forever for you. Just be easy on it and take care of it. You ought to be good. Did the directions for care say to boil water in it before use to "season" the inside surface? I know any aluminum pot I have ever had said to do that first before using.


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## prairiewine (Nov 19, 2009)

It was actually used, so I'm pretty sure it was 'seasoned' already. It's actually older than me...it was made in 1976!


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## Dean (Nov 19, 2009)

If you freeze your chokecherries first, you'll get a much better yield of juice in about 2-3 hours per batch. Typical blackberries take about 2 hours, and sometimes more.

Also, add about 1 cup of sugar to the top of the berries, and take the first run juice and pour it back over top the berries as part of the process.


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## pelican (Nov 19, 2009)

Chokecherries take forever. I freeze mine, but found that it's also a good idea to thaw them (somewhat) before steaming, they cling together like an iceberg vs. the Titanic.

One hour, two hours, three hours -- I still have plump juicy chokecherries in the steamer. Eventually I scoop them out and put in a fresh batch and at the end I put all the pre-steamed pulp back in and steam them some more. 

When I do chokecherries its a weekend long project - but I get a pretty good yield when all is said and done. From 3 gallons of chokecherries, I'll have an overfull gallon of pulp and pits left. 

Once I tried then fermenting "on the pulp" - soaking the pulp overnight after pouring boiling hot water over the straining bag of pulp, and then pitching the yeast and leaving the pulp in there for another day. That batch took nearly 9 months to be bottle-able and tasted horrid until I backsweetened it a bit and use gelatin to try to strip some harshness out -- I do not recommend a repeat of that procedure. 

I also once took the pulp and then simmered it and strained that liquid for making my chokecherry syrup. 

Now, I just pitch the remains out in the compost for the birds, bear and other wildlife that do their grocery shopping in my garden.


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## prairiewine (Nov 19, 2009)

Mine were frozen. I had about 21 pounds, steamed them in shifts by removing the pulp and replacing it with fresh berries. In the end I added all of the remaining pulp and steamed that until I got what I could. The whole process took about 6 hours...and I only got about 9 litres of juice...and the specific gravity was about 1.050 and the acidity was 6.5 g/L. 


I added some raisins and bananas for body and intend to make a 11.5 litre batch of chokecherry port. Start out with a S/G of 1.115, and when she gets down to about 1.030 or so I'm throwing in a bottle of brandy to stop the fermentation. Should be interesting!


First time with steam, first time trying a port. This is certainly an experiment.


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## vcasey (Nov 20, 2009)

prairiewine said:


> Should be interesting!
> 
> 
> First time with steam, first time trying a port. This is certainly an experiment.



Life is an experiment! Some of the best wines, meads &amp; meals have come from asking "What if I ..........."
VC


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