# sterilising fruit by boiling?



## sian (Aug 7, 2014)

*Fruit sterilisation by boiling?*

Hello

I am a first time fruit wine maker and have recently begun a batch of plum wine. The recipe did not specify to sterilise the fruit before it was blended into a pulp. It did require that some boiling water was added (to make the pulp), but Im pretty sure the mixture didn't reach a high enough temperature to kill the bacteria.

I have now added the sugar, but am worried that bacteria is going to grow. Can I boil the mixture now - i.e. AFTER adding sugar, but before adding the pectic enzyme, acids and nutrient? Will this turn my wine into jam?!

Or should I just continue with the process by adding the acids, enzyme and nutrient now, and the yeast in 12 hours, and hope the alcohol produced by fermentation will do the job of destroying the bacteria?

Thanks!


----------



## sian (Aug 7, 2014)

Hello

I am a first time fruit wine maker and have recently begun a batch of plum wine. The recipe did not specify to sterilise the fruit before it was blended into a pulp. It did require that some boiling water was added (to make the pulp), but Im pretty sure the mixture didn't reach a high enough temperature to kill the bacteria.

I have now added the sugar, but am worried that bacteria is going to grow. Can I boil the mixture now - i.e. AFTER adding sugar, but before adding the pectic enzyme, acids and nutrient? Will this turn my wine into jam?!

Or should I just continue with the process by adding the acids, enzyme and nutrient now, and the yeast in 12 hours, and hope the alcohol produced by fermentation will do the job of destroying the bacteria?

Thanks!


----------



## Arne (Aug 7, 2014)

Your mixture should be fine the way it is. Add the pectic, wait 12 hrs and add the rest of your ingredients. Pitch the yeast and wait. Mite be a couple of days before it starts, but it should be ok. Good luck with it, Arne.


----------



## DoctorCAD (Aug 7, 2014)

You should have added k-meta to the must as soon as you added the water. That is what kills off all the nasties that might have been on the fruit.


----------



## sian (Aug 7, 2014)

Thanks for the responses. Can I not just add a campden tablet to the must now, or is it too late? The pulp/water/sugar mix has been sitting there for about 12 hours now. The other option is that i boil it now before adding the yeast nutrient, acids and yeast? I appreciate your help!


----------



## Turock (Aug 7, 2014)

Yes, the way to have biological control is to use potassium metabisulfite (meta) to the must. Water--boiling or not--is not the way to do it. Water on most fruits does nothing but dilute the final result. Water should only be used if there is a purpose for it, such in very acidic musts that can't be controlled with carbonates alone or in high brix musts. Plum is such a delicate flavor--you get a better result in freezing the plums first to extract the juice thru maceration and using a good pectic enzyme on the fruit. 

There are some people who don't use meta at the crush--but you always have to worry about competing organisms trying to use up the nutrient resources if you don't use it. And,as we all know, fruit can be browsed by many animals and birds sometimes poop on the fruit, which you might not be aware of if rain has washed it off. So I always vote for using meta at the crush.


----------



## Turock (Aug 7, 2014)

Yes, you could add it now but then you should wait at least 12 hrs before adding the pectic enzyme because sulfite will inactivate the pectic enzyme if they're used together. So timing is important. Once the SO2 has dissipated, then add the pectic enzyme, yeast. Once the yeast takes off, add half the nutrient. Add the second half when you get to 50% sugar reduction.


----------



## sian (Aug 7, 2014)

hmmm, difficult. I already added the pectic enzyme about 4 hours ago  Can I wait another 8 hours, then add the campden tablet/s, then wait another 12 hours to sterilise, then add some more enzyme/yeast and half nutrient?

I have 25 litres of must, how many campden tablets should I use? The bottle says 1 tablet per gallon (although this applies to stopping fermentation)

Thanks again- I guess this is a bit of a learning process!


----------



## Tom_S (Aug 7, 2014)

From what I've read is that you never want to boil your juice before making wine out of it. The reason being is that it will release a lot of pectin and possibly create a pectin haze in your wine later, even if you use pectic enzyme, or perhaps don't use a lot of it. At any rate, it's much better to add the campden to kill off the nasties before you start your wine.


----------



## DoctorCAD (Aug 7, 2014)

Campden or k meta will NOT stop fermentation.


----------



## Arne (Aug 8, 2014)

sian said:


> hmmm, difficult. I already added the pectic enzyme about 4 hours ago  Can I wait another 8 hours, then add the campden tablet/s, then wait another 12 hours to sterilise, then add some more enzyme/yeast and half nutrient?
> 
> I have 25 litres of must, how many campden tablets should I use? The bottle says 1 tablet per gallon (although this applies to stopping fermentation)
> 
> Thanks again- I guess this is a bit of a learning process!


 
If I was sitting where you are, I would just pitch the yeast. Add the nutrient first, half now half later. Forget the campden/k-meta for now. It will probably be ok. I would suggest you don't try to stop the ferment. If you do, it most likely will slow it way down, stress the yeast, create off flavors and after it is bottled, it can give you some suprises when it continues to ferment and blows the corks. Good luck with it, Arne.


----------



## Turock (Aug 8, 2014)

I agree-just let it go. However, when you transfer over to the secondary, get a dose of meta on it. Do you have any idea what the PH of this wine is? How many gallons are you making?


----------



## sian (Aug 9, 2014)

Thanks for all the help folks. I ended up putting in the campden tabs and waiting - have now pitched the yeast and half the nutrient. Will add the rest later. Let she how it goes!


----------



## the_rayway (Aug 9, 2014)

Hey there, I just noticed that no one has responded to your question. I hope its not too late!

When you initially mix up your must, you would put Potassium Metabisulfate into the mix. About 12 hours before putting in the pectic enzyme, which goes in about 12 hours before your yeast.

The K-meta protects your must from bacteria and wild yeast by killing it off. Check out the "Yeast, additives, and Winemaking Science" section or the forum. Other great resources are Jack Keller's website, and The Joy of Home Winemaking by Terry Garey. Both are great for beginners.

Hope all has gone well.


----------



## ncwine (Aug 10, 2014)

I think overall u should be ok. The fermentation process should kill off any bacteria that u maybe worried about. Just make sure to keep the wine topped off and the bung is on tight good luck


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making


----------



## Julie (Aug 10, 2014)

Since there was two threads going on the same subject, I merged the two together.


----------

