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Okay, after @Rice_Guy input, here's what I'mma do: Thaw juice. Transfer to a sanitized turkey fryer pot. Add ~ 1 gallon spring water. Gently heat juice over propane burner. Simmer slowly for minimum 30 minutes. Cover juice with a towel. Allow to come to room temperature. Transfer juice to...

Thank you, that is decidedly helpful.

Hi all - I have about 3 gallons of prickly pear juice in the freezer, waiting to become wine. I'm gearing up to process it and was hoping for some input on specifics. I know Jack had a recipe, but I haven't had much luck with his plans. I'mma thaw it and will boil it ~30 minutes in my...

I think the issue with the plastic-over-wood debate, as far as food preparation surface go, is that plastic is (at least initially) more robust and easier to sanitize. For example, a plastic cutting board could be sanitized in a dishwasher; wood boards do not hold up to this for long. Also...

Thanks for the thoughts, folks. I'm pretty sure the wood that was on the press originally, which was damaged, rotted, and falling apart, was beech. The mills local to me (except one) only carry local hardwoods - beech t'ain't one of them. The other mill only carries European beech, which is...

Not meaning to stir the pot, but am gearing up to (hopefully) finish this project in the next month or so. Have been trolling FB Marketplace for lumber to rebuild the basket. No one local has any quartered white oak, which I'd love from an aesthetics view (and fuming is fun). Plenty of maple...

And it won a bronze at the AWS amateur competition!

Was in Cochranville PA this weekend. My daughter is in a program at school where she and her housemates do initial training and socialization for service dogs. She had training at a facility there. I brought along a camera (a Bronica SQ-A) and found a local cemetery to explore. The cemetery...

Spotted at Touch of Italy, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

And it's done. Had the half bottle last night, very pleased. Fermented with K1-V1116 and cool temps, even after all the trouble there's a lovely aroma with this wine. We'll see how long it lasts - there's a bottle in the fridge now. Thanks, everyone, for your assistance with this one...

Okay, so today was bottling day, again. After fining with Dual Fine, I let everything sit for two weeks. Wine was really clear. Racked it, conservatively, then filtered through #3 Mini-jet filters. No dripping, no clogging, wine sparkles. Bottled, ended with 18-1/2 bottles. The half is in...

I contacted a local powder coater for my press (nope, still not done) and he wanted nothing to do with it. To be fair, mine is entirely cast iron and weighs a ton. Others have powder coated though to good effect.

I'm a big fan of Ashley at PracticalSelfReliance.com. She doesn't quote sources, but is usually pretty spot on with her anecdotal information about preservation. She states (in this post about prickly pear jelly) that prickly pears do not naturally contain any pectin. There's some interesting...

Am I reading this correctly, that with a starting pH of 4.69, and a target pH of 3.2, add 35 grams acid blend per gallon? [EDIT] So, dad is sending me some juice. I *think* it was burned, peeled, mashed and strained - will have to get more detail on that. Not boiled, though. It's being...

I don't think this has been noted yet (apologies if it has) but Jack Keller, in his prickly pear recipe, mentioned that it's a known allergen for ~1% of the population. He linked to the FDA database of toxic plants, but the link is broken. I found the link on FDA's website, but that link is...

My dad lives in west central Texas. They have a bumper crop of prickly pear this year, and he's offering to get me as much juice as I'd like to make some wine. I think, after reading this thread, Imma pass on it for now. The repeated experience with it seems like the risk, until the kinks...

Dualfine can be good stuff: Clearing again by Scott, on Flickr Going to let it sit for a while, so all the really fine stuff settles out, then rack, filter, and bottle. Encouraged by this though.

Never say never… Wine threw a sediment in bottle. Just dumped 21 bottles back into a 5.5 gallon BMB. Fining with Dualfine, then letting it settle for at least a couple weeks. Will rack off of that, then filter with #1 and #2 Minijet filters before bottling. Good news is the wine is worth...

That time of year again! Cut and Bottled by Scott, on Flickr

Thank you. The labels are Avery Presta 94215, glossy. I find they reproduce colors better and lines sharper than plain labels. Printed on an HP ENVY Photo 7800 series inkjet. I don't reuse bottles, and give a lot away, so I wasn't looking at removability when I standardized on these labels.