Canned fruit?

[Allie Geiger]

Just curious how much a canned fruit changes the taste, in comparison to fresh fruit?

 

[Vinobeau]

Canned cranberries vs. fresh is close to equal.

 

[Scooter68]

A lot depends upon how the fruit is prepared for canning. Typically canned fruit (Made for food use rather than canned wine bases) is packed in a syrup that covers a lot of the flavor for better or for worse. So a lot of the finer points of flavor can be long gone in a canned fruit. (Smell a can of peaches and compare that to fresh ripe peaches - huge difference.

 

[Allie Geiger]

A lot depends upon how the fruit is prepared for canning. Typically canned fruit (Made for food use rather than canned wine bases) is packed in a syrup that covers a lot of the flavor for better or for worse. So a lot of the finer points of flavor can be long gone in a canned fruit. (Smell a can of peaches and compare that to fresh ripe peaches - huge difference.

That was what I expected. Thanks

 

[Scooter68]

My most unimpressive peach wine was made with 3 1/2 lb fresh peaches (Not fully ripened - sigh) A 24 oz (?) can of canned peaches in heavy syrup, and a 2lb bag of frozen peaches cut up = a 1 gallon batch. Not a shining example of peach wine for the money - about $15.00

 

[Scooter68]

By contrast... I have a batch of Mango Pineapple wine aging right now. Made from Frozen mango chunks (6lbs) and a 12 oz can of Frozen Pineapple juice concentrate. THAT is going to be an excellent wine.

 

[Johnd]

By contrast... I have a batch of Mango Pineapple wine aging right now. Made from Frozen mango chunks (6lbs) and a 12 oz can of Frozen Pineapple juice concentrate. THAT is going to be an excellent wine.

But was is REALLY pineapple juice??? LOL, just rattling your cage a bit............

 

[Scooter68]

Yeah - Well it tasted like it.




(Today I compared two bottle of Ocean Spray Grapefruit juice. Both said 100% juice no added sugar. Same price and quantity.
1) Ruby Red Grapfruit contents: Grapefruit juice from concentrate and water, Grape Juice from concentrate and water, Apple Juice from concentrateand water, Grapefuit pulp, Vegetable concentrate for color, Ascorbic Acid Citric Acid, Natrural flavor, Beta Carotine for Color.

2) 100% Grapefruit Juice contents: Grapefruit Juice concentrate and water

Reading labels can really be frustrating. And yeah the Ruby Red was sweeter but I'm going to stick with the pure stuff.)

 

[Allie Geiger]

By contrast... I have a batch of Mango Pineapple wine aging right now. Made from Frozen mango chunks (6lbs) and a 12 oz can of Frozen Pineapple juice concentrate. THAT is going to be an excellent wine.

Yum.. I have a gallon of Banana/pineapple fermenting away right now. I used 100% pineapple juice in a carton (I forget the brand, maybe Dole) that had no preservatives. I had to stop myself from drinking it before fermentation it smelled and tasted so delicious.

 

[Scooter68]

I still have a bottle of the pulp/gross lees that I've tasted from time to time. Yeasty - yeah but that pineapple mango combo... May be time to doctor up a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

 

[Vinobeau]

I just added the yeast to a 5 gallon batch of canned cranberry wine. Got the cans for $.375 each - the jellied sauce this time rather than the whole berry sauce, so I'm not really sure exactly how much fruit I actually used. 24 - 14oz cans for the batch. I will keep the board up to date on it.

 

[warren57]

Yeah - Well it tasted like it.




(Today I compared two bottle of Ocean Spray Grapefruit juice. Both said 100% juice no added sugar. Same price and quantity.
1) Ruby Red Grapfruit contents: Grapefruit juice from concentrate and water, Grape Juice from concentrate and water, Apple Juice from concentrateand water, Grapefuit pulp, Vegetable concentrate for color, Ascorbic Acid Citric Acid, Natrural flavor, Beta Carotine for Color.

2) 100% Grapefruit Juice contents: Grapefruit Juice concentrate and water

Reading labels can really be frustrating. And yeah the Ruby Red was sweeter but I'm going to stick with the pure stuff.)

I am baffled how juice suppliers can advertise 100% grape juice when it’s made from a blend of other juices? Seems the statement 100% grape would automatically exclude apples, etc.
I bought some blackberry and it contains everything except actually blackberries... ha ha

 

[sour_grapes]

I am baffled how juice suppliers can advertise 100% grape juice when it’s made from a blend of other juices? Seems the statement 100% grape would automatically exclude apples, etc.

Where have you seen a claim of 100% grape juice that was really from a blend of other juices? Such a situation is not referenced anywhere in this thread -- is this you personal experience?

 

[warren57]

Where have you seen a claim of 100% grape juice that was really from a blend of other juices? Such a situation is not referenced anywhere in this thread -- is this you personal experience?

No, personal experience, sorry for the confusion. I was agreeing with post#8. I have found Welches red, white and mixed flavors to be a blend of fruit juices different than they state on the front label...

 

[sour_grapes]

No, personal experience, sorry for the confusion. I was agreeing with post#8. I have found Welches red, white and mixed flavors to be a blend of fruit juices different than they state on the front label...

Now I am REALLY confused:

1. Post #8 does NOT report anything about bottles of nominal grape juice.
2. Now you ARE reporting personal experience with misleadingly labeled Welch's.

 

[warren57]

Yes, my point was more that bottled juices, regardless of brand, contain a mix of other fruits not advertised on their label. Good idea to read ingredients carefully.
Sorry I wasn’t more detailed.

 

[Scooter68]

Read the label??? Who does that???

Actually I suspect most of who make our own wine do a lot more label reading than the average consumer.

Which leads me to reading all sorts of food labels with not so Happy results.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Just curious how much a canned fruit changes the taste, in comparison to fresh fruit?

That depends on process:
* A fruit with a pH above 4.1 (ex apple & rice cereal in 4 oz jars) is typically retorted at 121C for 15 (?) minutes however with the come up and cool time it could be in the process for 75 to 90 minutes.
* A fruit (ex tomato) with a pH of less than 4.1 can be processed in an ambient pressure steam tunnel at 100C for 10 minutes again with come up and cool down time.
* A label which says concentrate is probably produced in a vacuum evaporator which will pull a lot of the flavor off, (ex white grape concentrate is probably Niagara, , and has intentionally had foxy notes removed),, , (and is offered in bulk totes to wineries as a fermentation base) but we sometimes condense volatiles and add flavors back (probably done with a good quality "F pack").
* Some parts of the industry specialize in natural flavors and will collect the volatiles, and offer em in a shelf stable gallon pack which can be put in any product where the ingredient list says "natural flavor" (ex blackberry "flavor" grape wine) but sometimes it is just called flavor.
* a lot of industry buys bulk tote size containers of ingredient in shelf stable metalized film (ex vacuum evaporated tomato paste) mixes it with other ingredients and then runs it through the appropriate pH process, , , , ie there can be several heating treatments before you buy something in the grocery store.
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A general observation(s): * every food (examples above) has rules that industry uses to make a shelf stable product. Wine sure is a complicated food since we can make if from raw ingredient and toss in live yeast & bacteria and not give folks food poisoning. pH which I have lived by for years isn't all the picture, , , I am still learning from you'all.
* I laugh to myself when the grandkids turn up their noise and won't eat left overs, , ha ha ha
* if I want to win in a contest/ taste pannel (premium product) I have put minimal water in.

 

[Scooter68]

If fruit is heated much you can lose some of the more delicate elements of the flavor. A lot depends on how it was prepared for canning. Personally I would go fresh, frozen, pure concentrate, and last canned fruit. Never regular strength juices unless mixing with something more concentrated. That's just my personal preference. Of course prepared wine bases are right behind frozen in my list.