Peachy?

[Tom]

I have 18 gallons of Peach (fresh) going. SG went from 1.086 to 1.010 in 3 days. Pulled pulp then and will rack tomorrow to secondary. Have f-pac all ready.. (steamed)

 

[Old Philosopher]

I have 18 gallons of Peach (fresh) going. SG went from 1.086 to 1.010 in 3 days. Pulled pulp then and will rack tomorrow to secondary. Have f-pac all ready.. (steamed)

Somehow I ended up with 2 full gallons in the secondary today.
Tom, save me some research here. You are doing the f-pak at the same time you rack to the secondary? Then you'll back sweeten later if necessary?

 

[Tom]

er yes/no. Steamed Peach ready for f-pac. Butt, I wait till it settles more in the secondary, rack leaving ^&%&$ behind, add meta and sorbate, mix well, add f-pac. mix well. In your case do the mixing in 1 container then split into different glass containers. I backsweeten later. Remember 3 :T's"
Taste to see if has enough FLAVOR
Taste to see if it sweet enough after you add simple syrup
Taste before you bottle when clear.

Remember you will need to add clearing agents and rack a few times

 

[Old Philosopher]

...Taste before you bottle when clear.
...

Trust me.... This stuff will never see a bottle!

 

[Tom]

U "must" know TROY !!

 

[Old Philosopher]

er yes/no. Steamed Peach ready for f-pac. Butt, I wait till it settles more in the secondary, rack leaving ^&%&$ behind, add meta and sorbate, mix well, add f-pac. mix well. ...

Tom, I'm bugging you because I need details on making this peach f-pak.
You said you had steamed peaches ready for the f-pak, but I can't seem to find the actual process of steaming fruit for an f-pak. I know I read it on the board before, but my searches are coming up empty.
The steps are......?

 

[Tom]

Well 1st you need a steam juicer.

Once you have one of these you can steam fruit.

Once you have steamed juice I then take at least 2 qts and simmer it to 1/2 (1qt) taht would be my f=pac from steamed juice.
Now I an ready to add a strawberry f-pac and will use 3 qts simmered to ONE qt. Why.. because strawberry is mostly water.

 

[Old Philosopher]

I don't have a steam juicer, but I have an automatic rice cooker with a steaming basket. If I use that to steam the peach pieces to a pulp, and then reduce (simmer) the water to 1/3 original volume, it might work. Humm....

 

[Tom]

No it will not work :-(

 

[Old Philosopher]

After a little research, I may be able to make a jerry-rigged steam juicer using an angel food cake pan and a colander in a double-boiler. :< If I get it to work, I'll post a pic of the mess. I only have about 3-4 pounds of fruit to steam this time, so it's worth a try, just to see if I can pull it off.

 

[UglyBhamGuy]

Even if you don't get it to work, post the pic and maybe tell what happened that you think caused it to not work. Someone else may be able to build on your design and get something usable.

 

[Old Philosopher]

Even if you don't get it to work, post the pic and maybe tell what happened that you think caused it to not work. Someone else may be able to build on your design and get something usable.

Well, the first stumbling block was that a cake pan is not sealed at the bottom. Nest candidate: a bunt (cake) pan. The next problem is finding a colander that will fit inside my 20 qt stock pot. Ironing out the bugs as I go along. Hahaha! If it works, I won't have to spend $150 on a juice steamer that I might use twice a year.

 

[ffemt128]

Well, the first stumbling block was that a cake pan is not sealed at the bottom. Nest candidate: a bunt (cake) pan. The next problem is finding a colander that will fit inside my 20 qt stock pot. Ironing out the bugs as I go along. Hahaha! If it works, I won't have to spend $150 on a juice steamer that I might use twice a year.

I picked up my steamer for $79 on Amazon. Havent used it yet but Its ready to go.

 

[Old Philosopher]

Solution

Well, SWMBO came up with the solution, even though it does take a little specialized equipment.
Her new cookware set has a nice double boiler steamer. She came up with a catch bowl that just fit in the lower pan. Here's the set up:

Here's the juice, ready to be reduced, that I got out of about 3 pounds of peaches:

 

[Old Philosopher]

...
Remember you will need to add clearing agents and rack a few times

Any suggestions on clearing "agents", other than a commercial product? I don't have access to specialty stores. I've heard a lot of different things, but not sure what to believe. Don't want to screw up this batch.

 

[Tom]

If you cant get anything over the net try egg WHITES. One egg white for 6 gallons. OR try some unflavored gelatin (knox). I'm sure you can almost anything wher you live over the net.

 

[Old Philosopher]

If you cant get anything over the net try egg WHITES. One egg white for 6 gallons. OR try some unflavored gelatin (knox). I'm sure you can almost anything wher you live over the net.

If the Knox will work, I'd rather do that. I try to avoid the cc over the net stuff.
Thanks!

 

[Old Philosopher]

Trust me.... This stuff will never see a bottle!

Quoting myself...how pathetic is that?
Well, I bottled the peach wine after 45 days. Then I shared a bottle with my wife. 3 bottles later in one evening...she dragged me to the store to get more peaches the very next day.
So there's another 3 gallons in primary right now.