Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

I've been looking for jars for collecting cuts. We don't use a lot of jam, Vegemite etc, but love Rollmops, Olives and Pickled onions. I've found all the jars we end up with smell too much around the seal for reuse as a collection jar. Yesterday while shopping I noticed Coles brand Strawberry jam in 500g jars, for just $1.45 each. I guess the jar is around 375ml which should be a decent collection size, allowing a bit of head room incase I'm sidetracked for a sec. I'm thinking of buying a dozen, just for the jars.

I got thinking why not make a Strawberry Spirit. The ingredients are listed as Sugar, Strawberry (45%), Gelling Agent (Fruit Pectin), Food Acids (330, 331)

Sugar, excellent for fermenting
Strawberry, good for fermenting
Pectin, not sure about the ferment?
Food acid 330 is Citric acid, so pretty good for fermenting.
Food acid 331 is Sodium Citrate, or sodium salts of citric acid (Monosodiumlame citrate, Disodium citrate or Trisodium citrate)

So all looks good to throw in the fermenter. I'm thinking of dumping the lot in a fermenter, making it up to 45L, and adding white sugar or even dextrose to achieve a 1.070 gravity. I assume the jam should virtually get me to the gravity by itself. Not sure on what yeast yet. Ferment it out and run it through the pot still (my only still) slowly taking cuts.

Has anyone tried anything like this?
What yeast would be good?

Definatly worth a try. I would go for something like EC1118, it has high alc tolerance and should not impact on the strawberry flavours.

Doesn't pectin produce methanol in fermentations?

I had to same idea after reading a plum brandy thread, the recipe was 5kg plumbs and 5kg sugar. Then the next day I saw the jam claiming 50% fruit I figured the other 50% was mostly sugar this got the old gray matter ticking over. :think:
Someone must have tried this, and surly the methanol issue can be dealt with by making appropriate cuts? :-B

Of course there'll be methanol, there always is in fruits of any kind. It's not a huge concern, just make harsh cuts but there'll still be methanol (with pears apparently being the highest).

Jam washes a very common, the US guys love them and it would make a half decent spirit.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... &hilit=Jam
And

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... m#p6861007

As a couple of examples.
I'd be keen to see a side by side taste test of real fruit VS jam but if you're lashing out on the jam just for the jars you should totally give it a ferment and tell us how it goes!

I googled pectin->methanol and it does indeed. But from my reading it's no worse than say grapes in a wine and should be removed in the foreshot. So I'm thinking take a 500ml foreshot to be safe. I'm starting to think this is a goer once the rum run is finished before I start the whiskey.

Yep,

Give it a shot Kev!!

:handgestures-thumbupleft:

Dudes think we all get just a bit to paranoid about the Methanol.

Been making fruit wines for years as have thousands possably millions over the last few centuarys.
How many liters of wine gets consumed world wide each second ?

Not seeing any optic nerve damage or deaths reported every minuate of the day .....and thats just basically people drinking wash.....no distilling....not even a measilly 50ml per 20 liter cut as recommended by HBS.

Ferment the jam and enjoy what ever results......especially the clean smelling cut jars :D


If I was to have a worry, it would be with any preservatives that might be in it but yoy didn't mention any.
Also agree with EC1118 yeast as this is a typicao fruit wine yeast.Would also strongly suggest some wine yeast nutrient though

I'm definitely going to run this after I get some other jobs out of the way, probably use the plum or blackberry. :teasing-neener: It's seems pretty affordable at $5. a kg, worth a small batch I reckon. 8-}

Done a couple of fruits like this

Kev's on the mark.. a good solid safe fores cut 500ml+ is well warranted on a 46-50lt wash.
Your nose/tastebuds will confirm it in any case.

An EC1118 is good choice, handle pectins, but it ferments down real hard near 1.002. To keep a little residual sugars/preserve flavours I'd be crash chilling near the end of the ferment.... guess it depends on how much carry through you want.

bt1

res is going to the flash jam :laughing-rolling:

the jam I'm looking at is



I wonder if there is a difference in the product? But I do prefer this shape for the collection jar.

Any one know about bakers ingredients see on internet they sell unto 270 kg drums Bakers’ & Pastrycooks’ Jams and Fillings .Problem maybe that they have preservatives to stop fermentation in storage.

OzKev wrote:res is going to the flash jam :laughing-rolling:

the jam I'm looking at is



I wonder if there is a difference in the product? But I do prefer this shape for the collection jar.

What can I say, I'm a classy guy :)) Didn't see the other jam, Does it still have 50% fruit and basic ingredients? :wtf: But the jar collecting aside if it's any good we'll need some of them big tubs for sure. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

45% strawberry so pretty close. I only went to it as when I was in K-Mart looking at empty jars for $2 each and the lid would not even stay on. Then I saw these jars and though that's a good shape for a collection jar and saw the price. If it comes out nice, it will be a bonus. I'm even thinking of adding some fresh crushed strawberry when serving. I'm now looking at using a couple of my smaller beer fermenters to give it a crack so I don't have to wait a month or two until my big one frees up.

OzKev wrote:45% strawberry so pretty close. I only went to it as when I was in K-Mart looking at empty jars for $2 each and the lid would not even stay on. Then I saw these jars and though that's a good shape for a collection jar and saw the price. If it comes out nice, it will be a bonus. I'm even thinking of adding some fresh crushed strawberry when serving. I'm now looking at using a couple of my smaller beer fermenters to give it a crack so I don't have to wait a month or two until my big one frees up.

Nice mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Certainly a sweet way to get some jars :laughing-rolling: In all seriousness I'm very keen on knocking out a nice fruit brandy so will be very interested in hearing how this works out for you. It does seem a little too easy, but you never know. Good luck. :D

Board last night, so here are the solders lined up ready for action :dance:




I'm going to use a beer fermenter to push this one through. SWMBO does not normally drink, just an occasional wine. But last night she was googling ideas for things like a strawberry daiquiri. :scared-eek:

Be careful she does not encounter Strawberry Panty Dropper in her searches

I finally finished fermenting the molasses, so the fermenter is freed up for a little while. So time to get onto the Strawberry Jamskey, nothing to do with Whiskey but just a cool name for it. SWMBO didn't like the name Pink Panties for it. I ended up using 21 x 500g jars of jam, 4kg white sugar and 2 packs EC-1118 in 48L for an OG 1.086. It's now in the fermenting fridge at 25c.

Good on ya Kev :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I'll be watching with interest.


Just be careful Dick Smith doesnt give you a hard time for not using Aussie Jam :laughing-rolling:

Is that dick sellout to major chain smith? :laughing-rolling: