Apricot moonshine is the most popular distillate in the world. Brandy (brandy, schnapps) from this fruit is made on the whole planet - from the Middle East and the Caucasus to the States, Germany and the Balkans. Some connoisseurs put this drink above many branded cognacs.
Apricot is very reluctant to excrete juice and contains a large number of pectins. Despite this, various types of alcoholic beverages are prepared from it: liquors, liquors, tinctures, wines, etc. And the best of them is cooked moonshine from apricots at home. A simple way of cooking and provides him with such popularity. During distillation, the aroma and taste of the fruit are concentrated and turned into an amazing product. It becomes especially elegant and thin after a long exposure. From the article you will learn how to make moonshine from apricots at home. So let's get started.
Main problems
Apricot belongs to the trees of the genus Plum. Consequently, the main problem of this fruit for moonshiner and winemaker is the pectin contained in the fruits. It tightens plant fibers, makes the mash cloudy (distillate obtained from it), prevents the juice from separating and promotes the formation of methyl alcohols. The latter are not needed at all in apricot brandy.
Mining methods
So, in order not to leave precious juice in the squeezes and quickly get it in full, it is worth using the following methods:
- Pectolytic enzymes. There are a lot of them. For example, "Depectil", "Clarification" and others. But it is worth considering that after treatment with the enzyme, re-heating of the wort will be required.
- Diffuse method. Coarse spin is applied, followed by infusion in warm water for several hours. In this case, as much water is taken as indicated in the recipe.
- Wort heating for 20-30 minutes (temperature 60-70 degrees).
But there is one caveat that is worth mentioning. In all three methods, the mash will roam for CKD (pure yeast culture). They are used especially for fruit wines. If there is a desire to make mash in the most simple way, then apricots should not be washed and heated. Over time, they will ferment on their own on the so-called natural, wild yeast. But it should be borne in mind that without yeast, moonshine made from apricots takes much longer to prepare and gets less. He wakes up to a maximum of 14-15 degrees. With baking and spirit yeast, the process is accelerated many times. However, the resulting product will have a clear moonshine flavor, which is quite difficult to get rid of. We go further.
Apricot brew for moonshine
A simple, basic recipe is based on wild yeast. And one must act according to the “red” technology, that is, when the wort roams with the pulp.
The amount of added sugar is regulated independently. For example, if you come across very sweet fruits, then you can put it less than indicated in the recipe. Apricot moonshine is made without sugar. But in this case it will come out very little. On the other hand, if you overdo it with a sweet additive, you get not apricot brandy, but ordinary sugar moonshine. And it is always important to pay attention to the presence of fructose (approximately 150 grams per liter). With this in mind, the sugar content in the wort should not exceed 25% during the fermentation of the drink with wild yeast. If this percentage is exceeded, then the mash just will not ferment.
Ingredients and Wort
Moonshine made from apricots without yeast should be made in compliance with the following optimal and proven proportions:
- 10-12 liters of water;
- 4 kilograms of sugar ( sugar must be inverted to speed up the fermentation process);
- 2 buckets of ripened apricots.
Before preparing the wort, all the fruits are moved. Moldy and rotten parts are cut off, and the bones are removed. If they are not removed, then the mash from moonshine will have an almond flavor. If you, on the contrary, love him, then the bones should be added later - immediately after the first run.
Fruits crumple in a pusher or hands. Sugar and water are added to the resulting mass, mixed well, poured into a container with a wide throat, covered with gauze and put in a dark place for 2-3 days. During this time, a cap from the pulp will appear on the wort. It must be knocked down and periodically stirred with a wooden spoon the whole mass. After a couple of days of fermentation, the wort will be ready, and it can be placed under a water seal.
Another homemade moonshine recipe from apricots
When preparing the wort using a different technology, you can get a brighter mash. As a result, apricot moonshine will become more noble and pure. To do this, add a third of sugar and a third of water to all fruits. Further, everything is warming up until a homogeneous mass is obtained and is fertilized in the manner indicated above. After 2-3 days, it is necessary to drain the formed liquid and squeeze the pulp well. Then dilute with the remaining sugar and water, placing under the lock.
The resulting wort is poured into a suitable container - a plastic barrel or bottle - and placed under a glove or under a water seal for rapid fermentation. Depending on the density of the mash, sweetness of the fruit, temperature and other circumstances, this process lasts from a week to a month. At CKD, everything is faster. The readiness of the mash can be determined by the shutter: it stops blowing bubbles.
Of course, one cannot be 100% sure that the mash has not burned to the bottom of the cube (only the owners of the steam generators are an exception). Therefore, if you drive not by steam, but in a standard way, then the mash must be separated from the pulp using filtration and extraction. Well, for complete cleanliness, you need to use one of the cleaning methods, which we will briefly list below.
Lightening Methods: Gelatin
This is one of the best ways to get rid of turbidity. For 10 liters of moonshine you need from 0.5 to 2 grams of natural, high-quality gelatin. Before pasting, it is soaked in 5-10-fold amount of water for 2-3 hours. Then add the same amount of boiling water and mix thoroughly. As a result, you should get a gelatin solution without lumps with a temperature of 35–40 .
Then it is poured in a thin stream into moonshine and at the same time the drink is constantly stirred. Then the resulting mixture is poured into a vessel, tightly sealed and left to stand in a dark place for two to three weeks until precipitation.
Egg white
To clarify 50 liters of moonshine, just one egg white is enough. For 100 liters, take 2-3 pieces. It is very important that the eggs are fresh. The protein is carefully separated from the yolk and slightly whipped into a foam with a little water. The resulting solution is poured into moonshine and thoroughly mixed. After that, a water seal is installed on the container and the drink settles for 2-3 weeks.
Isinglass
For 100 liters of moonshine, 1.5–2 grams of selected catfish glue is enough. It must be soaked in cold water, which changes until the glue granules are completely swollen. After a small amount of moonshine, it is necessary to heat and pour on these granules.
When the glue is released, it must be filtered through the flannel. This will help get rid of lumps and various impurities. Then the rest of moonshine is poured into it and thoroughly mixed. After 2-3 weeks, the precipitate completely precipitates.
Milk (Casein)
Some quite successfully clarify the moonshine with this particular liquid. 1 tsp is taken per 1 liter of drink. skim milk. Then everything is thoroughly mixed and settled for several days until a precipitate forms.
First distillation
Any distillation apparatus that can operate in a distiller mode is suitable for it. The process is carried out with a maximum supply of water and at maximum temperature. By the way, this rule applies to all fruit dips. To prevent splashing into the product, a dry steam tank must be installed in front of the refrigerator. Well, and, of course, you should not fill the tank more than 2/3 of its volume.
Distillation is carried out almost to dryness and ends when there is no longer a fruity smell in the tails. For fear of methyl alcohol, you can select several goals already at the first pasture (with our number of ingredients, this is about 100 ml.). About 5–7 liters of moonshine made from apricots with a strength of 30–40 degrees are obtained from the indicated volume of fruit.
Then the pervach should stand for several days. If the distillate is excessively cloudy, you can optionally pass it through a charcoal filter. But according to the assurances of people who know how to make moonshine from apricots at home, this will negatively affect the aroma of the drink. Although this can be fixed.
If after the initial distillation the moonshine turned out to be insufficiently fragrant and fruity notes are not felt in it, it is worth throwing a few fresh apricots into the jar during the “rest” of the drink. Well, to give moonshine a light almond note, like the famous Amaretto liquor, raw alcohol specifically insists on apricot kernels (3-4 broken kernels per liter). Upon repeated distillation, the hydrocyanic acid contained in them decomposes to aromatic compounds. But you should be careful - not everyone will like the aroma of almonds.
Re-distillation
To make high-quality home-made moonshine from apricots at home, just one distillation is not enough. Necessarily need a second one, and it is produced fractionally: with the cutoff of heads rich in volatile alcohols (methylene and others) and tailings containing fusel oils. If necessary, the raw material is diluted before distillation to 30 degrees. The diluted liquid is poured into the tank with heating turned on at minimum power. The optimal output rate of the distillate is 2-3 drops per second.
Ready fractions are taken in the amount of 5-10% AS - this is approximately 250 ml per our volume. Body selection can begin after the dripping liquid no longer smells like acetone. "Heads" are not used. They can be used to disinfect equipment or simply pour out.
During the selection of the "heart", the heating should be slightly increased. Pumping continues after reaching 50 degrees in the stream. At this moment, the smelling “mutnyak”, which is the tail fractions, is instilled from the apparatus. They can also be driven out to dryness and used during the next preparation of apricot brandy.
When the “tails” are on the way and the strength of moonshine decreases, it is worth removing the head fraction and placing other dishes under the refrigerator. Further, the drink is added to the body literally 200-300 ml until it has lost its fruity aroma and becomes cloudy.
Everything, moonshine of apricots, the recipe of which was presented above, is ready! But you can only use it after it has been left in glassware for two weeks. Well, it would be useful to pre-dilute it with clean water to about 40–45 degrees. And in order to turn moonshine into an apricot brandy, you need to insist a drink in a barrel. In the absence of a barrel, a simple and cheap alternative is quite suitable - oak chips. Put it a little - for a liter of moonshine there is only one 10-cm sliver. Exceeding this amount is not recommended, as the drink may turn into an unpleasant “stool”. Well, it takes longer to withstand - at least two months.
Finally
Now you know the recipe for moonshine from apricots at home. As you can see, there is nothing supernatural in its preparation. Neither virtuosic skills nor sophisticated equipment are needed. It only takes a desire and a sincere love for fruit distillates, which are rightfully considered the real elite among homemade drinks!