Hard to Resist this Bargain (cranberries)

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imp

Senior Member
Cranberries are a must for Thanksgiving; they were selling at $2.50 $3.00 (12 ounce bag) before the holiday. Our 99-cent store has them for 99 cents! Knowing the ease with which cranberries may be converted into a wonderful nectar, I bought 10 bags. $10.00. Today I "processed" them. Here's a few pics:


This little mountain of berries will become 4 or 5 gallons of wonderful wine! Shooting for 4, but if it proves too heavy, I'll water it down.


Crushing is the traditional method of winemaking from fruit. I found the above works perfectly, and I believe it releases more of the natural juices, and maybe flavors. It's quick, too!


Here is the batch in the primary fermenter, 5-gallon food-grade bucket. Contents: the pulverized cranberries and their juice, 10 lbs. of sugar (OK, simmer down, the sugar will become alcohol, much healthier for you!), 3 tsp. Tannin, 1-1/2 tsp. Pectic Enzyme, 4 tsp. Yeast Nutrient, and 4 Campden tablets (they produce Sulfur Dioxide, which sanitizes the mix by killing bacteria and mold spores, assuring no "wild yeasts" or other spoiling organisms are present. The SO2 disappears into the atmosphere in a few hours time, thus my wine is not "sulfited"), and sufficient fresh water to make a bit more volume than 4 gallons, as the pulp takes up space.

Covered overnight, tomorrow I will add 1 packet of Montrachet Wine Yeast, cover 'er back up, leave the yeasties to consume all that sugar, about a week, after which time the batch will be filtered through a pillow case and placed in a glass carboy to finish fermenting, about a month is sufficient, after which it may be bottled.

Several times, my wife took a portion of the remaining pulp, that was with blueberries and peaches another time, cooked it up on the stove and made a wonderful compote-like jelly which we enjoy mornings on toast. Always seems a shame to discard the fruit pulp. Thank you for looking! imp
 

Imp I buy a 1.4 kg bag of dried cranberries from Costco ( they cost me $14 ) ( They only openened this time last year in Adelaide) I grab a handful when I want something sweet ,and I put a few in the mini chrissy puddings I made ...When we were shopping at Costco last week I noticed they had 1.4 kg bags of frozen cranberries so I bought two bags of them as well as my usual same size bag of frozen blueberries . I use them to add to my homemade youghurt or smoothies I make in my nutibullet
Yum Yum ..
On the subject of left over pulp with the nutibullet you get to drink all that, so what you put in all blends up to a nice thick smoothie ,of course that depends on what you add to it I freeze bananas to add which thickens it.. my favorite is Small frozen banana , 1/4 cup blueberries , Small piece of celery ,chia seeds 3/4 cup skim milk ..its so thick you can stand a teaspoon up in the smoothie Yum Yum ..
 

Kadee, thank you for that! My wife has taken to making a smoothie mid-mornings, using non-fat plain sugar-free yogurt, frozen berries, chia seeds, and whey protein. With blueberries, the smoothies have a beautiful purple color. Sounds like this has become a world-wide thing! imp
 
Update on Processing Cranberries

Started on 12-8, they've been in the fermenting bucket since then, took longer to get "started" than usual; the nice thing is the variability encountered fruit batch to batch. After straining the pulp and seeds out of the mix, I found it tasted so good, I asked Deb if she felt like making preserves out of the "mash"; shame to throw it away. Below is the stuff being brought to a boil on the stove, lots of fiber, but also fair amount of sugar. The alcohol contained will quickly boil away.



She saves jars with closable sealing lids, peanut butter, and the like, and they serve well for saving preserves. Turns out we got three jars. I enjoy this on toast each morning, as that's the extent of my breakfasts.


Rest of the story: syphoning the wine from fermenting bucket into 5-gallon glass carboy. The color is magnificent, lighter than blueberry but more red than pink grape. The buckets are "food-grade" bought brand-new. Cleanliness is critical to prevent unwanted yeasts or bacteria to enter out of the air. I sanitize everything using 190 proof grain alcohol on a paper towel. Most authorities recommend household bleach, but then water washing is necessary; how sterile is the water? I have never had a batch "turn bad". Alcohol content at this stage is perhaps 10%, enough to pretty well ensure it will prevent spoiling.



Just started filling, wound up with 4 gallons as planned. The carboy will be "sealed" to prevent entry of air (and organisms) by use of a "water-trap", which allows the carbon dioxide gas produced, as the little yeasties consume the sugar, to escape. It will be allowed to sit quietly for a month or two, depending on when it takes on a perfectly clear appearance. I test that by shining a flashlight beam through the liquid. Once nice and clear, it may be bottled. The longer it ages, according to wine connoisseurs the better the quality becomes. My being no connoisseur but rather a "kind-o-sewer" when it comes to my wines, I may try a bit shortly after bottling. imp
 
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