Plums,Plums,Plums i have loads??

hi all i have been given 2 bags full of nice new fresh plums from a friends tree,
so id like advise with what to do with them all? a nice wine for instance, any recipes or links to them appreciated,
cheers
lee.

there you go:

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques12.asp

i like it thank you.

I made that one a year ago with store bought. I did the freeze thaw method instead of the mashing. It worked out so well, I am making a 3 gallon batch as soon as I have time. Right now both freezers are jam-packed with frozen fruit, so it might take a while to work into it. Good luck!

cheers, but i read somewhere it clears quicker and better if you cold soak the plums, any thoughts on this?

lakeslad said:

cheers, but i read somewhere it clears quicker and better if you cold soak the plums, any thoughts on this?

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No, just don't' boil them or heat them and it's fine.

Yooper said:

No, just don't' boil them or heat them and it's fine.

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cheers yooper, but that's a bit confusing lol, so i AM ok just to cold soak them ? if i don't boil or heat them than that's what you mean?

jhoson said:

there you go:

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques12.asp

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just another quick one, what is yeast energizer know as over here in the uk? i can find no reference to if.

From what I have been told, it is just Yeast Nutrient, but to a higher degree. If you can't find that , just Google Yeast Nutrient Substitute.

lakeslad said:

cheers yooper, but that's a bit confusing lol, so i AM ok just to cold soak them ? if i don't boil or heat them than that's what you mean?

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I don't "soak". I just mix up the must with the campden, so if that's what you mean by "cold soak", then that's all there is to it. It's not really soaking them, it's just sanitizing the must.

Yooper said:

I don't "soak". I just mix up the must with the campden, so if that's what you mean by "cold soak", then that's all there is to it. It's not really soaking them, it's just sanitizing the must.

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Maybe not ideal. Not only will this not sanitise as the sulphur will bind in the skins but would need a low pH to work regardless. Furthermore you might need to do secondary later and you just made primary harder and secondary near impossible.

Yooper said:

I don't "soak". I just mix up the must with the campden, so if that's what you mean by "cold soak", then that's all there is to it. It's not really soaking them, it's just sanitizing the must.

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Related: with plums, is pectic enzyme useful (or important) for helping it clear faster?

lakeslad said:

cheers, but i read somewhere it clears quicker and better if you cold soak the plums, any thoughts on this?

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I tried soaking black plums; I sulfited them at the same time & the skins split on several of them. I figured they were safe due to the sufites, but I was concerned about juice loss. I think it was minimal, but the up side to this was the fact that I could pit those plums just by sqeezing them in my hand.

I squeezed all the pulp & skins into gallon sized ziploc freezer bags & froze them, I'll be making wine with them in about a month. I was wanting to ferment these plums low & slow with Steinberg yeast.
Regards, GF.

hmillard said:

Maybe not ideal. Not only will this not sanitise as the sulphur will bind in the skins but would need a low pH to work regardless. Furthermore you might need to do secondary later and you just made primary harder and secondary near impossible.

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I'm confused here, firstSo2 is used world wide to sanitize must, with and without skins. It is a proven method.

Secondly why would primary fermentation be harder and secondary near impossible, are you suggesting that the camden will retard fermentation?

Heavywalker said:

I'm confused here, firstSo2 is used world wide to sanitize must, with and without skins. It is a proven method.

Secondly why would primary fermentation be harder and secondary near impossible, are you suggesting that the camden will retard fermentation?

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I wouldn't worry about it, I've sulfited plums & plum wine/melomel musts several times, they all fermented just fine. Besides, commercial wine yeasts have been bred to tolerate sulfites for just this purpose.
Regards, GF.

I made a plum wine from plums on my grandfathers tree about 6 yrs ago....turned out to be the best wine I ever made. Recipe I followed told me it would take 3 yrs for the wine to mature...and wouldnt you know...it did. First I had to boil the plums to soften them and begin fermenting...the it had me ferment 2 over ripe bananas and 2 boxes of white raisins with the plum must. It was a long process but one well worth it. If your interested in the recipe I can get it at home.

I'm a somewhat experienced brewer, first time whiner, I mean winemaker, and a buddy is giving me some plums tomorrow. I was planning to use a fruit press on them and separating the juice before fermenting. Should I actually ferment with solids first, then rack?

Fizzycist said:

I'm a somewhat experienced brewer, first time whiner, I mean winemaker, and a buddy is giving me some plums tomorrow. I was planning to use a fruit press on them and separating the juice before fermenting. Should I actually ferment with solids first, then rack?

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I do. I like the fuller richer flavor that comes from using pulp and skins during primary. Just like I like fresh tomatoes, instead of just tomato juice when I get them out of the garden. There are flavor components in more than just the juice. Tannins and other things come from the skins.

Fizzycist said:

I'm a somewhat experienced brewer, first time whiner, I mean winemaker, and a buddy is giving me some plums tomorrow. I was planning to use a fruit press on them and separating the juice before fermenting. Should I actually ferment with solids first, then rack?

Click to expand...

Absolutly I do too....I also added over ripe bananas and some white raisins to my plums while they fermented...it was a recipe I found. I take the plums..cut out any bad spots...I take the seeds out and cut up into pieces...like maybe 3 or 3 pieces per plum...and I also added boiling water to them to activate the process...get the enzyms moving. Good luck....its great wine...but dont be mad at first it taste bad...bottle it and let sit about a yr or 2.....it will be great...trust me...I wasted 4 gallons I thought it was nasty...its a aging process with the plums I learned.

+ 1 on fermenting plum solids & then racking off them. I do it that way every time. You get more flavour, more color, and more body that way. Regards, GF.

I'm picking plums now. These are pretty much "wild plums" and they taste really good, but are a bit more tart than the ones in the store. These make a great wine, so I'm picking them and putting them in the freezer (to make it easier to smoosh them up).


I'm using the recipe from the above link, as I don't want to add raisins or bananas unless I have to. I"ve made this some recipe a number of times before, and it's always been great. It does finish tart if it's not sweetened in the end, but we like it that way. Others may prefer it sweetened a bit to off-dry.

I've 2 gallons here in uk, gone with 4lbs pitted and mashed plums, very ripe and sweet, 6 pints of water, 1kg bag of sugar, 1 campden tablet per gallon and champagne yeast. Rack it once through a sieve only after a week and it sort of seperating in demi john like a keeved cider would.

Heavywalker said:

I'm confused here, firstSo2 is used world wide to sanitize must, with and without skins. It is a proven method.

Secondly why would primary fermentation be harder and secondary near impossible, are you suggesting that the camden will retard fermentation?

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Ok, speaking as a professional winemaker, SO2 is not used to sanitise must worldwide. Without skins, sure. Of course then it's juice, not must. It is used in must but not to sanitise, it is to prevent oxidation of anthocyanins to brown quinones.

On the note of fermentation, some yeast will be retarded by the presence of SO2. Others will be slowed. Still more might can produce tropical volatile sulphur compounds as a result and all will have a greater ability to produce H2S toward the end of ferment. If you don't have copper sulphate on hand this can result in a stinky wine.

Secondary ferment is near impossible. To be clear I mean malolactic ferment, not just carbonation. Oenococcus Oeni is the heterofermenting bacteria that does this and has extremely low sulphur tolerance.

Have racked my plum mark2 version today after a week in a fermentation bucket and its currently down from 1088 to 1070. Mark1 version bubbling away happily to. Pictures for your amusement hopefully.

I'd top up those fermenters if fermentation has slowed down enough to not push the wine out the top.

I started mine today- 56 pounds of plums and making 9 gallons of wine. The must is mixed up, and I'll add 71B-1122 yeast tomorrow.

Hey guys, I been using Keller's recipes' for years now and just curious which one you follow. I always go with #2 (listed on the provided link) when it's time for plum and have had great results every time. Just curious to know what others prefer for a sweetness level for this style. I always use wild plums and EC-1118, doing a split sugar addition.

As a side note, if you ever bring a juicer into the mix, a split addition can be a very messy experience! Here's a pic of just such an endeavor, it only took about 30 min for a massive blow off as pulp is forced out of solution.

blacksmith said:

Hey guys, I been using Keller's recipes' for years now and just curious which one you follow. I always go with #2 (listed on the provided link) when it's time for plum and have had great results every time. Just curious to know what others prefer for a sweetness level for this style. I always use wild plums and EC-1118, doing a split sugar addition.

As a side note, if you ever bring a juicer into the mix, a split addition can be a very messy experience! Here's a pic of just such an endeavor, it only took about 30 min for a massive blow off as pulp is forced out of solution.

Click to expand...

I always use #1. This year, I used a lot less sugar than the recipe calls for, though. The plums must have had a lot more natural sugar.

I used 56 pounds of plums, but only 10 pounds of sugar, for 9 gallons of wine.

I do not have any sort of sweet tooth, so I drink dry table wines almost always.

It was a great year for fruit up here in the northern zones. :rockin: