NorCalHB

Recipes 

I plan on making an apple raspberry cider soon and wanted to know if it would be okay to add a pound or so of fresh raspberries to my carboy, add the ingredients and then pitch the yeast. I dont see a problem with this.. am I right?

CandleWineProject

Recipes 

It shouldn't be a problem.

Bluechicken

Recipes 

I'm about to do the same, except with blueberries and cranberries (frozen). From what I've been told, you should use a camden tablet on the fruit 24 hours before, which should wipe out the bacteria, and then you'll be good to go. I've also read that a good amount is a pound of fruit per gallon, or you might not get much flavor from the fruit.

gratus fermentatio

Recipes 

Yep, fruit is good! And a big +1 on the campden. Something that will really help you to get more flavour out of those berries is to freeze them, thaw them & then refreeze them. Of course you thaw them 1 last time (and let them come up to room temp) before adding them to the must. This helps to break down the cell walls & release more juice/flavour. You might give them a few good squeezes with your hands to mash 'em up a bit too. I'd also use pectic enzyme, just wait till after the campden treatment to add the enzyme. Regards, GF.

NorCalHB

Recipes 

What is a camden tablet and what does it do?
What is pectic enzme and what does it do?

Thanks, guys.

gratus fermentatio

Recipes 

Campden tabs kill off any unwanted things (wild yeast, bacteria, etc...) that might come in on the fruit; it also helps to protect the wine/cider/mead/etc... from oxidation after the primary fermentation is complete.

Jack keller says it so much better than I can, have a look at this: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/glossary.asp just scroll down to the terms. You might have a look at the rest of his site too, it's a good one & will help to explain a lot of things. Hope this info helps. Regards, GF.

CandleWineProject

Recipes 

Campden tablets (potassium sulfites) kills bacteria and wild yeast, but not domesticated yeast. And yes, it helps against oxidization (think of an apple and how it changes color once opened).

Pectic enzyme should be added around 12 hours before yeast. It helps to make the solids sink with the dead yeast, creating clear cider. I have had very good success with it when I use it, and very cloudy cider when I don't.