Newest Threads

**EO74** · 10-08-2010, 12:50 AM

Ive heard of people pealing several differant organic apples and putting each one in its own 2 liter soda bottle with a small amount of juice to try and make a natural yeast starter,using witchever one comes out best/fastest.Has annyone else heard/tried this,if so how were your results?The thought of using natural yeasties intriges me!

Edcculus · 10-08-2010, 03:53 AM

I can't say definitively, but my gut says this won't work. For it to really work, you would have to buy directly from an orchard, or pick your own. Organic grocery store apples won't work, because there is so much other wild yeast/bacteria on them from being picked, shipped halfway across the world, stored in a warehouse etc.

Second, contrary to popular belief, apple skins do not have enough of the correct type of yeast to actually ferment anything that will be near tasty. You can end up with some interesting flavors if you press the juice, don't pasteurize or use sulfites and pitch a pure yeast strain. In traditional cider making, the yeast reside in the presses, not the apples or apple skins.

**EO74** · 10-09-2010, 10:54 AM

Thanks for the info,i think the reason for doing more than one apple type/starter is to insure one variety still has the yeast.I was under the impression the yeast was in the skins?Im going to try it out next time i do a cider and ill post.

chromedome · 10-09-2010, 11:44 PM

Edcculus is wrong.

Edcculus · 10-13-2010, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chromedome

Edcculus is wrong.

Sources....??????? If I'm wrong, prove it. I'll gladly concede my point if you show me a source that says otherwise. I know its an internet forum, but its still rude and childish to make a blanket statement like that, when it is apparent that I've spent a lot of time and effort researching.

Here is MY source from Andrew Lea, a former chemist, plant biochemist and food scientist and one of the leading authorities in Cider making. Andrew Lea's Cider making site. I've quoted from the "Harvesting" section under "Fruit and Cultivation".

Quote:

Before milling, fruit should be washed to remove soil, dead insects, leaves, stones, and rotten apples. It is fortunate that healthy apples float in water (pears don't!), thus providing an easy way to wash and clean the fruit. Clean water should be used to wash each batch of fruit - if the water is recycled, the dirt is recycled too! Don't be afraid of washing away the yeast - you won't! It is a popular fallacy that desirable fermenting yeasts are present on the fruit skin. There are indeed some types of yeast on the skin and in fact there can be up to 45,000 yeast cells per gram of fruit actually inside the apple itself, which get there through the open eye (where the flower petals once were). However, scientific study has shown that these yeasts (species such as Kloeckera and Candida) have only weak fermenting power and they soon die in more than a couple of percent of alcohol. They are not the Saccharomyces yeasts which are required for the successful completion of fermentation.

In a traditional cider-making operation where no yeast is apparently used, the inoculum resides on the press racks, the cloths, the vats, or even on the walls and ceiling. It persists from season to season but virtually none of it comes from the apples. Wild Saccharomyces yeasts are not very common, so this inoculum can take several years to build up but, once established, it can determine the 'house flavour' of a particular product. It is largely a matter of luck whether this flavour is desirable or not. We return to the subject of yeasts in a later section.

**BierMuncher** · 10-13-2010, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chromedome

Edcculus is wrong.

???????????????????

Bluechicken · 10-13-2010, 01:58 PM

I haven't tried this, but I have seen a youtube video that shows a guy doing exactly what you mention.

YouTube

kunstler · 10-14-2010, 02:17 PM

And again we choose a YouTube video over a chemist/cider expert....seriously? You tube wins over science???

Bluechicken · 10-14-2010, 02:24 PM

Nothing wrong with a youtube video... if a guy shows how he can do something, you can watch it and decide if you agree... or not... there have been plenty of opposing viewpoints here, such as the topic of carbing semi-sweet cider in bottles, which a lot of people said couldn't be done, but others said it could. I gave it a try and it worked nicely. The video was relevant to the initial post, no one said it was better than science. But it might make someone try that technique with a gallon of cider, no harm done if it doesn't work.

FrankyT · 10-14-2010, 09:55 PM

I did this for my first batch of cider just a few weeks ago. I lucked out and it worked perfectly. It may not look like it's doing anything after a day, but soon you'll start to feel pressure. The cider is now carbonating and I'll be drinking by tomorrow.

That youtube video is what inspired me, actually, and I was very curious at the thought of natural yeast, but I was very happy. I am also using the rest for a yeast starter to make bread (I got curious) and shockingly it rose! I'm probably waiting too long to bake it, but it smells deliciously yeasty.

I got my apple from the farmer's market and made sure they didn't wash it, so just ask them! Or pick one yourself. I'd also try and use a few different apples, just in case.