sanitizing orange peels?

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brettamuss

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I am in the middle of the primary of an amber ale and i would like to add orange peels when comes time to secondary rack. So prior i have been trying to read up on the best way to add orange peels and i think i am up to date. The only thing i am lost about is how to sanitize the orange peels before i put them in my secondary. I have read up on it but one person said vodka and the next said no! One said boil and the next said no! One said sanitizer and the next said no way! Lol so i have no clue! Im kinda leaning towards boiling simply because it sounds the easiest! So my question is, is there a better way? Any advice would be great!
 
Bring a small pot of water up to 170°, cut the heat and add the oranges. Let it cool on its own to room temp and pitch it. You just need to kill any wild yeasts that might be on the rind.
 
Usually I scrape out as much of the white part of the rind as possible. Depending on the variety, it can be very very bitter. Taste it and if it is indeed bitter, I would zest it and use a hop bag instead of whole rinds.
 
brettamuss said:
I am in the middle of the primary of an amber ale and i would like to add orange peels when comes time to secondary rack. So prior i have been trying to read up on the best way to add orange peels and i think i am up to date. The only thing i am lost about is how to sanitize the orange peels before i put them in my secondary. I have read up on it but one person said vodka and the next said no! One said boil and the next said no! One said sanitizer and the next said no way! Lol so i have no clue! Im kinda leaning towards boiling simply because it sounds the easiest! So my question is, is there a better way? Any advice would be great!
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I have to humbly disagree with boiling. The flavor compounds in the orange are oil-based (not water soluble) - heating them will simply evaporate much of the orange oil. The reason so many martinis are garnished with a twist, is that the volatile oils very readily dissolve in alcohol. Vodka steeping will both sanitize the peel, and absorb the oil without losing any to evaporation. In fact, this is a sound technique for infusing a variety of spices, herbs, etc into beer.
 
Not sure what type of oranges you are using. My LHBS sells sweet orange peel which I've added to a wheat beer and it worked really well. I think I heard an interview with Ray Daniels on Basic Brewing Radio where he advised against using normal grocery store oranges because he felt the flavor of that type of orange is a little off for beer. Idk, you'll probably be fine. But to answer your question, a vodka soak will work well. The idea is that this method retains more of the orange flavor as boiling the orange peel will boil off the flavor. The pasteurization method of bringing the orange peels up to 170 and holding it there for 10 minutes will also work and should retain more flavors versus boiling. Hope this helps.
 
Depending on the season,the produce dpartment of the grocery store will have more than 1 type of orange. Or other citrus for that matter. There are different kinds of limes,lemons,grapefruit, & oranges. Sp that staement isn't true at all. And just use a zester or peeler to get the colored part off the citrus. Do not use the white part,they're all bitter & nasty.
 
unionrdr said:
Depending on the season,the produce dpartment of the grocery store will have more than 1 type of orange. Or other citrus for that matter. There are different kinds of limes,lemons,grapefruit, & oranges. Sp that staement isn't true at all. And just use a zester or peeler to get the colored part off the citrus. Do not use the white part,they're all bitter & nasty.
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Hit the organic section, or go to a farmer's market. Oranges can have pesticide residue on the peel. If you wash 'em, you'll inevitably loose some of the yummy oil. You're correct that a large variety of citrus fruits can be zested - at my pub, we use buddha's hand, which is amazing in wheat beer. Yes, keep the pith out.
 
The thought of putting vodka in my beer freaks me out! Im afraid the overwelming taste of vodka will stand out? Is that possible? Holding it at 170 sounds much safer! I think i will try this first! Thank you everybody for your input! Much help!

I am deff going to the organic section! Had that in mind. Does the size matter much as far as the orange? The bigger the jucier or the oppisite?
 
brettamuss said:
The thought of putting vodka in my beer freaks me out! Im afraid the overwelming taste of vodka will stand out? Is that possible? Holding it at 170 sounds much safer! I think i will try this first! Thank you everybody for your input! Much help!

I am deff going to the organic section! Had that in mind. Does the size matter much as far as the orange? The bigger the jucier or the oppisite?
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Vodka has almost no flavor at all. It tastes vaguely "hot", you're doing little more than adding a tiny bit of nearly pure alcohol to your beer. Vodka (or neutral grain alcohol steeping) is absolutely the way to go. You'll get much more flavor from the orange. Don't forget that when you buy extracts (such as vanilla extract from the store) the number one ingredient is ... alcohol. The reason that extracts come in ethyl alcohol, is because they dissolve in ethyl alcohol, while the alcohol contributes virtually no flavor. Vodka is basically ethyl alcohol and water. The tiny amount of vodka you'd use to steep orange zest would absolutely have zero impact on your beer, other than to do a much better job of flavoring your beer.

You should reconsider your stance ;) The ounce of vodka will not harm your beer.

The size of the fruit is irrelevant, other than a bigger fruit has more zest! Try out a pummelo - they have a really tasty zest. You can also buy a few different citrus fruits, zest each one, and taste them. Steep the one you like best. Or combine them.
 
Very good to know! I beleive i am convinced! How much vodka would you use for tqo oranges worth of zest and is that enough for a 5gl batch?
 
brettamuss said:
Very good to know! I beleive i am convinced! How much vodka would you use for tqo oranges worth of zest and is that enough for a 5gl batch?
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Just enough vodka to cover the zest. Shouldn't need more than a couple oz or so. 2-4 medium sized fruits worth of zest should do it. Remember, not the white part, just the very fragrant thin outer layer. My preferred tool for this job is a chef's knife, then I usually julienne them into very fine strips. The more surface area, the better the infusion. The longer the steep, the better - but I've done anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days with good results.

Edit: In case this isn't obvious, pour the vodka in the fermentor with the zest, don't strain off the zest. They both will have a TON of flavor. To verify this, try making a bottle of orange infused vodka. It's delicious :)

Also, I put it in just before bottling. Some people at it to the secondary for a week to let the flavors combine. The problem is that the flavors are VERY volatile. A bit of flavor will be driven off by the still-escaping CO2 during fermentation. For this reason, I pour it in the bottling bucket, and let the flavors combine during bottle conditioning, so that none of the flavor escapes. Results: Big complex citrus.
 
Ok, i kinda lost you with the surface area and fusion? Sorry! Also by steeping you mean just leaving them in the vodka with no heat right? Sorry when i hear steep i think heat. Like with grains! Lol
 
brettamuss said:
Ok, i kinda lost you with the surface area and fusion? Sorry! Also by steeping you mean just leaving them in the vodka with no heat right? Sorry when i hear steep i think heat. Like with grains! Lol
Click to expand...

No problem, let me explain:

Surface area = the amount of orange in contact with the vodka. The finer the zest, the more zest will be "touching" the vodka, the quicker and better the infusion. Long story short, the finer the zest, the better.

Steep is synonymous with soak, no do not heat the vodka, it will evaporate. In fact, it will evaporate anyway, so do your steep (soak) in a closed container.

Cheers!
 
I have done this many times with great success and no issues, zap 'em in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds and you're good to go!
 
Right on man! Thanx alot! Good advice i will hold on to! Sorry for the need of dumbing it down! Still learnin. Lol thanks again
 
If you added a fruit puree and soaked it in vodka and added at bottling time would you reduce the amount of bottling sugar that you would use? ex. If I pureed some apricots and soaked them in vodka and added at bottling should I reduce the aount of sugar say the recipe calls for a cup, would i reduce it to a half cup? Not sure I would like to add a fruit as my wife likes the fruit beers, but dont want to over carb!


nbolmer said:
Just enough vodka to cover the zest. Shouldn't need more than a couple oz or so. 2-4 medium sized fruits worth of zest should do it. Remember, not the white part, just the very fragrant thin outer layer. My preferred tool for this job is a chef's knife, then I usually julienne them into very fine strips. The more surface area, the better the infusion. The longer the steep, the better - but I've done anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days with good results.

Edit: In case this isn't obvious, pour the vodka in the fermentor with the zest, don't strain off the zest. They both will have a TON of flavor. To verify this, try making a bottle of orange infused vodka. It's delicious :)

Also, I put it in just before bottling. Some people at it to the secondary for a week to let the flavors combine. The problem is that the flavors are VERY volatile. A bit of flavor will be driven off by the still-escaping CO2 during fermentation. For this reason, I pour it in the bottling bucket, and let the flavors combine during bottle conditioning, so that none of the flavor escapes. Results: Big complex citrus.
Click to expand...
 
Bprisk said:
If you added a fruit puree and soaked it in vodka and added at bottling time would you reduce the amount of bottling sugar that you would use? ex. If I pureed some apricots and soaked them in vodka and added at bottling should I reduce the aount of sugar say the recipe calls for a cup, would i reduce it to a half cup? Not sure I would like to add a fruit as my wife likes the fruit beers, but dont want to over carb!
Click to expand...

I wouldn't add fruit puree directly before bottling, I'd want to ferment with it, then rack.
 
Yes,all fruit additions should be done in a secondary. Not to be confused with my using Trulemon crystalized juice in the priming solution of my summer shandy recipe I gave my wife to brew. It contains no preservatives or added sugars that would over carbonate or otherwise mess up the brew. But boy does it give a natural juice flavor. Unlike zest,which is the flavor/aroma oils in the colored part of the skin.
Don't get me wrong,the zest oils are a bit more intense,but so far the citrus crystal is smoother & more natural. They have Trulemon,Truorange,& Trulime in the baking needs isle of Giant Eagle that I've seen so far. They seem to work quite well.
 

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