Fresh or frozen fruit in cider

I got a fav apple wine recipe I use for both still and sparkling cider. Now I wanna try adding fresh or frozen fruit, mostly berries. I'm just wondering how much (for 5 gallons) and whether to add whole or chopped. I've heard about cooking the berries or washing them in sanitizer. So what have you done and what do you recommend?

From what I've gathered, it's cool to add fresh or frozen fruit to the primary during initial fermentation, as I currently am doing right now...but the flavor of the fruit will likely be very faint. It's the racking of the cider into a secondary after primary fermentation has taken place with a bulk of fruit in the vessel, then ensuring to pasteurize after say, a week or so, to keep the sweetness. Most recipes I've viewed on HBT call for 10oz to a pound of fruit, sometimes more, per gallon.

Edit: Also, I soak my fruit in the cheapest vodka I can find for 10 minutes or so prior to adding them.

If fresh, I wash the fruit & slice it, then freeze it for a freeze/thaw/freeze/thaw cycle. This helps to break down cell walls & extract more juice/flavour from the fruit.

If commercially frozen, I just put it through a thaw/freeze/thaw cycle for the same reason/result. I always sulfite the fruit with the primary, or if I'm adding to secondary, I'll sulfite the fruit by itself & then rack onto the fruit 12-24 hrs after.
Regards, GF.

gratus fermentatio said:

I always sulfite the fruit with the primary, or if I'm adding to secondary, I'll sulfite the fruit by itself & then rack onto the fruit 12-24 hrs after.
Regards, GF.

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Does the camden tablets do the same as the sulfite?

I took blueberrys in a can and blended them and added pectinaze. Threw it onto a apple cider that was 2 days established.

This post shows the result so far. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/first-brew-first-cider-302244/#post3782934

I am planning to stop the ferment at 1.015 or so and prime and bottle carb then pasteurize.

Mitch

MarkKF said:

Does the camden tablets do the same as the sulfite?

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Campden is potassium metabisulfite (sulfite) in a handy, premeasured form. Just crush, dissolve in a little boiled & cooled water (about 1/2 cup) & viola! Instant sufite solution. And yes, since it's the same ingredients, it does the same thing.
Regards, GF.

I was thinking of doing this also,though in the secondary ,
are these camdem tablets or potassium metabisulfite (sulfite)
necessary for safety or will putting the fruit in vodka do enough ?

Probably not 100 percent on-topic, but if you juice the fruit while it is frozen, the must will be much higher in sugar, since a lot of the water remains frozen in the slush and doesn't make it into the juice receptacle.

That's how "ice cider" is made. Look it up if you're interested.