Cooking Pear Wine

[Brewerone]

I'm thinking of making a fruit wine using cooking pears. Cooking pears are hard and sweet. I have about 14 lbs. cut in fours. Is this small enough or do they need to be mashed?

 

[Zwetschgen]

Generally, I have found and others may disagree, that the finer you get the fruit the more juice you can get out of it. Cider makers will typically crush theirs into a near applesauce consistency then press. I would mash them, sounds like a lot of work if they are as hard as you say they are.

 

[Brewerone]

I have mixed feelings about finely pureeing my fruit. I did a batch of strawberry wine where I just hand crushed it. I also did a batch where I puréed it in a blender. In my first batch I used granulated cane sugar and my second I used dextrose monohydrate. It seemed a little easier to test the S.G. when I only hand crushed the strawberries.

 

[Kretzy]

Am I wring to assume a juicer? I would think it would save a lot of effort and straining!

 

[dinnerstick]

i used a juicer on cooking pears for a perry, it worked great, tasted terrible

 

[Brewerone]

I just put them in a regular blender and poured it into a bucket bag.

 

[Zwetschgen]

I think the blender was a good choice. Strawberries are soft enough that you can crush by hand (foot, 2x4, whatever), there really is no need to puree strawberries. Apples and hard pears on the other hand aren't so delicate. I've never used a juicer so I cannot speak to them, but I think a blender would chop them just enough.

 

[jdrum]

i would run them throgh a food processer on low speed, just enough to get a coarse grind. or old fashind meat grinder with a coarse blade. i have used both for muscadines, and peaches.

jim