Do Campden tablets eliminate the need to sanitize? (I assume the answer is NO)

[woozy]

So one Campden tablet per gallon in the must will sanitize the must of bacteria and wild yeast. Does that mean I don't have to sanitize my fermentor? (Ha! Fat chance.)

But what about the blender I use to blend the fruit in to make the juice or the cheesecloth I strain it through. (or any spoon I use to stir or.....) Do I have to sanitize those? Or would adding a campden tablet later be sufficient?

 

[Chalkyt]

Before I start any batch of cider I spray or wash everything in Starsan (buckets, brushes, carboys, spoons, cheezecloth, filters, funnels, siphons, etc, etc, etc) after cleaning them with PBW. I do the same when putting everything away... it is a bit of a pain but is a "belt, braces, and safety pins" way of avoiding any nasties. Do you really want to see strange white or grey globs appearing on top of the cider that you spent hours making or have it taste like gaaarrrkkkk!

 

[woozy]

> Before I start any batch of cider I spray or wash everything in Starsan (buckets, brushes, carboys, spoons, cheezecloth, filters, funnels, siphons, etc, etc, etc)

What about the fruit itself... what if the fruit were frozen (and somewhat bleedy) berries? Or the juice itself. I assume that is what the campden tablet is for. I figure if campden can handle liquid (don't see how any one can spray or wash a liquid) then... well, the liquid coming in contact with cheese cloth.... well, once you start cutting corners .... but....

 

[Birrofilo]

Cleaning is necessary because the unwanted yeast and bacteria occupy the microscopic layer of dirt which sits on the surfaces. Saniters will sanitize only the surface of the dirt, but will not kill or stone the bacteria in the deepness of the microscopic layer of dirt.

Sanitizing is therefore useless if you don't clean first. After you cleaned, the surface (steel, plastic) will be, well, cleaned. Some tiny quantity of bacteria can sit on the cleaned surface, and the sanitizer gets rid of that.

The quantity of bacteria that can sit on a cleaned surface is way smaller than the one which can be harboured in the thin invisible layer of dirt.

Cleaning is of paramount importance. Sanitizing is more of a peace-of-mind thing. It's the final cherry on the cake.

If you don't clean, 19 out of 20 batches will be infected. If you clean and don't sanitize, I think 1 in 20 batches, and that maybe, will be infected.

Blenders, tools etc. all have to be clean, as in "well cleaned". Campden tablets and sanitizers will not substitute good cleaning practices, only complement them.

 

[Rick Stephens]

I actually dunk all my apples, before grinding and pressing, in a trough full of sanitizer that was just used to clean and sanitize the grinder table, buckets, press, mesh bags, and tools.

 

[woozy]

So I guess what I'm getting at is if I make a must of store bought apple juice in jugs (I assume an unopened jug is sanitized[*]) and make a slurry of frozen berries (in a sanitized blender but assuming the frozen berries are not sanitized[**]) is it enough to assume campden tablets will sanitize the must properly (I sure as heck don't want to rinse mushy frozen berries in StarSan, and although I could heat the must to 160 .... I'd rather not) or am I sol. And if I can rely on just the campden tablets in the must.... can I get away with not worrying about the cheesecloth... I mean I got no objection other than I'm lazy but.... well, I am lazy....

[*]... I have been assuming that for the last year where all I've been doing is pouring room temperature apple juice into a clean and sanitized fermentor... it's been fine so far

[**]I have not done this before yet and this is what is prompting me to use campden tablets.

 

[Rick Stephens]

I made a bunch of batches with frozen blueberries. Never rinsed them, or even unfroze them before adding to the fermenter beginning of primary and late in secondary. Never a problem, for what it is worth. I Starsan the apples since I do pick up windfalls.

 

[Maylar]

I Starsan the apples since I do pick up windfalls.

These folks don't seem to have a problem with that...

 

[Birrofilo]

You can sanitize the tools with sanitizers. You cannot sanitize your fruit or your must. As said, sanitizers arrive just at the surface of anything.

If you want to kill any form of life in your fruit juice your only option is to boil it. You cannot sanitize it at all.

People make wine, cider, mead etc. without sanitizing the ingredients since some millennia, and it works