Mouse Poo and Apples...

[Trey Ark]

Hey Everyone,

I've been busy with multiple brews, college, and work. I left some of my favorite apples in the garage, meaning to use them the next day but life happened and they've sat out there. I've thrown out the rotting ones and found some mouse poop in one of my boxes. I have another box that was vertically taller and they look much better sitting close by and I haven't found any instances of mice touching it.

I have not mixed them together. I rinsed them many times and plan on using some food grade hydrogen peroxide as the final washing method. Wondering what your thoughts are on using the apples. The one with poo and the one without. Thanks

 

[AzOr]

Cut out the really bad parts and dip them in a potassium metabisulfite (campden tabs) solution before pressing.
I have two old plastic fermentation buckets I use. One with the campden solution and the other I drilled a whole bunch of 1” holes (looks like Swiss cheese). I put apples in the bucket w holes and dip in solution.

 

[IslandLizard]

That ^ or Starsan.

But I'd give them a good wash (with a little washing soda or Oxiclean added) and a good rinse first. Get the gpoo/pee off.

 

[RPh_Guy]

FYI, rinsing/washing the apples is not necessary. There are no pathogens or off-flavors that will survive into the hard cider.

Feel free to use both batches of (non-rotten) apples without any extravagant process besides normal crushing and pressing.

 

[dmtaylor]

FYI, rinsing/washing the apples is not necessary. There are no pathogens or off-flavors that will survive into the hard cider.

Feel free to use both batches of (non-rotten) apples without any extravagant process besides normal crushing and pressing.

At the advice of an excellent cidermaker, a couple years ago I used the nastiest, ugliest, brownest apples which even had mold on them. I cut the moldiest parts off but used all the rest. And.......... it made a most interesting and tasty cider. So I don't even throw away the ugly apples anymore. Cider don't care. Maybe people care, if they think they know better. But, the cider don't care.

 

[ten80]

I'd give them a quick rinse for peace of mind, but otherwise that's it. I don't wash my apples unless they are excessively dirty (e.g., muddy).

 

[Sequoiacider]

Personally, I'd give them a good rinsing, but a Campden/H2O2/Starsan rinse is probably overkill. As dmtaylor said "Cider don't care".

I have to disagree with IslandLizard, I would never wash my apples with Oxyclean. I only use Oxyclean for cleaning equipment and removing labels, and I find it then requires a thorough rinsing to ensure that there isn't any detergent residue remaining. I don't want to imagine what kind of taste residual oxyclean would impart, and I would think that it would be nearly impossible to rinse all the Oxyclean residue from the nooks and crannies of the apples.

 

[IslandLizard]

Personally, I'd give them a good rinsing, but a Campden/H2O2/Starsan rinse is probably overkill. As dmtaylor said "Cider don't care".

I have to disagree with IslandLizard, I would never wash my apples with Oxyclean. I only use Oxyclean for cleaning equipment and removing labels, and I find it then requires a thorough rinsing to ensure that there isn't any detergent residue remaining. I don't want to imagine what kind of taste residual oxyclean would impart, and I would think that it would be nearly impossible to rinse all the Oxyclean residue from the nooks and crannies of the apples.

Not a strong cleaning solution we use in the brewery, just a tad to help clean the skins, remove any mouse poo/pee. It rinses off well with a few changes of fresh water. Similar to washing and rinsing a beer glass. I guess a diluted vinegar solution can help or used instead.

Not much grosses me out, but mouse poo/pee does, somehow.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Alcohol is the toxic and carcinogenic poop of fungus.
The apple trees grow on top of worm poop.
The cleaning solution you're using is recycled urine.
Fecal bacteria float around in the air, they land on you, on your food, and in your drinks as you're eating and drinking them. How do you think you got all the fecal bacteria in your gut? You ate it at some point.
There are more microbes in/on you than cells in your own body.
The FDA has allowances of fecal matter and other contaminants in commercial food. Not to mention lack of hand washing and sanitation in food establishments. You eat poop all the time.

 

[IslandLizard]

Alcohol is the toxic and carcinogenic poop of fungus.
The apple trees grow on top of worm poop.
The cleaning solution you're using is recycled urine.
Fecal bacteria float around in the air, they land on you, on your food, and in your drinks as you're eating and drinking them. How do you think you got all the fecal bacteria in your gut? You ate it at some point.
There are more microbes in/on you than cells in your own body.
The FDA has allowances of fecal matter and other contaminants in commercial food. Not to mention lack of hand washing and sanitation in food establishments. You eat poop all the time.

I feel so much better now! Truly!

 

[ten80]

Personally, I'd give them a good rinsing, but a Campden/H2O2/Starsan rinse is probably overkill. As dmtaylor said "Cider don't care".

I have to disagree with IslandLizard, I would never wash my apples with Oxyclean.

I've used oxyclean on apples that I picked along a road and were covered in persistent road grit. A very dilute solution rinses off fine and takes the road grit with it.... but then the apples ripen and oxidize super fast, go figure! I had to press the next day because the apples became dark and soft.