Pressing plums with a wine press?

[SmithRiverCider]

Has anyone tried this? In the past I've fermented them on the skins before straining and racking. This year I was thinking of just throwing them in the press, discarding the skins and pits, and fermenting in a carboy. I have a 25 litre ratchet press. Any reason not to try this?

 

[pdxal]

Interested to see what people say.
Perhaps- why not?

 

[SmithRiverCider]

The best argument I've found against this is that if the pits crack they can be very bitter/have harmful compounds. I'm skeptical that my little press would be able to apply that kind of pressure though. I had no problem germinating apple and pear seeds that were pressed in last year's cider.

 

[Bocochoco]

Can you just blanch them and remove pit and skin first?

 

[SmithRiverCider]

I'm looking for an "easy way" so no I won't be blanching or de-pitting. Way too many plums for that. I ended up opting for my usual method rather than trying something new. I smash them gently by hand in the primary and ferment them on the skins and pits. After a few days, when the krausen dies down, most of the pits float to the top and I skim them off. After primary, I strain and move to carboys.

 

[Bocochoco]

Depending on the plum the tanin looks to be just right if left skin in. I love doing stuff like blanching my hundreds of 'maters before jarring. I just get a little buzzed, stoned, and put on some Primus on headphones and have at it for a couple hours. I'm big doing things the hard way lol. Feels more like how they did it in the olden days.

 

[SmithRiverCider]

Yeah, I've always had good luck leaving the skins on in the past. If it ain't broke don't fix it I guess. I worked in a professional kitchen for many years so I'm no stranger to tedious repetitive tasks. And yes being buzzed definitely helps lol. That being said I strive to work smarter not harder these days.