Spent Fruit Usages?

[na_skins]

Total noobie when it comes to meads. I made my first batch which happened to turn out ok; very strong taste though since I was told to use EC-1118. Last week I added 4 lbs of fruit (triple berry mix from Sams Club) to make it more drinkable. Now that I want to rack it off the fruit, what do most people do with the spent fruit? Is it any good? I was thinking of doing something like a brandy slush with it since there is probably some alcohol absorbed. I know this seems like a strange querstion but just thought I would ask.

~Skins

 

[2ndGenBrewer]

If it tastes good go for it!

Personally, mushy partly digested fruit doesn't taste all that great to me. It makes great compost though.

 

[Bush_84]

I also use mine as compost. +1

 

[BBBF]

I had some cherries that had a tastey, alcohol burn to them, but anything else has been pretty gross.

 

[malkore]

compost +2 here as well.

some fruits will hold up, but frozen berries are already mashed up by the freezing/thawing process, so its not gonna look appetizing, and likely will not taste like you expect (their sweetness is diminished due to fermentation).

 

[MeadWitch]

Compost as well.

 

[Matrix4b]

I have found that the process of mead making with the fruit sucks all the flavor out of the fruit and leaves it nasty. This has been the case no matter what fruit you use. I have also did a pumpkin toasted almond spice and took out the almonds recently. They were even nasty. Trust me, you are better off not trying. The resulting mix is better off as compost or trash.

I has such high hopes for fruit rollups too.

 

[truckjohn]

Yeah.... It's a brown/gray slimey pulp when it's done.... Certainly go ahead and taste it if you want....

Very different from soaking fruit in a jar of brandy for a while....

Thanks

 

[FermentedFruit]

I use mostly whole fresh fruit, just pitted so I have a lot of solid fruit material left each time. I was wondering if it can be added to a new batch? Like a starter of sorts.....think it has and live yeast in it?
Just curious- I’m a Baker and that is sort of how it works for bread but... ‍

 

[Seamonkey84]

You can certainly use it as yeast for a new batch.

 

[Blacksmith1]

I'd try to separate the fruit from the yeast in a wash of sorts. The fruit leavings will take up alot of room.

 

[Seamonkey84]

I put all my fruit in mesh bags, so if I were to use it, id just toss the whole bag in and pull it in a few days and let the new fruit continue soaking and fermenting. Funny thing is, I remember reading this post a while back when I was wondering what to do with the lees after racking. Was wondering if it could be used as a dietary brewers yeast.

 

[S-Met]

I've considered mixing it with fresh fruit and baking it into a berry cobbler. Only got as far as considering though. Berry ciders seem to be summertime and berry cobbler seems to be winter.

 

[Blacksmith1]

I belive there is a member who does use their spent fruit in pies.

 

[FermentedFruit]

Seamonkey84 I have wondered about the nutritional/ brewers yeast too! Doesn’t look or taste like the one I buy at the store but maybe if I put it in the dehydrator.... ‍

 

[S-Met]

Seamonkey84 I have wondered about the nutritional/ brewers yeast too! Doesn’t look or taste like the one I buy at the store but maybe if I put it in the dehydrator.... ‍

I don't know how healthy it really is, but I frequently save some of my cider yeast slurry and sip on it for a few days. 1/2 a cup a day really keeps the GI on track. It's really delicious from my ginger hibiscus cider. The Mrs. and I add it to our juice blends.

 

[homebrewer_99]

A couple of years ago I made a Rumtopf. It's a bunch of different alcohols added to fruit covered in sugar and fruit, sugar, etc.

You layer the fruit as they come into season. Then you age and rack it. In the end it looks, and drinks, like brandy.

All the fruit was mush except for the cherries. I used those alcoholic cherries as toppings for ice cream.

 

[user 246304]

Well, not quite, but it might interest you or someone else. Very common in France. Pomace marc. You'd have to venture into distilling,however. What I know I got from the series of books Foxfire, but that was really for sour mash whiskey, lol.

If you ever do make it, marc is used as a wash in Napoleon's favorite cheese, from Burgundy, epoisses. If you're into stinky, really ripe cheeses.....

 

[Jokester]

All the fruit was mush except for the cherries. I used those alcoholic cherries as toppings for ice cream.

Cherries are nearly all fructose, and yeast will eat fructose only after it nearly exhausts glucose, even so it eats it very very slow. Have you tried cranberries ? Those suckers are fiber, citric acid and fructose, even less than cherries by percentage. AKA, nothing yeast want to eat. Pretty much teeth shattering if you were a yeast.
I tried to make sauerkraut from something wild a few yrs ago. Man were the bacteria from sauerkraut liquid I used disappointed.

Well, not quite, but it might interest you or someone else. Very common in France. Pomace marc. You'd have to venture into distilling,however. What I know I got from the series of books Foxfire, but that was really for sour mash whiskey, lol.

If you ever do make it, marc is used as a wash in Napoleon's favorite cheese, from Burgundy, epoisses. If you're into stinky, really ripe cheeses.....

I'll eat this cheese all day, any day. Is that its actual skin ? Or have they put it in some type of "calzone". The complaint I have made to the local "frommagier" @ Harris Teeter is that their parmesan rind has too much parmesan in it. I want just the wall sliced out of the wheel, the fuzzier it is, the better. Those guys used to throw it away - but they saw me drooling over it I'm sure and decided to make $7/lb off me.

Cool.
Srinath.

 

[homebrewer_99]

.........Have you tried cranberries? Those suckers are fiber, citric acid and fructose, even less than cherries by percentage. AKA, nothing yeast want to eat. Pretty much teeth shattering if you were a yeast.

NO, I haven't. I'm not a real big fan of them.

 

[Jokester]

NO, I haven't. I'm not a real big fan of them.

He he, beer with those would be terrible. Those are all fiber and acid and stuff that takes the paint off your car.
Cool.
Srinath.