What to do with leftover liquid from soaking fruit

[XGen]

I work at quite a large bakery and we make a few types of bread that have fruit in them. We soak the fruit(sultanas & currants) in water for a couple days before we mix them into the dough. We do this so the fruit doesn't rob the bread of moisture after it's baked. At the end of the day I'm left with 1 or 2 liters of the liquid at the end. I usually dump it because I have no other use for it.

Is there anything that I could make with this leftover liquid. It's very dark in color and very sweet so it has heaps of sugar. I have thought about filling a fermenter and pitching some yeast and just see what happens. I don't really know what will come out of it. I would love to hear some ideas.

 

[slym2none]

I work at quite a large bakery and we make a few types of bread that have fruit in them. We soak the fruit(sultanas & currants) in water for a couple days before we mix them into the dough. We do this so the fruit doesn't rob the bread of moisture after it's baked. At the end of the day I'm left with 1 or 2 liters of the liquid at the end. I usually dump it because I have no other use for it.

Is there anything that I could make with this leftover liquid. It's very dark in color and very sweet so it has heaps of sugar. I have thought about filling a fermenter and pitching some yeast and just see what happens. I don't really know what will come out of it. I would love to hear some ideas.

I say, go for it!

 

[sikkingj]

You should be able to ferment it out. At my beer club a year or two ago someone did something similar with bottled juices. They ferment quickly and tasted good.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Have you checked the SG of the liquid? It may be "dark" but is there really any fermentables in it?

 

[mgonbrewlab]

Get a hydro reading on it, but I would guess you will need between 1-2 lbs of sugar per gallon of must. Any more and you may need additional fruit or juice for body - it might be too thin otherwise. An SG of 1.09 to 1.10 or so is a good target for a wine that will keep for a good amount of time. Something around 1.07 - 1.08 will be lighter in character, will ferment out right away, and will need to be consumed quickly.

 

[WVMJ]

What kinds of fruit? Are they treated with sulfites or sorbates, sounds like you are using dried fruits vs fresh? You can freeze it until you get enough for a batch, wont hurt it at all. You may want to add some cabden/sulfites to knock down any bugs in it before you get started. WVMJ

 

[XGen]

What kinds of fruit? Are they treated with sulfites or sorbates, sounds like you are using dried fruits vs fresh? You can freeze it until you get enough for a batch, wont hurt it at all. You may want to add some cabden/sulfites to knock down any bugs in it before you get started. WVMJ

We soak sultanas and currents. It probably will take about 1.5 to 2 weeks to have 20L and it's kept in a coolroom @ 3°C the entire time. I know they are organic high quality untreated fruits because I do the ordering and we buy in bulk, about 500kg of sultanas and 300kg of curran a month. I'll take a SG reading and let you know the results.

 

[slym2none]

TIL that a sultana is a type of grape.

 

[WVMJ]

Are your currants also dried grapes or some ribes species? Get some pectinase to add to the juice to help it clear, good luck. WVMJ

We soak sultanas and currents. It probably will take about 1.5 to 2 weeks to have 20L and it's kept in a coolroom @ 3°C the entire time. I know they are organic high quality untreated fruits because I do the ordering and we buy in bulk, about 500kg of sultanas and 300kg of curran a month. I'll take a SG reading and let you know the results.

 

[XGen]

Are your currants also dried grapes or some ribes species? Get some pectinase to add to the juice to help it clear, good luck. WVMJ

I guessing they are currents because they are Australian grown. I read that most Ribes grow in the northern hemisphere, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[madscientist451]

I'd put the currant water in 1 and 2 liter bottles and save up a weeks worth and make some wine.
Maybe get some more currants and toss 'em in. Do a google search for dried currant wine, I found a recipe, but can't copy/paste it in for some reason. You could also experiment using it as a beer or mead additive .

 

[XGen]

I'd put the currant water in 1 and 2 liter bottles and save up a weeks worth and make some wine.
Maybe get some more currants and toss 'em in. Do a google search for dried currant wine, I found a recipe, but can't copy/paste it in for some reason. You could also experiment using it as a beer or mead additive .

Unfortunately the soak is not separated. We mix 12.5kg of saltanas and 4kg of currants into a tub and add 10L of water. Soak for a couple of days and I have about 1.5L left after I take the fruit out.

 

[madscientist451]

Sorry I meant Sultana and Currant water, seems worth saving to me. You could also add it to grape juice concentrate or freeze concentrate it. Do you get 1.5L a day? I guess you could make a decent sized batch once a month.

 

[WVMJ]

You could also just get a batch started in a gallon jug, keep adding your juice to it as you get it and upsizing or splittling as you get more and more, you might have a never ending ferment, just split it and let one batch finish up while you keep another going forever, a liter at a time Now I am hungry for some raisin muffins. You can also add some oak to this, drop in a few dates, the boss wont miss a few sultanas if you share with him a bottle. WVMJ

 

[XGen]

Ok, so I have a bit over 20L now and I took a SG reading today. It has quite a bit more sugar than I anticipated.

It looks to me like a reading of about 1.180 or 1.190, maybe even 1.200. I don't think I need to add any sugar, but I would like to know what this might be useful for. Any thoughts?

 

[jensmith]

Dilute with water or juice to 1.100 and add yeast ect. Make wine! If nothing else it will make a nice blending wine, or cooking wine. No point in just dumping it!


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[slym2none]

I said Brandy... you're a fine girl...

 

[XGen]

I dated a girl named Brandy once, she was a fine one.

I was thinking about fermenting and then distilling it. I have never made liquor before but I think I may give it a shot (lol, see what I did there). My LHBS sells some small distillers that I could do it with. Is there a section in this forum about distilling?

 

[mgonbrewlab]

No, because distilling is illegal in many countries, including the US unless you qualify as a distilled spirits plant. Stills like that are made for lab use or to distill water.

 

[GrogNerd]

Is there anything that I could make with this leftover liquid. It's very dark in color and very sweet so it has heaps of sugar. I have thought about filling a fermenter and pitching some yeast and just see what happens. I don't really know what will come out of it. I would love to hear some ideas.

you got nothing to lose, so start with a gallon, pitch some wine yeast, see where it takes you

if your LHBS is selling distilling equipment, you may be in luck. try it

and go here: http://www.homedistilling.com/forum/index.php

good luck! and you are now under legal commitment to keep us updated on your progress

 

[Newsman]

Is there a section in this forum about distilling?

That's a dirty word here on this forum. However, we USED to have a "sister" forum located outside the USA in another country where it is legal. I just looked for it. Not sure where it went... guess the admins decided it wasn't worth the risk and removed the link.

 

[slym2none]

Pardons if I started something here by accident...

 

[XGen]

Well it's not illegal here in Australia, so I think I'll give it a go. I'll keep you all up to date when I get it going.

 

[Newsman]

Just heard back from Austin about the missing distillation forum. He said that it was temporarily removed as there was a technical glitch making the link go to the wrong forum. Once this site is on AWS, he plans on adding it back.

 

[GrogNerd]

http://www.homedistilling.com/forum/index.php

again

http://www.homedistilling.com/forum/index.php

site is functional

 

[Newsman]

again

http://www.homedistilling.com/forum/index.php

site is functional

Right, it was just the link they had was flaky.

 

[XGen]

OK so, I decided just to ferment the liquid and see what happens before I do anything else. Like I said I have an infinite supply of this liquid so I can experiment as much as I like. I discussed this with the guy who owns my LHS and he recommended using a sparkling wine yeast due to the high alcohol tolerance. So I just piched this yeast in 20L of the liquid

Now it sitting at 16°C, is this temp ok or does it need to be higher.

 

[WVMJ]

So has it shot out the top yet? An open bucket might be a better option for the first week. You picked a good yeast, it is a strong fermenter and will do a good job with what you have. One future experiment would be to add some oak to a batch and drop in a vanilla bean to round out the flavors. WVMJ

 

[ChefRex]

Following along, nice little perk, have fun experimenting!

 

[stella_tigre]

16c is in EC1118's range. Did it start? That's a lotta sugar even for that yeast.