Berry Cider

[lewisgill]

Has anyone out there got any experience of using fruit concentrates in cider recipes, and i dont mean the type on the shelves in supermarkets lowickz or whatever it is, im on about the types that would be used in food production. I have contacted a company that sell them and have been assured they contain zero sugars or sweeteners just super concentrate flavours.

The reason i ask is that im tired of tryin to get close to the likes of bulmers no17 and koppaberg etc without success. My plan would be to just make a good apple turbo cider and when bottling adding my own blend of fruit concentrayes that wont ferment. I.E strawberry, raspberry, blackberry.

Any imput would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

Are you sure these are fruit concentrates, or fruit flavours?

Concentrates will contain the natural sugars originally in the fruit. These are still a good option: add them after the first week, leave for a month, then clear, prime/stabilise and bottle as normal.

Fruit flavourings will be either extracts or artificial. The term "artificial" can be misleading, of course - many are the same chemicals as found in fruit, nuts, meat and other foods, but produced in a lab because it's cheaper. Isoamyl acetate, the chemical that gives banana-flavoured sweets their taste, is a good example: it's naturally found in bananas, but cheaper to produce in the lab.

 

[lewisgill]

Sorry tim, yes you hit the nail squarely on the headi meant fruit flavours! I have noticed a difference in price and not have sugars means less hassle with carb and loss of flavour etc
So my normal procedure for turbo cider is to mix all ingredient let it ferment, transfer to another vessel to add anythin that needs to be added inc priming sugar and that bottle straight away. Leave
Them for at least 2 weeks and then start drinking.

So would you recommend using the flavourings at the stage where i add additional ingredients just before bottling? And do you have the slightest clue as to what amounth of flavourings to add, i was planning on using, straw, rasp, and blackberry?

Lewis

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

Add immediately before bottling, and add to taste, the same as with sweetener. Since they're either extracts or artificial flavourings, you may also want to add some food dye. A mixture of mostly dark red/cochineal and a little blue should give you the colour you want.

 

[lewisgill]

Thanks for the advice tim much appreciated. I think my plan is to make a 500ml drink with the the flavourings and water to get a rough idea as to how much needs to be added. Should be an interesting little experiment!