Stirring

[omdaddi]

I am very much a newb at this, I would post a link to my blog but not allowed yet

I am looking at Quince wine at the moment, but the recipe I found (wine-making-guides) says stir daily.

I have not done much stirring - how precious do I need to be about cleanliness? Hold my breath and stir with sterilised plastic spoon. Or just stick in my unwashed hand and give it a good swill. Or something in-between?

Cheers

 

[Chippy_Tea]

If you use anything that is not sterile to stir it you risk ruining it.

 

[oldbloke]

I use our big kitchen ladle or my long plastiv brewspoon, and run water out of a boiling kettle over it just before sticking it into the brew

 

[Moley]

You should be able to post your link as you have now satisfied both the minimum time from registering and the minimum post count required.


You need a stainless steel or plastic spoon, never wood, and that must be disinfected every time before use. It makes life a lot easier if your spoon is long enough to be able to stand up in the bucket but short enough for you to be able to fit the lid, and then you can leave it in the bucket for the duration.

Sometimes it is useful to be able to put your hand into the must and squish fruits between your fingers, but you should scrub up first with disinfectant or an antibacterial soap, and using a nail brush.


PS: I use a long reach stainless steel shoe horn, which was bought specifically for that purpose and has never been anywhere near anybody's feet.

 

[omdaddi]

Thanks. I've been using the kettle water over dishwashed spoon, so looks like I am on the right track. I guess that you just whip off the lid for as short a time as possible.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I prefer to pour boiling water over the spoon just before I stir the wine, I am not sure a dish washer gets hot enough to sterilise and would not risk leaving the spoon in it for any length of time prior to using it.