Home distillers never cease to delight with new ideas, such as mash and distillation methods. There is also such an original idea: distill moonshine in a slow cooker. The manufacturer can hardly be distracted by the process; the temperature regime will be monitored by a vigilant electronic eye, so the quality of the product will certainly be at its best, and at its maximum.
Multicookers have been a common appliance in our homes for ten years now. This is a hybrid of an electric steamer with a software module that frees us from kitchen slavery and seriously saves time on preparing stews, pies, porridges and soups. Why not assemble a distillation cube from a multicooker with your own hands? Home-grown Kulibins are ready to throw in a couple of interesting ideas.
Assembling a distillation cube based on a multicooker
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To start a career as a home brewer, it is not at all necessary to purchase equipment that is not too expensive, but still affordable. You can do it from a slow cooker, and you don’t even need any technical skills to do it. On your own and at minimal cost, you can equip a kitchen distillery in one day.
You will need:
- multicooker with a bowl volume of at least 5 liters;
- a distiller, possibly made of tempered glass or metal (cheap options cost less than a thousand in the store);
- a rubber tube 3 meters long (you need to make 3 pieces of 1 meter each) from food-grade (medical) rubber;
- contact thermometer for measuring the temperature of the mash;
- alcoholometer;
- access to electricity and water supply.
If you don’t have a multicooker yet and are planning to purchase one for home brewing purposes, choose models with a removable valve in the top lid. If you have equipment but don’t have a valve, you can make a hole that will be closed with a homemade stopper during the cooking of regular dishes.
Read also: Characteristics and application of alambik
The first rubber tube is inserted and secured into the hole in the lid, its second end will be connected to the inlet of the distiller. This is a low pressure system, so no special mounting methods are required, simply not leaking steam will be enough. Now let’s connect the cooling system to the refrigerator - inlet (second tube) and outlet (third tube) of cold water, and we can assume that our moonshine still from a regular multicooker is completely ready for work.
Preparing mash for the multicooker
Since we only have a five-liter bowl, we need to take a small amount of mash. You can make it using the following recipes:
- Proportions sugar:water: like 2000:2000:250. Fermentation time is about 7 days in a warm place.
- The proportions are sugar:water:yeast as 1000:3000:100. Fermentation will take a little longer - about 8–10 days.
After the mash has completely fermented - it has stopped producing foam and has lost its sweet taste, you can start distilling the moonshine in a slow cooker. This is a simple procedure.
Distillation process
Each distiller chooses his own modes for preparing high-quality moonshine, but you can start using the following program:
- We turn on the device to the “multi-cook” or “porridge-soup” mode at a temperature of +120°C. As soon as foam begins to form, immediately set the mode to +100°C.
- We control the temperature of the mash with a contact thermometer. We try to maintain it within +65°С–+68°С. This is an ideal mode for removing harmful impurities, that is,. Since we took 2 kg of sugar, the volume of the “head” will be about 100–150 ml. It can be poured out as it is too harmful for internal use.
- We change the temperature setting of the multicooker so that the mash warms up to +80°C. Now the distillation of the useful fraction - the “body” - will begin. Gradually raise the temperature. We drive until the moonshine from the multicooker drops in strength below 40°. By this time, the mash should warm up to a temperature of +85°C - the “tails” fraction begins.
- Separate the “body” fraction. In a separate container
Making banana wine at home The availability of these fruits at any time of the year and their relatively low cost make it possible to prepare banana wine to enjoy the aromatic drink at home and surprise your guests with it. The abundance of vitamins and microelements in its composition, mild taste and unforgettable aroma are just some of the advantages of banana wine. Ingredients for making wine The recipe for banana wine includes the following components: ripe fruit - 5 kg; sugar – 5 kg; black raisins – 750 g; water – 10 l; citric acid – 3 tsp; wine yeast - a teaspoon for every 5 liters of wine must; tannin - tsp. “no slide”; enzymes for fermentation of wine must (glucamyl - 15 ml, amyl - 8 ml). To make homemade wine from bananas, the fruit does not need to be peeled; it is used together with the peel. Before placing bananas in a cooking container, you just need to cut them into small pieces about 2 cm in size. Preparing wine components for fermentation The original recipe for wine from bananas, the technology for preparing this drink is somewhat different from the usual sequence of making grape or fruit wine. For wine mash, bananas pre-boiled with sugar are used. Stages of preparing the wort: 1. Mix the chopped fruits, the amount of sugar stated in the recipe, pour half the amount of water into it. 2. Place the container on low heat, the heat treatment time is 45 minutes from the moment of boiling. The mixture must be stirred constantly so that the banana puree does not burn. 3. Add citric acid, tannin and enzymes to the banana puree removed from the heat and cooled (glucamyl - 0.8 ml per 1 l; amyl - 0.5 ml per 1 l). While the wort is cooling, you need to prepare the raisins. Tip: keeping wine yeast on the surface of the berries, there is no need to wash the raisins, but they should be sorted thoroughly. Rotten and moldy berries will spoil banana wine, giving it an unpleasant aftertaste. Preparing banana wine The cooled wort with the ingredients added to it is mixed with raisins, and the rest of the water is added. The wort will have to spend a day under the water seal for the components to be completely mixed. Stages of wine preparation: The liquid from the wort is drained using a filter. The fruit pulp is squeezed out, and the resulting liquid is poured into the wort. Add yeast according to the recipe. Place a water seal on the container with the wort or put a medical glove with a finger pierced with a needle on the neck of the jar, place it for initial fermentation in a warm and dark room (t + 18 + 23⁰). A week later, the wine wort is drained from the sediment and returned to its original place, not forgetting to close it with a water seal. The final fermentation period is 1 month. After fermentation is complete, the procedure for removing the sediment is repeated and the banana wine is poured into dark glass bottles for aging and storage. The optimal holding temperature is +10+12⁰С. In the coolness of a cellar or cellar, the wine will last for a year and a half without losing its delicate aroma. A quick recipe for making bananas. An unusual dessert for a special occasion - bananas in wine. They are simmered in red grape wine with added sugar and cinnamon for 5 minutes. Recommended proportions: red wine – 1 glass; granulated sugar – 150 g; bananas – 600 mg; cinnamon. For best taste, bananas in wine should be kept in the refrigerator for about an hour before serving. Wine and desserts made from bananas will decorate the holiday table if you approach the process of their preparation with soul.
Homemade banana wine is an aromatic honey-colored drink with light notes of the raw material, the taste is difficult to compare with anything. The preparation technology is somewhat different from traditional winemaking, since the fruits do not release juice and other substances well, but even beginners can do the recipe.
Wine requires any ripe bananas. They will be suitable even with blackened skin, as long as the flesh is not rotten or moldy. To avoid contaminating the wort with pathogenic microorganisms, all containers and instruments used should be sterilized with boiling water, then wiped dry with a clean cloth.
Ingredients:
- bananas – 5 kg;
- water – 10 liters;
- sugar – 2 kg;
- citric acid – 7 teaspoons (35 grams);
- unwashed raisins (any fresh berries) - 100 grams or wine yeast per 15 liters of wort.
Citric acid is needed to increase acidity and break down sugar into fructose and glucose, which promotes fermentation, improves taste, increases shelf life and prevents the occurrence of some wine diseases. To activate fermentation, wine yeast is required (other types are not suitable) or raisin starter (you can use fresh berries).
Banana wine recipe
1. If there is no wine yeast, 3-5 days before processing the bananas, make a starter from unwashed raisins (raspberries, currants, cherries, etc.): pour the raisins or berries into a jar, add 25 grams of sugar and 250 ml of unboiled water , mix, cover with gauze, place in a dark place at room temperature.
After 2-3 days, the starter will be ready - foam will appear, a slight sour smell will appear and a hiss will be heard.
2. Peel bananas. Grind the pulp with your hands, a wooden rolling pin or a meat grinder until pureed.
It is not advisable to make wine with banana peels because the peels are treated with toxic chemicals to increase shelf life.
3. Mix 5 liters of water (half), 1 kg of sugar (half), banana puree and citric acid in an enamel saucepan. Bring the mixture to a homogeneous consistency.
4. Heat the wort to 55-58°C, maintain the specified temperature range for 60 minutes, warming the pan over low heat. Stir occasionally so that the mixture remains homogeneous and there are no lumps at the bottom.
It is very important not to let the temperature rise above 60°C, otherwise the enzymes will be destroyed and the release of fructose from bananas and sugar will stop. As a result, some of the raw materials will be wasted.
5. Cool the wort to 25-27°C. Add the remaining water and sourdough (along with raisins) or wine yeast. Mix. Cover with gauze and leave for 4 days in a dark place at room temperature. Stir once every 12 hours with a clean hand or a wooden stick. After 3-8 hours, foam and the smell of fermentation should appear on the surface.
6. After 4 days, strain the wort through 4-5 layers of gauze, squeeze the cake well, removing all the liquid. No more squeezes needed. Add 500 grams of sugar to the liquid part and mix.
7. Pour the resulting banana juice into a fermentation container. Fill to a maximum of 60-65% of the volume. Install a water seal of any design on the neck (you can pull on and secure a medical glove with a small hole in one of the fingers).
Attention! When fermenting banana wine, a lot of foam appears during the first 6-10 days, so I advise you to fill the container halfway or even less.
8. Transfer the container to a dark place (or cover) with a stable temperature of 18-27°C and leave until the end of fermentation.
9. After 5 days from the moment of installing the water seal, add the remaining sugar (500 grams). To do this, pour 250 ml of wort through a tube into a separate container, dilute sugar in it, pour the resulting syrup back into the fermentation container and close it with a water seal.
10. Depending on the activity of yeast and temperature, homemade banana wine ferments for 30-60 days. The end of fermentation is indicated by the absence of gas from the water seal (the glove is deflated) and a layer of sediment. You need to drain the young wine through a straw, without touching the sediment at the bottom, into another container.
If fermentation does not stop after 50 days from the start of preparation, drain the wine from the sediment and leave to ferment at the same temperature, otherwise bitterness may appear.
11. Taste the drink. If desired, sweeten with sugar (to taste) or fix with vodka (alcohol) in an amount of 2-15% of the volume of drained wine. Hardening promotes storage but makes the taste somewhat harsh.
12. Pour the wine into storage containers. To minimize contact with oxygen, it is advisable to fill to the top. Close tightly. If sugar was added at the previous stage, I recommend keeping it under a water seal for the first 7-10 days in case of repeated fermentation.
13. Transfer banana wine to a refrigerator or basement at a temperature of 5-16°C. Leave for at least 4 months (preferably 7-8). Aging significantly improves the taste.
14. Every 15-20 days (then less often), as sediment appears in a layer of 3-5 cm, filter the wine by pouring through a straw into another container.
15. When no sediment appears, homemade banana wine is ready. The drink can be poured into bottles and capped. Shelf life – up to 3 years. Strength – 9-12%.
Sasha Molchanov, Doctor of Economics, teaches at one of the universities in Auckland. His expert opinion is more than once. A distinctive feature of the professor is the ability to detect a winery, brewery or moonshine in any hole. Oh, I remember we had a great taste of cherry moonshine from the North Shore, before the clown snot.
Rarotonga has a tropical climate. That’s why it rains and is “cold” in February: stable +27+28°C during the day, +25°C at night. Sasha told us almost on the first day that the grapes are overripe in such conditions: the leaves burn in the sun, and the fruits turn out too sweet, unsuitable for wine. Therefore, we did not expect to meet a local sommelier.
Nevertheless, literally on the third day of our stay on the island, we found ourselves at a winery where the owner, the grandson of a Danish sailor who jumped out of love for a dark-skinned beauty, makes sweet wine from bananas.
The post continues with a little more than ten photos from there with comments. The pictures are clickable.
The sign at the entrance to the house is made in the spirit of the inscriptions on the road: read from bottom to top.
George himself is a doctor of some kind of IT science, studied and worked in New Zealand, but now he returned to the island to raise his family and bask in the sun. The skill he learned from his father turned from a hobby into a small business. For the second year now, in addition to repairing laptops, the doctor has been making Te Reru wine, and plans to supply it to New Zealand and around the world. If anyone is interested, write him a letter at this address.
Judging by the huge white board with tables, a large number of bottles, flasks and jars makes wine not so easy. George's house reminded me of a high school chemistry class.
Apparently guests don't stop by often. The owner immediately started serving us his products from bottles with yellow labels.
Winemaker's Corner. Under the table there are plastic containers in which the wine ferments. On the left are samples in tea-colored bottles. The inscriptions on the rags seem to tell us - the wine is definitely 100% from the Cook Islands.
Banana wine ferments in these plastic canisters. Using rags, the desired temperature is maintained. The tanks in the photo are one year old.
I think someone in the comments knows better than me what this device is called in Russian, which sticks out from under the rags covering containers of wine. As I recall, this thing indicates the humidity level is called a water seal and prevents air from entering the container while allowing gases, by-products of fermentation, to escape.
Unfiltered samples with dates and sugar levels marked on the bottles with a marker.
Two-year containers. They have been lying wrapped up for a long time. Judging by the number of humidity meters - double control.
George has to “collect” bottles all over the island. Ordering containers from the “mainland” is too expensive.
I was amused by the presence of magical literature on the shelves - apparently from there the sorcerer-winemaker draws secret knowledge.
It is important that the wine leaves the country in a bottle with a label. Otherwise there may be problems with customs.
I don’t quite understand why a giant Teletubby was suspended from the ceiling. Versions are accepted in the comments.
After we tasted almost a full bottle of wine, the professors fraternized. The day was a success.
The taste of banana wine is the taste of the sweet life. And also a taste of health and impressive benefits for your body. That's because banana wine is loaded with potassium and manganese, vitamins C and B6, and dietary fiber. This makes this intoxicating drink beneficial for the heart and blood vessels, stomach and intestines, and organs of vision.
The tradition of making such wine originated in East Africa, where the drink was produced by mixing fermentation products of banana pulp, raisins and white wine.
Today, banana wine is popular in many countries around the world due to its vibrant exotic essence and low alcohol content (approximately 8%).
Focus on blood pressure
Banana wine contains a huge amount of potassium, which doctors associate with lowering blood pressure among patients and preventing hypertension among healthy people.
The extra supply of potassium, which acts as an electrolyte, into your body establishes a balance between the two substances that may be responsible for spikes in blood pressure. We are, of course, talking about sodium and potassium.
As is known, high sodium concentration is the main cause of pressure surges and hypertensive crises. And potassium is designed to neutralize this negative impact.
Potassium is also useful for improving brain function. It prevents hemorrhages in the brain and protects nerve cells from overstrain.
A wonderful source of vitamins
Vitamins C and A, as well as B vitamins (mainly B5 and B6) are present in banana wine and make it one of the most nutritious alcoholic drinks.
Vitamin A is needed to nourish the optic nerve and restore vision.
Vitamin B5 prevents wear and tear of the intestinal walls, as it participates in the synthesis of specific fatty acids that coat the inner walls of the small intestine.
Other vitamins from banana wine help the body absorb calcium for healthy bone and muscle tissue.
Medicine for the intestines
The amazing concentration of fiber and some other unique compounds found in banana wine make the drink healthy for your gut.
First of all, these are fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which saturate the intestines with friendly bacteria and eliminate harmful organisms. These substances include a protective mechanism directed against the destructive effects of digestive acids, and therefore prevent the appearance of stomach ulcers.
Banana wine can prevent bouts of diarrhea or constipation. It contains protease inhibitors (a protein-degrading enzyme) that kill bacteria and eliminate the development of infection in the human body.
Do not forget that any alcoholic drink, especially if consumed regularly, does much more harm than good.
