Apricot moonshine

Step-by-step preparation

Cooking time: 24 day

1. STEP 1

   

   How to make moonshine from apricots? Prepare all the necessary products. Apricots must be ripe, but in no case rotten or moldy. I use fresh yeast, but instead you can use wine yeast or even dry yeast (you will need 1 tablespoon).

2. STEP 2

   

   First, we need mash - we’ll start by preparing it. Never wash apricots. Their surface contains bacteria that will cause the mash to ferment. Remove the seeds from the fruit, cut them in half and place them in a large jar. Keep in mind that the mash will take up 2/3 of the jar, so if you have a 3 liter jar, then you will get 2 liters of mash. The apricots need to be mashed - I used a regular wooden masher.

3. STEP 3

   

   Break the fresh yeast and dilute it in 100 ml of warm water in a separate bowl.

4. STEP 4

   

   Pour the diluted yeast into the jar with crushed apricots.

5. STEP 5

   

   Add sugar to apricots. In principle, you don’t need to add sugar, the sweetness of the apricots is enough, and the mash will also turn out good. But if you add sugar, the yield of finished moonshine will be greater, so I still added sugar.

6. STEP 6

   

   I make mash in the old “old-fashioned” way: I put a disposable nitrile glove on top of the jar. You can use a water seal. Place the jar in a warm place. Not that this should be a place near the radiator, but it shouldn’t be cold either. You can also wrap the jar, for example, in an old blanket.

7. STEP 7

   

   When the mash begins to ferment, the glove will inflate and rise. And only when the glove is deflated again, and in some cases it even seems to be sucked into the jar, is the mash ready and suitable for distillation. The time may vary from 10 to 30 days. My mash fermented for 17 days.

8. STEP 8

   

   We have mash with pieces of fruit and in this case there are three options. The first is to strain the mash through a sieve and, already strained, pour it into the moonshine still. I just used this method. The second option: pour mash with pieces of fruit into the moonshine still - in this case, there is a high probability that the fruit will burn, and it will be very difficult to clean the still. The hole into which the mash is poured is very narrow!

9. STEP 9

   

   Third option: the mash is strained, but the fruits are hung in gauze so that they hang into the moonshine still. Choose the method that you like best. Pour the mash into the moonshine still. Put it on the fire and start distilling the mash. As soon as the temperature rises above 70C, turn on cold water to cool the liquid. Do not allow the temperature to rise. You can already drink this moonshine, this is how it was made before. But it... smells like moonshine.

10. STEP 10

    

    That's why I preferred double cleaning. Dilute the finished moonshine with clean water to approximately 20 degrees alcohol (you will need an alcohol meter) or approximately 1 liter. Dilute the moonshine with 400 ml of water and distill again. But drain the first 100 ml and the last 100 ml, they are not needed. These are the so-called “horns and hooves”, which contain the most harmful substances. It is believed that this method of preparing moonshine is the most correct.

11. STEP 11

    

    I repeat once again that you can drink moonshine in moderation even after the first distillation - the majority do so. But after the second distillation, a more purified product without an unpleasant odor is obtained. For color, I added a spoonful of tea leaves to the finished moonshine. Be careful when drinking alcohol in moderation!

Comments on the recipe

TATYNA

06.12.2023

4.6

Apricots make an excellent apricot compote for the winter. Both children and adults will be happy.