And when I remove the bag of what is left of the fruit I no longer squeeze the bag. I found this left the must cloudy. (At least it did this to my raspberry wines) Now I just hold the bag above the bucket and let it drip without sqeezing. The must clears a lot faster this way.
I squeeze the heck out of it.... I want every drop. It clears. Shouldn't be drinking it for 9-12 months anyway... so I have time. It keeps my hands off it while it integrates too!
I've seen some fruit recipes that call for pressing (blueberries) and others that say not to (strawberries). This past weekend I made a blueberry f-pack for a batch that I have in progress. I did my best to get the juice out of the blueberries, but found a thick past left over. Darned if I could let that go to waste. I the remainder of the blueberry paste on some icecream. My wife and I both loved it. Waste not want not... tasty!!! I'm so glad our local blueberry orchard has frozen berries for sale year round.
If you freeze your fruit and add in pectic - you should not have to squeeze your bag - those 2 things should be enough to get all the juice out of the fruit.
Just take the bag out and let the free run come out - when that is done - i pitch it.
My wife uses the left overs for freezer jam. Good stuff.
I quit squeezing the bag but I do let it hang over a 3 gallon bucket for a couple hours after I take it from the must.
I think squeezing is ok, if you want to wait for it to clear. If you don't care if its clear, go ahead. I personally used to hold it up for a few minutes and then discard.
at ace hardware they have Paint strainer bags. the same as in the local wine supply shops. about 1/2 the price. or is my wine in for a messed up supprise with that nylon bag and elastic band arount the top...........