A couple steam juicer questions:

[LarryW]

I bought a steam juicer and tried it out on some grapes from the store and noticed the juice had a "cooked" flavor as opposed to a "fresh" flavor. Is this what you have noticed and does it change the flavor of wine? I crushed the grapes and steamed them for 45 min.

Other question: Do you get a more dilute juice because of steam condensation than pressing?

Larry

 

[Luc]

Larry.

I do owe a steam juicer myself and it has great advantages but also disavantages.

I wrote a story on all kinds of juicing methods for apples and the steam juicer offered the lowest quality !!! You can re-read that story here:

http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2008/09/appeltje-voor-de-dorst-apple-day.html

The steam juicer will send hot steam up to your fruit. There it will burst open the fruitcells and the juice is released. However the juice will indeed be watered down as it mixes with the cooling down steam.
That is off course obvious as you will have to refill the water container from the steam juicer sometimes, as water will have evaporated.

So not all fruit is suited to be processed with a steam juicer.

However berries like elderberries and blackberries give great results with the steam juicer.

Next to that the juice is sterile and can be put in jars and stored for a long time.

Luc

 

[LarryW]

Luc,
Are there times when it is better to use some other method of extraction because of flavor? What do you think of the cooked flavor?
Thanks
Larry

 

[Tom]

If you are getting "cooked" flavor you may be steaming to long. I steam when I have time to freeze the fruit or when I know I dont have enough fruit, time or enough carboys. I have made strawberry in the winter from the summer crop. When do I not use it? Like yesterday I got 56#'s of Plums for $2 and they were "overripe. so freezing was not an option. just pitted and processed. Yeast will be added later today.