Acid

[junit83]

I have a recipe im currently making... It calls for 11 tsp of Acid blend and a 1/4 tsp of Absorbic acid... the kit i bought didnt provide any kind of absorbic acid... Will this be a problem or can i add something else?

 

[Tom]

What recepie calls for 11 tsp? That seams high. Can you post it? What kit was this??

 

[junit83]

its Wade bannana recipe... I have the acidic blend just not the absorbic acid

All i have is

Acid blend
yeast nutrient
yeast Energizer
Grape Tannin
Campden Tablets
Pectic Enzyme

it also calls for some K-meta... i swear i had some with the fruit kit i got... maybe i misplaced it.

im wondering if i misunderstood... is grape tannin an Absorbic acid... or would it say "Absorbic Acid" on the jar?

again First time!

 

[Tom]

Thast got to be a typo. I cant see him addtin 11tsp. Rule if thumb is 1 tsp per gal. I think its because it also said 11# of sugar.
Wait for Wade to chime in on this one.

 

[Wade E]

Its not a type "O" as bananas are extremely low in any acids and most recipes for banana call for 3 tsp per gallon but when i did mine I only needed 11 to get into .60 which is where I wanted it, towards the lower side but enough to keep the yeast happy.

 

[Tom]

Wow that alot I have not done bananna yet so thats why I thought it was a typo.

 

[Ian_Scott]

it also calls for some K-meta... i swear i had some with the fruit kit i got... maybe i misplaced it.

im wondering if i misunderstood... is grape tannin an Absorbic acid... or would it say "Absorbic Acid" on the jar?

again First time!

K-meta is relatively inexpensive. I get a pound of it for about 4.00. I use it both as the preservative and in a solution with water for a sanitizing agent. I'd recommend you get some in addition to the packets that come with wine kits. I keep a handy spray bottle with sulfite solution for spraying areas that I make wine in, as well as spraying equipment like spoons, hydrometer, etc.

Tannin is NOT Ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid is basically Vitamin C. You can get ascorbic acid at some pharmacies, perhaps in the baking section of grocery stores and here in my town, at the local Bulk Food store. It's often used on fruit to keep it from oxidizing.

When I was a kid, my mother would cut up apples into slices that would be eaten later. A sprinkle of ascorbic acid on them slowed down the browning of the apple flesh. When you see that browning on apple flesh? That is the oxidizing process going on right before your eyes!

 

[Wade E]

Tannin is a compound found in grape skins or woods like white oak and is used to enhance a wine that can be lacking in this area such as most fruit wines other then grape wines. Even most grape wine will benefit from a dose of specialized tannin additions after fermentation is complete to help balance out a wine to make it go from OK to great. The more tannin there is in a wine the more stable the wine will be as far as cellaring it goes but too much will throw off its flavor so you really need a healthy balance.