Fruit ?

[Loner]

I happen to work close to a Farmers Market in the south. Fresh fruit will start arriving shortly. Would it be acceptable to visit the market every couple of days to purchase super ripe fruit and dump it in the freezer until I get enough for a batch ? I'm thinking strawberry for starters.

 

[Julie]

Yes, Tom on here use to go to the market and get the fruit that was too ripe to sell

 

[Loner]

Thanks Julie .. Will give it a shot.

 

[Arne]

As Julie said, get the over ripe, not spoiled. Chances are you can't make decent wine out of something that has spoiled. Good luck with it, Arne.

 

[Polarhug]

Great idea! I purchased a box of pears I had to freeze a batch every few days as they got perfectly ripe. Just sliced, cut off any brown portions, soaked in an ice water bath with a little lemon juice squeeze to prevent browning then froze in baggies. That way I knew all my fruit was ripe and ready when I wanted to start the ferment.

 

[Norske]

We have a berry farm and small winery. That is what we do with all of our fruit. We harvest, then freeze the fruit. This is ideal because when you pull the fruit from the freezer to your fermenter, the cells rupture and release their juices. I'd suggest you go to your local bakery and purchase their used food grade 5 gallon pails with lids. Most places will just give them to you but check around. These work great for freezing fruit and will hold about 20-25# each. We always put a wrap of freezer tape around the lid and pail.

 

[Loner]

Excellent idea. In addition to the market and with any luck I will get @20 gallons of muscadine off my vines this year.