Is "Anti-oxidant" powder the same as ascorbic acid?

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BenPhi485

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I have a recipe from "Mary's Recipes" that asks for anti oxidant power, but I can't find it online as to be used for wine making. I did see that ascorbic acid is an antioxidant. Is that what the recipe is asking for?

Thanks
Ben
 
I gotta think that just means some form of sulphites. Potassium metabisulphite sodium meta/ Camden tablets/sulphur dioxide/so2. Protecting the wine from bacteria and oxidizing from o2 exposure.
What’s the amount of wine and dose of “anti-oxidant”?
 
No clue. Sulphite (Camden tab) and sorbate (‘stabilizer’ if backsweetening) are accounted for in there. Anti-oxididant at bottling is a new one to me. Either way not a crucial part of recipe since Wine is clear and stable ready for the bottle at that point.
Curious what that’s all about myself.
 
Yep, right before bottling and after a few months racking is when you’d add sulfite. Confusing thing is that it refers to Campden tablets, which are k-meta. My advice is to use the Campden tablets (crushed, one per gallon) at bottling time.
 
But recipe still calls for 1/2 tsp per gal. Which is Bottling up flavored sanitizer solution essentially. And why change wording from Camden tab to “anti-oxidant powder” if its referring to sulphites anyway?
Still the right move to add some. Like Johnd said Either 1 Camden tab a gal as or 1/4 tsp powder per 6 gal as said.
I think you should give “Mary” a holler and let her know her recipe’s final step is suspect.
 
I'd chalk that one up to an editor or editor's assistant that didn't know diddly about wine making. Fall back on to reality of K-meta/Campden tablets and Potassium Sorbate.

Treat the "anti-oxidant" as an aberration in the recipe.

Note that their ABV estimate is off as well. 1.090 starting SG would result in 13.13 in a dry wine. It's not way off but definitely off. It again looks like someone took liberties with the actual recipe. 1.090 fermented to 1.000 would yield an ABV of 11.81 which I could see an editor/or assistant rounding off to 12% Again not the work of someone who makes wine all the time.
 
My guess is that , it is refering to some sort of mixed stabilizing powder.
Potassium sorbate label calls for 1/2 tsp per gallon
The recipe also says to add crushed "tablets" but only lists one in the ingredient list
For these exact reasons I always compair recipes, looking for common ground, and adjust them to what I think will produce a product I will like, or what I has worked for me in the past.
 
I found this, they could be referring to Ascobic Acid. not sure how much it weighs but they are calling for .25 grams per gallon. Could be 1/2 tsp.

Ascorbic Acid
is an anti-oxidant used as a partial substitute for sulfur dioxide, or used to prevent oxidation, which creates a dull and unpleasant flavor, and to prevent discoloring in the final product. Recommended for wines that discolor easily.

Ascorbic Acid, like Copper Sulfate, is often used to treat hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or ‘mercaptans’, which presents as a rotten egg scent in your wine. Try treating first with Copper Sulfate but if the problem persists, then treatment with Ascorbic Acid will be necessary. If you have advanced H2S ‘disulfide’, the scent could be described as burnt rubber or garlic-like and the wine will not improve with the treatment of Copper Sulfate alone. The use of 0.25gm Ascorbic Acid per gallon will often help by converting the disulfides back to mercaptans. The process may take up to three weeks, after which the wine should be treated with Copper Sulfate.

Use 0.25 grams of ascorbic acid per gallon.
 
Obviously adding ascorbic acid to a wine 'just because' is not a great idea especially give the info in the quote above.

I would totally ignore that statement.

What is the source of that recipe?
 

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