K-Met: Can you add to hot must?

[rhodesengr]

Per my other thread, I am working on plum wine. The recipe I am working to says to cut up and mash the fruit, then boil the water, add sugar to boiling water, and then pour the hot sugar water mix on the fruit. So initially the must is hot. The instructions say to let cool before adding Campden and other additives. My first two batches, I prepped in the morning and let them cool down for a few hours and added the K-Met in the afternoon. They were still warm but not "hot". I prepped a batch last night with the intent of adding K-Met this morning. So the delay was about 11 hours. This third batch looks like it might have started fermenting on the wilds. Here is a photo:

It was a little foamy on the top. So here is my main question:
Is there any problem adding the K-Met right away while the must is still pretty hot (say 160F)?

other questions:
I added K-Met this morning but is this batch a goner? My plan was to add EC-1118 tomorrow morning.

Maybe I should dip the fruit in Star San solution before cutting?
I tried to look up if that was a suggested practice but found no definitive answer. Best I got was it couldn't hurt but not a substitute for K-met. I just don't want to dip in Star-San if that is a known bad idea.
I washed the plums in water before cutting but only washed them.

 

[winemanden]

Never say Die! EC-1118 is a killer.

 

[Raptor99]

Most wine yeast, including EC-1118, has a "kill factor" that will kill off natural yeasts. So even if it started to ferment, once you add EC-1118 it will take over.

Generally I avoid doing anything to heat the fruit. I dissolve the sugar in a small amount of water (e.g. 1 qt. for a gallon batch), then let the sugar water cool before adding to the fruit.

I don't know whether Kmeta would be destroyed by 160 degree F liquid.

 

[rhodesengr]

Most wine yeast, including EC-1118, has a "kill factor" that will kill off natural yeasts. So even if it started to ferment, once you add EC-1118 it will take over.

Generally I avoid doing anything to heat the fruit. I dissolve the sugar in a small amount of water (e.g. 1 qt. for a gallon batch), then let the sugar water cool before adding to the fruit.

I don't know whether Kmeta would be destroyed by 160 degree F liquid.

Thanks. I guess that is another question, the pros and cons of dumping hot water on the fruit. I don't claim to know what I am doing (yet ) but the recipe I am following says to dump the hot sugar-water on the plums.
"In a medium pan combine the water and sugar and bring to a oil, ensuring all the sugar is fully dissolved. Once boiling turn off the heat, and pour the hot sugar solution over the plums secured in the straining bag."
I looked at few recipes and sort of took the average in terms of how much fruit vs how much water and the various additives. I am actually using more fruit per gallon than the recipe.

I will just Google some more and maybe someone else that knows about K-Met in hot must and/or Star San on the fruit skins will post.

 

[Raptor99]

Most recipes that you find online have too little fruit. I think that most people here use at least 6-8 lbs. of fruit per gallon.

Reasons to not dump hot water on your fruit:

• Most fruit contains pectin, and hot water will cause the pectin to set. That is great for making jam, but terrible for making wine.
• Heat will change the flavor. Do you want your wine to taste like fresh plums or cooked plums?
• Heat will destroy antioxidants and enzymes in the fruit. Fresh fruit is healthier than cooked fruit.

Instead of pouring boiling water on the fruit to kill natural yeast and bacteria, it is better to treat it with Kmeta for 24 hours before adding the yeast.

 

[rhodesengr]

Most recipes that you find online have too little fruit. I think that most people here use at least 6-8 lbs. of fruit per gallon.

Reasons to not dump hot water on your fruit:

• Most fruit contains pectin, and hot water will cause the pectin to set. That is great for making jam, but terrible for making wine.
• Heat will change the flavor. Do you want your wine to taste like fresh plums or cooked plums?
• Heat will destroy antioxidants and enzymes in the fruit. Fresh fruit is healthier than cooked fruit.

Instead of pouring boiling water on the fruit to kill natural yeast and bacteria, it is better to treat it with Kmeta for 24 hours before adding the yeast.

OK Thanks. I think maybe I will stop boiling the water/sugar. Note that I was NOT using the boiled water to kill the stuff on the fruit. I was just doing it because the recipe I am following says to. I assumed it was to kill any organisms in the water. The process does say to add Campden but only after the hot must cools. To your point, I don't really like the taste cooked plums over fresh plums. Once, I made canned plums and didn't like them. Still, I am curious if one could add K-meta to hot must.