Obtaining fruit for free

[WoundedEgo]

Has anyone had any experience approaching a grocery store and asking for their old, unsalable fruit? It seems that overripe fruit would be perfect for making wine.

 

[arcticsid]

have YOU ever asked?

 

[arcticsid]

Ego, everytime you got a little money call the strore manager, NOT the produce manager and ask him(the MNG what do you have excess of, he will of course relay you to the produce guy, make a deal from there) I don't know where you are but I am willing to bet most supermarkts would be happy to give fruit that would be otherwise destined to the garbage at a very reduced price. I seen a sale on bannanas for 39 cents a pound the other day, Didnt have the water to make wine, dint have the pans to make bread. If you see a deal on fruit buy it and we will help you from there/Freeze it!!!Whole...for now!


Troy

 

[peagen]

I've never asked a grocery store about getting fruit, but I have had alot of luck asking people with fruit trees. If you see somebody that has any fruit trees or bushes in their yard just go to the door and ask them if you can pick the fruit. In my experience most of the people that I have asked don't use it anyway.( what a waste).

 

[kiljoy]

I worked in a grocery store in college. They took all of the past due stuff out back to a compactor.
I would also try a local farmer's market. Those guys would probably give you a much better deal. Very little overhead and probably better a quality fruit than the mega-mart.

 

[Boozehag]

I did that yesterday and they offered me bananas, peaches and apples. I took the peaches and they were for free!!! Great way to get fruit for nothing.

I just asked the produce manager explaining I wanted it to make wine and he said to ask each time I go in. Felt a bit cheap...offered to pay as I didnt want to look like Im desperate, but hey they were just going to throw it out anyway!

 

[WoundedEgo]

Wow - great responses

Ok, so if I buy the equipment (including bottles), and get the fruit for free, am I correct that the only ongoing expense is yeast?

Does anyone have any tips on growing one's own yeast culture? Or do you just use the ubiquitous yeast as our forefathers did?

Thanks!

 

[arcticsid]

Cool Booze, did you offer the MGR some wine? Sometimes bribery helps! Excellent for you! There are alot of resources and some of the members who have alot of advice when starting with "whole" fruit. Freeze what you have before using it, it helps to break it down and makes it easier to ferment. be sure to us pectic enzyme, it will help break down the pulp and help it clear easier. (thanks to those on this forum, they taught me the freezing technique and the enzyme benefits also). I am pretty confident in saying that some of the more senior members would reccomend using a nylon stocking to contain the pulp during fermentation. The color of the nylon should coordinate with the color of your eyes.
Best of luck, keep us posted.
Troy

 

[arcticsid]

Wounded, find good wine yeast. I know like next to nothing about all the different yeasts, but, I know enough to tell you not to skimp on the yeast. "wine" yeast will cost you about the same as bread yeast. There are different strains for different types of wine. If you are unsure, ask, I am sure someone in here can point you in the right direction.
Troy

 

[Boozehag]

I was told to use good yeast and being new to this, im gonig to stick to that myself.

Cool Booze, did you offer the MGR some wine? Sometimes bribery helps! Excellent for you! There are alot of resources and some of the members who have alot of advice when starting with "whole" fruit. Freeze what you have before using it, it helps to break it down and makes it easier to ferment. be sure to us pectic enzyme, it will help break down the pulp and help it clear easier. (thanks to those on this forum, they taught me the freezing technique and the enzyme benefits also). I am pretty confident in saying that some of the more senior members would reccomend using a nylon stocking to contain the pulp during fermentation. The color of the nylon should coordinate with the color of your eyes.
Best of luck, keep us posted.

Oh didnt offer wine but will certainly be taking some in for him! Got to look after those who look after us dont we!

I was going to ask about straining off fruit pulp, a stocking, what a great idea, cant imagine blue stockings though, perhaps red fishnets to match the bloodshot eyes!

Ive read a few threads on the freezing of fruit and have done just that. I have the peaches all cut up and de-stoned, passionfruit pulp and dandelion petals all waiting for me to get going.

Sorry if Im hijacking the thread, Ill shut up now!

 

[WoundedEgo]

Trying to keep it simple... and cheap...

Thanks again, for your helpful replies.

I found the ad below (I won't tell you from what site or manufacturer) and in looking at it appears that most of this stuff is unnecessary, including all of the additives, such as "yeast nutrient" (which I imagine is sugar?).

Here is the kit description:

****************************
EVERYTHING YOU NEED
EXCEPT THE FRUIT
Contains Enough Ingredients To Make At Least Five 5 Gallon Batches Of Wine Using "Your Fruit!"
(KT310) Ideal for someone who has the fruit but doesn`t know where to start. This kit has all of the supplies you need to make just about any type of fruit wine imaginable in 5 gallon batches: fermenting container, straining bag, hose, corks, basic ingredients. But, more importantly it comes with a recipe book containing over 100 recipes for making everything from Apricots to Watermelon. It also comes with the book "First Steps In Winemaking" which contains over 100 more recipes as well. This book is excellent for the beginning winemaker and compliments this kit nicely.

YOUR FRUIT!
NECESSITIES BOX CONTAINS:
First Steps In Winemaking Book
Winemaker`s Recipe Handbook
6 Gal. Screw-Top Poly-Fermenter
Fermentation Bag
Triple Scale Hydrometer
Siphoning Hose
5 Pkgs. Wine Yeast (5 batches)
1 oz. Pectic Enzyme (7 batches)
6 oz. Acid Blend (7 batches)
6 oz. Yeast Nutrient (7 batches)
3 oz. Yeast Energizer (7 batches)
2 oz. Wine Tannin (7 batches)
100 Campden Tablets (7 batches)
5 oz. CleanProSDH (30 gals. Of Solution)
25 Wine Bottle Labels (1 batch)
30 Mushroom Corks (1 batch)
30 Heat Shrink Capsules (1 batch)

A great value for the beginner or continuing winemaker. If you bought these items separately, it would cost you $117.78.
*************************

I'm thinking that what I DO need out of all this is the plastic bucket (food grade), a nylon stocking, a siphoning hose, corks and some yeast (assuming I get bottles free from a restaurant, and my fruit free from my garden or grocery).

Or is all of that stuff really important?

If this is all I need, can someone supply with the name and model of the "perfect" bucket (I'll want two) and any other "must have" equipment?

I'm dubious about even needing yeast at all. As an experiment, I took a few grapes and put them in a bowl with a cloth cover and let them rot. Sure enough, the ambient yeast fermented them into wine and the alcohol produced killed all bacteria. That is how it was/is done the world over for centuries, no?

I'm trying to keep it simple, simple, simple... and cheap.

Oh, and can the Franzia boxed wines (with the cool plastic bags inside) be recycled? Or does someone sell them? I hate fooling with glass. I'd rather not have a *dangerous* glass carboy, or cumbersome bottles if I can avoid them.

Thanks!

 

[Luc]

Wounded,

If everything was for free I would certainly experiment
with bread yeast.

I did (even with bought fruit and juices) and I can tell
you will be pleasantly surprised.

Luc

 

[Wade E]

As far as nutrient and or energizer goes, these are not necessities but do recommend using them as otherwise your yeast can stress out with not enough nutrients. Sure you can do it with out some of this stuff but you can also make a better wine with this stuff. Back in the day when they didnt have all this stuff the win lose a batch game was a lot of lost wine or not so good wine as compared to today. You can make a wine without yeast but sometimes you will end up with a not so good wine. There are still wineries where they let nature do its thing as far as yeats goes but they have also been very trained in what works and what does not, in other words they may let nature do its thing on a Merlot but inoculate a Chardonnay. Nutrient is not sugar, it is yeast hulls, Di-Ammonium Phosphate, Di-Potassium Phospate, Tastone and Magnesium Sulfate. These are like vitamins for people. Grapes are the one and only fruit out there that is basically self balanced, many other fruits are very low in acids or Ph and if these things are not balanced to within a certain range your yeast will either not ferment or do a piss poor job and create off flavors not desired in a wine! Food grade buckets are a must as other inferior vessels wil leach tastes or even worse chemicals into your wine. As far as the Franzia box goes, Im not sure about reusing that but here is something similar that you can get. Click the link below. http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=5210

 

[WoundedEgo]

Additives

Thanks, Wade, for your input.

The feature I like about the Franzia box, which is not a feature of the spigoted box in the link, is that the box holds a collapsible bag that does not allow air to enter, so the wine stays fresh - a brilliant feature.

Bill

 

[Wade E]

Actualy it does have the bag inside but mentions nothing of it!