Supermarket frozen strawberries

[kk1224kelley]

Has anyone made a strawberry wine from the frozen strawberries in the frozen foods section of the grocery store?
Thanks

 

[dralarms]

Yes I have. Got 6.5 gallons clearing right now.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Remove the greenery and slice up. If they have been frozen that's great. If you are referring to the heavily sugared containers watch your gravity.

 

[kk1224kelley]

I was looking to get "archer farms organic frozen strawberry" sold at my local target. No sugar added. Jack Kellers website says that these frozen strawberries are picked at full ripeness unlike the "fresh strawberries" that he says are not picked at full ripe but turn a nice red by the time they reach the shelves for the customers. Basically he says get frozen over fresh at the grocery stores

 

[kk1224kelley]

Dralarms. What brand of frozen fruit did you use and how much per pound
Thanks for sharing.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Frozen is good as it helps break down the structure of the fruit making sugar get released easier. Be sure to use pectic enzyme for 12-24 hours prior to fermentation.

 

[dralarms]

Dralarms. What brand of frozen fruit did you use and how much per pound
Thanks for sharing.

Got them at wall mart. Not sure of the brand. I bought 10 4 lb bags. Ate 2 or 3 pieces to make sure they were good, and put 1 gallon of water in a pot and got it hot, then input 2 bags in at a time and heated them until soft, strained out and put in bucket, started next 2 bags and put petic enzyme in the bucket on top of each layer. I've got a very deep red color and wonderful aroma.

 

[Arne]

Around here some of the smaller grocery stores can get a 30 lb bucket of frozen strawberries. I have made it a couple of times, there are 20 lbs. of berries in the bucket and about 10 lb. of juice. First time I used the berries and the juice as a flavor pac at the end. To me it came out way to strawberry flavored. Lots of other people liked it that way, tho. Second time I just used the berries. That came out perfect to me. I now have 10 lb. of juice in the freezer and have a lead on another 10 lbs. Going to try that with a batch and see how it comes out. These are 5 gal. batches. Arne.

 

[TahunaJR]

I bought a 96oz can of Vintners Harvest Strawberry. I am interested in making a 5-gallon batch. After researching older posts, a lot of them suggest buying a second can to make a decent 5-gallon batch.

Could I substitute frozen strawberries instead? I read that the SG should not start out higher than 1.085. But, other than that, should I prepare the strawberries as above (heating them up and using the fruit and juice)? Perhaps 10#? Or do I just bite the bullet and get a second can? BTW, a can costs $40 if that weighs into the decision at all.

Any additional guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Joe

 

[novalou]

I bought a 96oz can of Vintners Harvest Strawberry. I am interested in making a 5-gallon batch. After researching older posts, a lot of them suggest buying a second can to make a decent 5-gallon batch.

Could I substitute frozen strawberries instead? I read that the SG should not start out higher than 1.085. But, other than that, should I prepare the strawberries as above (heating them up and using the fruit and juice)? Perhaps 10#? Or do I just bite the bullet and get a second can? BTW, a can costs $40 if that weighs into the decision at all.

Any additional guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Joe

To make a decent 5 gallons with one can, you are looking at adding 10 lbs of strawberries.

Don't cook them, let them thaw, mash with a potato masher and put them into a nylon bag.

 

[jswordy]

Mmmm... strawberry!

Keep some back. It gets better through the first year in the cellar, too. Salute!

 

[Arne]

Yessir, Jim. Much better after a year, but it takes a bit of willpower to leave it alone for a year. LOL,Arne.

 

[saramc]

Getting ready to make a 6.5 gallon batch(5gal yield at least) of strawberry mead using 18-20# berries and 15-18# honey, yeast choices are K1V-1116 which will take it dry versus Cotes de Blanc or D47 which should yield a residual sugar, and only needs to age for six months. Recipe from HBT, Group Strawberry Mead, and apparently the posted recipe has been made at BNektar Meadery, Strawberry Pizazz is the name, I think. But the results have been great. I think it is also on GotMead site.

 

[BobR]

How do you get its red color? Mine has turned orange.

 

[dralarms]

Red food coloring. I used it on one watch of mine.

 

[BobR]

Would it take much for a gallon jug?

 

[skyrat]

Generally speaking... Frozen berries are higher in sugar content and far better than store bought berries because they were picked fresh and would have spoiled in transit to your local market. IE: why they were frozen.

I grow my own and still freeze before making wine as it takes a few weeks to get enough to start a batch.

FYI ..Fresh bought berries (unless they are very local) will not have good sugar content (flavor for your wine). Sugar content in the berry can only be increased while on the vine through photosynthesis.

Concerning color I have used red food coloring as well to fix the Orange finished color.

FWIW. Used some vanilla extract on a batch a while back to enhance the flavor. Now it goes in every batch.

 

[Pumpkinman]

Hey Tim (skyrat)! Glad to see you here! Tim and I formed the Hudson Valley Wine and Homebrew club, Tim is an amazing resource for Fruit wines, among other things!

 

[skyrat]

Hello Tom, Just joined up tonight. Crusin the fruit section. Looks like a good site. Talk soon.

 

[BobR]

Generally speaking... Frozen berries are higher in sugar content and far better than store bought berries because they were picked fresh and would have spoiled in transit to your local market. IE: why they were frozen.

I am confused here, so when you are talking about frozen berries, you are not talking about store bought berries, but instead, berries that you might have purchased/grown that you then freeze before using? If you wanted a good bottle of strawberry wine, would you stay away from store bought berries altogether and just buy in season, locally grown berries?