what steam juicer to buy?

[BIGJEFF]

I've been searching fruit juicers for the last couple of day and there's a lot of good info out here but i'm looking for specifics...

-is there a better material? I've seen granite wear, stainless and alluminium...
-What would be a good size for wine making?
-when you talk about "canning the juices" it's done in mason jars right? Do you steam sterilise the jars like you would for presereves?

Thanks for taking the time!

JF

 

[BobF]

I got this one:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KB9KCW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Stainless is the way to go
I preheat the clean jars and run the hot juice straight into them
Size? I'm not sure there is enough difference between them to matter.

I have noticed that lighter loads produce more juice from a given amount of fruit.

 

[BIGJEFF]

Thanks for the info!

 

[PPBart]

I've been searching fruit juicers for the last couple of day and there's a lot of good info out here but i'm looking for specifics...

-is there a better material? I've seen granite wear, stainless and alluminium...
-What would be a good size for wine making?
-when you talk about "canning the juices" it's done in mason jars right? Do you steam sterilise the jars like you would for presereves?

Thanks for taking the time!

JF

Stainless is undoubtedly the best choice.
Mine is 9-qt, big enough for my uses so far. I've seen smaller units but would not recommend them.
As for canning, yes it's typically done in pint or quart jars. There are usually instructions provided with the juicer on prepping the jars,

 

[Tom]

Here is what I have ..

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007XSO4O/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0007VW61S&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0KW597BN4HAH8DQNE4Q8

 

[TwinMaples]

I agree with the others that stainless steel is best. I have this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Mehu-Liisa-Liter-Stainless-Steel-Juicer/dp/B000SSU6V2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287256833&sr=8-1

I've only used it once, so far, to make some elderberry syrup. It worked great.

Jim

 

[BIGJEFF]

Thanks a lot guys!
Amazon.com really has good deal! Too bad they don't ship to Canada and the item is not available on Amazon.ca

Guess I'll start looking on e-bay for good deal, no really as I won't really need it until the summer anyway!

 

[ffemt128]

I got this one:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KB9KCW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Stainless is the way to go
I preheat the clean jars and run the hot juice straight into them
Size? I'm not sure there is enough difference between them to matter.

I have noticed that lighter loads produce more juice from a given amount of fruit.

I got then same one as Bob. \Cant beet the price and a great addition to the house hold appliances

 

[Joedaddy]

What are the advantages/disadvantages of using a steam juicer as compared to a press?

 

[BobF]

What are the advantages/disadvantages of using a steam juicer as compared to a press?

The biggest advantage to me is that the juice is sterile coming out of the juicer. Simple to 'can' and put on the shelf for use later.

That's also *conceptually* the biggest disadvantage. However, I haven't steam juiced anything yet that I later wished I hadn't!!!!!

So far I've done cherries, blackberries, elderberries and banana.

Yes, banana. It started out the most horrible greyish looking thing you could imagine. Several months later it is a beautiful, yellow wine that tastes like a banana with all of the sugar taken out (I haven't backsweetened yet). I used 15# for a 3g batch.

 

[TwinMaples]

The biggest advantage to me is that the juice is sterile coming out of the juicer. . .

Bob, I have a question for you. If you juice a wild fruit (elderberry, grapes,etc.) and then use for wine, do you omit the step of putting K-Meta on the juice?

I just started 3 gallons of Norton juice that I steam-juiced, and I added K-Meta as usual before adding the yeast starter. I went the juicer route because I harvested the grapes over a several week period of time. Cleaned them, froze them, then when all the grapes were harvested, I thawed and steam-juiced them.

Just got home from work, and it's foaming very nicely.

Jim

 

[BobF]

Bob, I have a question for you. If you juice a wild fruit (elderberry, grapes,etc.) and then use for wine, do you omit the step of putting K-Meta on the juice?

I just started 3 gallons of Norton juice that I steam-juiced, and I added K-Meta as usual before adding the yeast starter. I went the juicer route because I harvested the grapes over a several week period of time. Cleaned them, froze them, then when all the grapes were harvested, I thawed and steam-juiced them.

Just got home from work, and it's foaming very nicely.

Jim

I still follow the same process using k-meta. It's prolly not necessary, but I'm really anal about protecting the must during the pectic enzyme time and certainly doesn't hurt to use it. I even use k-meta when when I use bottle juice from the market.

I always use pectic enzyme except for grapes, and I should prolly use for them too!

I've been curious about steaming wine grapes. Do you get as much color & tannin extraction as when fermenting crushed grapes? I know elderberry is tamer when steamed - ready much younger

 

[TwinMaples]

I've been curious about steaming wine grapes. Do you get as much color & tannin extraction as when fermenting crushed grapes? I know elderberry is tamer when steamed - ready much younger

Thanks for the feedback on the K-meta.

This is my first time steam-juicing grapes. Norton juice is relatively dark, but it probably is a little lighter color-wise. I would expect the tannin extraction to be less as you suggested. The juice is tart (higher acid), but is very flavorful.

Jim

 

[BobF]

Thanks for the feedback on the K-meta.

This is my first time steam-juicing grapes. Norton juice is relatively dark, but it probably is a little lighter color-wise. I would expect the tannin extraction to be less as you suggested. The juice is tart (higher acid), but is very flavorful.

Jim

Please keep us up to date as this progresses. I'm always interested in hearing about steam vs traditional comparisons

 

[Joedaddy]

I still don't really get it. It seems like I could get more juice by pressing. Can someone try to sell me on why I should buy a steam juicer?

 

[TwinMaples]

Please keep us up to date as this progresses. I'm always interested in hearing about steam vs traditional comparisons

Will do, Bob.

JoeDaddy, I'm new to steam-juicers. This is just the second time I've used it. The first time was to make elderberry syrup. I used it for these grapes because I harvested the grapes over a 3 week period of time, and I thought I might be able to extract more juice than with a big potato masher that I have for "crushing". For wines made from non-grapes, I would think it's generally less messier not have to deal with paint straining bags full of fruit. CrackedCork talks about the unique elderberry wine made with steam-juiced fruit. I hope to try that someday.

I'm sure there are probably other additional advantages.

Jim

 

[ithink2020]

how did the norton wine turn out?