Sanitation regarding a cider inquiry

[kharper6]

Hey guys so I'm interested in making a cider, after the elaborate beers I've produced I'm sure the process is comically simple in comparison and I won't have any trouble MAKING the cider.

However, I'm interested in racking onto some peach and blueberries and also adding just a tad bit of extract (this is for the girlfriend).

Can I just toss in some canned peaches/blueberries without worrying about sanitation?

What about frozen?

Thanks!

 

[ArcaneXor]

Canned fruit should be sterile, frozen is probably not. I puree frozen fruit and treat it with campden tablets before using it in my beverages.

The extract you can boil separately in water for ~2-3 minutes. Pasteurizing it at a lower temperature would also be ok (in which case you could also use apple juice and avoid cooked flavors).

 

[poorboy3000]

Canned fruit is fine as long as there are no preservatives in it, so read the ingredients. frozen fruits may not be sterile, but since you're using them in secondary you already have a decent alcohol content to combat the wild yeast, and if the fruit is still frozen when you rack your must on it, the yeasts will be dormant, so no worries there.

the easy way to sterilize the extract is to mix it with some cheap vodka and let it sit for a few minutes. Vodka kills everything, but won't put a taste in your cider.