Hi,
I've got my first harvest of quince (Chaenomeles japonica) this year, about 13kg. I've never even tasted the fruit, like the shrub and figured I would try and see what I could do with the fruit, knowing they do a lot with it in the baltic states.
Cut them up, removed seeds, and passed them in a juicer. Not sure exactly how much juice I got yet, it was about 5-6 gallons of fruit, and I think I've got about a gallon of juice. Density was 1.038, then I cooked it (didn't take another measure yet). Stuff was sour as hell! Made cake with some of the pulp though, tastes delicious. Anyways...
I'm thinking of adding honey to bring the density to 1.15, pitching my home yeast blend, and adding some malolactic bacteria. Then when fermentation is finished, adding vodka to bring the alcohol to 25% or so.
Does this sound like a terrible idea? Most recipes I've seen don't use these techniques at all. I would rather not add water if possible, but given the taste of the raw juice, I'm opening up to the idea.
I've got my first harvest of quince (Chaenomeles japonica) this year, about 13kg. I've never even tasted the fruit, like the shrub and figured I would try and see what I could do with the fruit, knowing they do a lot with it in the baltic states.
Cut them up, removed seeds, and passed them in a juicer. Not sure exactly how much juice I got yet, it was about 5-6 gallons of fruit, and I think I've got about a gallon of juice. Density was 1.038, then I cooked it (didn't take another measure yet). Stuff was sour as hell! Made cake with some of the pulp though, tastes delicious. Anyways...
I'm thinking of adding honey to bring the density to 1.15, pitching my home yeast blend, and adding some malolactic bacteria. Then when fermentation is finished, adding vodka to bring the alcohol to 25% or so.
Does this sound like a terrible idea? Most recipes I've seen don't use these techniques at all. I would rather not add water if possible, but given the taste of the raw juice, I'm opening up to the idea.