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Prunes are not only tasty, but also a very healthy product. Since it is not subjected to heat treatment, it manages to retain all the vitamins and minerals inherent in plums. And a considerable amount of pectin substances allows you to improve the functioning of the intestines and cleanse the body.
These dried fruits are delicious in their natural form and can be used to prepare various desserts and baking fillings. Added to fruit pilaf, they give it zest and improve the taste. Prunes can also be used to make wine. Homemade prune wine has a specific taste of dried fruits and the aroma of ripe plums. It turns out dessert.
Characteristics of prune wine
- color - burgundy, dark;
- taste - sweet and sour with tart notes;
- aroma - dried fruits and plums.
There are several recipes for its preparation. For those who do not want to spend a lot of time and effort, we can offer the simplest one. It is very easy to make wine using it.
Prune wine without starter
For one jar with a capacity of 5 liters you need:
- sugar - 800 g;
- prunes - 400 g;
- water - 3 l.
Dried fruits must be of high quality, always without seeds or external damage.
Wash the jar well, pour dried fruits into it, add water with sugar dissolved in it.
In urban environments, it is better to use boiled water.
We close it with a plastic lid with a small hole. We put it in a dark and warm place and forget about it for a month. By this time the wine will be ready. All that remains is to bottle it and taste it.
The next recipe, according to which you can make prune wine at home, will require more time and effort. But the taste of this wine is incomparably better.
Prune wine with sourdough
It is prepared in several stages.
Ingredients:
- sugar - 2 kg;
- good quality prunes - 1.2 kg;
- water - 7 liters, always boiled.
First, let's prepare the starter. The strength of fermentation, and, therefore, the taste and strength of the future wine, depends on its quality.
Grind a glass of dried fruits. To do this, you can use a blender or meat grinder. Transfer the prune puree into a half-liter jar. Pour 0.5 cups of boiled water into it, in which 50 g of sugar is dissolved. Mix everything well and place the jar covered with gauze in a dark, cool place.
Our starter should ferment for 3-4 days. If foam appears on the surface, a slight hiss indicates the release of gases, and the contents of the jar have the smell of fermentation - everything was done correctly.
Let's move on to the main stage. Pour boiling water over the remaining prunes. You will need 4 liters of it. After steeping for an hour, strain the wine wort into a separate container.Grind the prunes in the same way as for sourdough, add 1 liter of cold boiled water to it, in which we dissolve 0.5 kg of sugar. Add the starter to the wort that has cooled to 30 degrees, mix and leave to ferment in a dark place. The fermentation process takes 5 days. The dishes should be covered with gauze.
After five days, strain the wort. Add a glass of sugar to it, stir until it dissolves and pour into containers for further fermentation.
Containers need to be filled 2/3 full to leave room for the foam to rise.
We install a water seal or put on a rubber glove with holes pierced in it. Fermentation should take place in a dark place. The optimal temperature is about 20 degrees. After another 5 days, pour a glass of wort into a separate container, add the same amount of sugar to it, stir until dissolved and pour it back into the wort.
After about a month, the fermentation process weakens. A signal of this is a fallen glove and a decrease in the number of gas bubbles released. Carefully drain the wine from the sediment. To do this, we will use a rubber or plastic tube. We bottle the wine for maturation. If the precipitate forms again, repeat the draining process. This can be done several times.
The wine matures for 3-8 months. The strength of the drink is no more than 12 degrees. It can be stored for up to 5 years.
Sourdough can be prepared not only with prunes, but also with raisins. It can also be replaced with special wine yeast.
Prune wine with raisin ferment
For it you need:
- 100 g raisins;
- 1 kg prunes;
- the same amount of sugar;
- 5 liters of water, always boiled.
Let's make sourdough.Pour unwashed raisins into a glass jar with a glass of water in which 30 g of sugar is dissolved. Let the starter ferment in a dark, warm place for 4 days. Cover the neck of the jar with gauze.
Wash the prunes and pour 4 liters of boiling water over them. Leave for an hour, covering the dish with a lid. Strain the infusion into a separate bowl with a wide neck. Grind the prunes, add 20% by volume and half sugar to the infusion of cold water. As soon as the wort has cooled to 30 degrees, add the starter into it, mix, cover with gauze and leave to ferment in a dark, warm place.
Stir the wine wort daily, immersing the floating prunes in the liquid.
After 5 days, strain the fermented wort, squeeze out the prunes and discard. Pour the wort into jars, adding a quarter of the sugar beforehand. You cannot top it up, otherwise there will be no room left for foam. Fill the container to 3/4 capacity. We install a water seal or put on a punctured medical glove. After another 5 days, pour a quarter liter of wort and dissolve the remaining sugar in it, pour it back.
Wine fermentation lasts at least a month. When it stops, and this will be noticeable by the cessation of bubbles and the fall of the glove, drain the wine using a siphon into another container. No sediment should get into it.
Let it ferment completely under a water seal or glove and drain it from the sediment again. Bottled for aging.
Wine matures from 4 to 8 months.You can add sugar to the finished drink for sweetness or 10% of the volume of vodka for strength.
Home winemaking is a fun activity. Over time, experience and a “sense of wine” appears, which will allow you to experiment, achieving the ideal taste of the prepared product.
