Probably there are few people who at least once in their life have not tried moonshine. This drink has a high strength and a specific taste. And, most importantly, you can always be sure of the quality of a homemade drink. The ingredients can be very diverse. The classic option is sugar, water and yeast. Also use cereal, different berry mixtures. High-quality yeast for mash almost always guarantees an excellent result. Moonshine can be the basis for the preparation of a variety of spirits, liquors, as well as medicinal herbal infusions.
How to cook mash
The components that are necessary for the simplest recipe: water (preferably purified, from a spring or simply passed through a household filter), sugar (about 5 times less than liquids) and yeast.
Dry mash can also be prepared
. Sugar is dissolved in water, yeast is added. Make sure that the liquid is not too hot, otherwise the
yeast can die. However, a temperature below 18 ° is undesirable, since the fermentation process can slow down significantly. In such conditions, it is recommended to slightly warm the infusion. The resulting mixture is poured into a special container and sent to ferment. In order to speed up the process, you can add fruits (or dried fruits). Sometimes, for fast fermentation, fertilizer is added for yeast. These are special mineral substances that contain phosphorus and nitrogen. They are not required if fruits, berries, and cereal products are used. The fermentation process produces
ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide. Distillation is now necessary.
Readiness No. 1
So, how to cook mash, we already figured out. The resulting mixture should be in a warm place (temperature should not fall below 18 °) for about 2 weeks. Regular mixing will speed up the fermentation process. Now the main question is how to determine the readiness of the mash. The easiest way is to bring a lit match. If it continues to burn, then carbon dioxide has ceased to be released and fermentation has stopped. You can also visually assess the condition. If the mash on dry yeast or ordinary yeast has stopped foaming, then it is ready. You can also taste it. Homemade mash remains sweet when the yeast has not processed all the sugar. Such an infusion still needs additional time for the necessary chemical reactions to proceed. A fully finished distillation product has a slightly bitter taste. In this case, the presence of alcohol may be felt. The longer the mash lasts, the more foreign (not quite useful) substances it absorbs. Typically, the ripening period is from three days to two weeks.
We lighten the mash
In order for the quality of the finished product to be on top, the mash on dry yeast (or pressed) needs to be separated from the precipitate. The drink will be much better if there is no yeast left in the brew. They need to precipitate. For this purpose, you can use the temperature difference and place the vessel with the mixture in a cold place. A day later, a dense precipitate forms at the bottom. You can also lighten the drink with bentonite (natural clay). It is bred with water, bringing to a state of thick sour cream. Then placed directly in the mash. It should only be room temperature. The clarification time in this case ranges from half an hour to one day. The result is a transparent liquid that does not have a pronounced smell of yeast.
Distillation process
This process requires a special distillation apparatus. He has a lot of designs, each craftsman in his own way. However, the principle of operation is the same in all. The main elements are the tank where the distillation liquid is poured, the coil, and the cooling component of the device. The whole process looks something like this: the mash is heated, and vapors that contain alcohol are formed. Upon contact with cold water, condensation forms - moonshine. He is going to a separate container. During the distillation process, it is important to observe a special temperature regime. It is not necessary to continue distillation if the temperature has become above 83 °. Gradually, the output strength will decrease. If it becomes difficult to set fire to a drink, it means that the amount of ethyl alcohol is not enough, but the content of
fusel oils is growing. Distillation came to an end. It is important to know that the first portion of moonshine can contain many toxic substances. It is better to use it for other purposes.
Secondary distillation
Of course, the drink, which is obtained as a result of the first distillation, is completely ready for consumption. However, if the goal is a good, high-quality and tasty product, then secondary distillation is necessary. She, in addition, increases the strength of the drink. For this, the obtained moonshine is diluted with water to 25-30 °. You can use special paper for filtering. There are other ways, for example, the use of activated carbon. About 1 gram of coal is taken per liter, crushed and mixed with a liquid. Leave for a week, not forgetting to stir regularly. Then the drink needs to be filtered. Another cleaning option is the use of refined sunflower oil. It has a good ability to absorb unnecessary impurities without dissolving in ethyl alcohol. The vessel with oil and moonshine should be shaken intensively and regularly throughout the day, then left to stand for 3 days. When re-distilled, the fortress will be about 70 °.
Strong Yeast
In order for the quality of moonshine to be on top, it is necessary to choose the right yeast for mash. This is one of the main components. Mushrooms process sugar so that ethyl alcohol and a certain amount of carbon dioxide are produced. For the preparation of this drink, alcohol yeast is best suited. Most importantly, they must be fresh. Dry mash is also good. Initially, they need to be diluted with warm water. The capacity is large enough, since a huge amount of foam will be released. For cooking, you don’t need any special
recipe; mash on dry yeast is prepared, as on ordinary yeast. The resulting mass is poured into a container with water and sugar, add the right amount of liquid. How to determine the readiness of the mash, described above. Dry yeast of the French producer well proved. They do not leave an unpleasant odor, perfectly support the fermentation process. The only thing you need to remember is that the proportions of dry yeast for mash will not be the same as for pressed ones. If the usual 5 liters need about 100 grams, then dry will go no more than 18 grams.
Moonshine from cereals
Grain is often used to make strong drinks at home. The technology will be a little more complicated. So how to cook cereal mash? First you need to boil it. When this occurs, the process of saccharification of starch, which is contained in the grain. It turns out quite a thick, sticky mixture. She has the smell of fresh bread. It must be diluted with cold water to a more liquid state, kept at room temperature for several days. Then add yeast and leave to roam. Another option is to soak the cereal in warm water, and then germinate it. The dried sprouted grain is crushed and wort is prepared on its basis. The bread moonshine is widely known. For its preparation, spring wheat and sugar are used. The fermentation process using these ingredients is quite intense.
Candy moonshine
Not worse than sugar mash on dry yeast, and tincture on caramel. To prepare it for 20 liters of water, you need about 5 kilograms of sweets. Caramel need to grind (you can use a blender for these purposes). Then pour warm water and add yeast. Fermentation time is about 10 days. The taste will turn out quite unusual and pleasant. The main rule is to choose sweets that contain a minimum of unnatural components. Some people use halva instead of caramel. In this case, it is useful to add a little mint to kill the smell of sunflower oil. Dried fruits will also be a good ingredient. Previously, they need to be steamed in boiling water.
Strong drinks from vegetables
Craftsmen use a wide variety of ingredients to make moonshine. One of them is beets. It must be cleaned, grated and boiled. Alternatively, you can bake the vegetable. Then, water and diluted yeast are added to the warm broth. When the beets settle (after about a week), the mash should be stirred and allowed to stand for several more days. For a good taste, the distillation process is performed twice. There is also a recipe for zucchini, ginger, lemon. Ginger needs to be peeled, zucchini cut. All this is poured with boiling water and infused for a week. Then juice from lemons, yeast, sugar, water is added. You can also make moonshine from carrots, pumpkins, potatoes. Using the latter, it should be borne in mind that the fermentation process will be quite lengthy - at least two weeks.
Fruit for vodka
For a good aroma and taste, various berries and fruits are used. They are crushed, sugar and yeast are added, then sent for fermentation to a warm place. As ingredients, you can even take watermelon, bananas, apricots, cherries. Large fruits are ground in a meat grinder, blender. Bananas need to be mashed, because squeezing the juice out of them is not easy. The resulting fruit or berry mixture is placed in a vessel, sugar, water, and sometimes yeast are added if the fermentation process is not intensive enough. When preparing
strong drinks from fruits, it is very important to carefully strain the infusion. This is done so that pieces do not remain in the brew, as they can burn during distillation. If it is not possible to consume a large number of fruits, then you can use them a little as additives. Even so, the drink will have a pleasant smell and taste.