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This berry is unlikely to occur to anyone to use raw - it is very sour and tart. Even caught in frost, it does not change the taste too much. We are talking about thorny or prickly plum. Small blue berries cover thorny bushes in abundance. It is a pity if such a crop is lost. When delicious sauce and jam, jam, compote you have already prepared, and the berries are still left, try to make homemade wine out of them. Experts believe that it is not much inferior to grape. Homemade blackthorn wine will compare favorably with the store counterpart not only in taste, but also in the absence of harmful additives. He has an original bouquet. This wine goes especially well with meat dishes, and in dessert version it is very good for sweets.
The technology of making wine from sloe at home is not difficult. But the berries need to be properly prepared.
Preparation of berries
It is better to collect them with the first frost, then soft berries will be able to give better juice. The harvested berries are laid out in a thin layer on a litter to wither slightly. Optimally, if it takes place in the sun. Wild yeast, with which they will be enriched during this time, will enhance the fermentation process of the future wine, and, therefore, will improve its quality, give the desired taste and form a unique bouquet.
Yeast-free thorn wine
To make thorn wine at home, we will use the simplest recipe.
The prepared berries are carefully crushed using a wooden pestle.
Dilute thorn puree with water. It should be as much as mashed potatoes. For this, its quantity will have to be measured in advance. We leave the mixture to ferment in the air, covering it with gauze from insects. As soon as fermentation begins, as evidenced by the appearance of foam and bubbles, we filter the contents of the container.
Add sugar to the blackthorn extract. Its amount depends on what kind of wine you are going to get. For dry, it is enough from 200 to 250 g per liter, for dessert you will have to add more - from 300 to 350 g for the same amount.
We pour the prepared wort into fermentation bottles, leaving space in each for the resulting foam. This is about 1/4 of the total volume. So that there is a free outlet for carbon dioxide, and oxygen, which is destructive for it at this stage of making wine, does not get into the wort, you need to put a water seal.
At this stage, the future wine needs warmth. To completely ferment it, keep the bottles in a room where it is at least 20 degrees Celsius. As a rule, 45 days are enough for vigorous fermentation. It is easy to find out about its end by the cessation of gas evolution. The glove put on the bottle will fall off.
The wine we received is young. In order for it to acquire a real bouquet and taste, it has to mature. Let's bottle it.
Now it must be sealed and left alone in a cool place without access to light.
In a maximum of 8 months, it will acquire a rich plum aroma and a stunning bouquet with tart notes, its color is dark ruby, noble. Such wine is a decoration of any festive table.
Adding raisins, even in small amounts, will give extra yeast, which means it will enhance fermentation.
Thorn wine with raisins
The recipe for its preparation is quite simple.
To prepare it, we will stock up on the following products:
- 5 kg of blackthorn berries;
- 3 kg of sugar;
- 200 g raisins;
- 6 liters of water.
We prepare the berries and rinse them. The yeast for fermentation will provide raisins that cannot be washed. From 2 liters of water and the entire amount of sugar, we boil the syrup. While it is cooking, constantly remove the foam. As soon as it no longer appears, the syrup is ready. It needs to be cooled to room temperature.
Fill the berries with the rest of the water. Cook until the skin is cracked. We mix berries, broth, 1/3 part of syrup in a container for fermentation. To start fermentation, add raisins.
We put a water seal on the container.
An ordinary rubber glove will do its job well. In order for carbon dioxide to escape freely, you need to make a couple of small holes in it, simple punctures are enough.
If everything is done correctly, no later than a day later, a foam cap and a lot of bubbles will appear in the container.
After a week, the rest of the syrup should be added to the wort. The fermentation process can take up to 50 days. The fact that the young wine is ready will be indicated by the berries that will settle to the bottom. The cessation of gas formation is observed and clarification of wine.
If you want to get dessert wine, you can add more sugar, now to taste. Then you need to let the wine wander for another couple of weeks under a water seal. For strength, you can add vodka or alcohol, but not more than 15% by volume.
Now is the time to drain the young wine from the lees so that it slowly ripens, gaining the desired taste. For 8 months in a cool place, it will have a unique bouquet, amazing color and taste.
Tincture on the turn
For lovers of strong alcohol from thorn berries, you can prepare a very beautiful and tasty tincture.
For her you need:
- berries - 5 kg;
- vodka - 4.5 liters;
- sugar - half of the amount of berries.
Sprinkle the washed and dried berries with sugar.
You can not remove the seeds, then the drink will have an almond flavor. For those who do not like him, it is better to insist pitted berries.
A bottle covered with gauze should be exposed to the sun. After the end of fermentation, 0.5 l of vodka is added to the mixture. After a month, everything is filtered, the filtered mixture with the added remaining vodka is determined in bottles. If at the last stage of infusion add a pod of hot pepper, such a tincture can be used to treat a cold.
Conclusion
Drinks on the turn not only taste great. When cooked properly, they will be good helpers in the treatment of a number of diseases.
