Perry attempt

[tubby_shaw]

Ok it's time for a try at Perry
I have had a little trip out and bought this


and 5 litres of this


Unfortunately in my eagerness and haste it wasn't until I got home that I realised that the pear juice is only 50% fruit
Never mind it's still worth a go

So, so far I have put the pear puree into a demijohn and added 2 tsp of pectolase and mixed well.
It looks like this


The idea behind the pectolase is to break down the pear puree further and release the juice as well as hopefully give a clear drink at the end.
This pear juice is so viscous that it is impossible to get a gravity reading, the hydrometer just sticks wherever it is placed
I am going to leave it for 24 hours or so to see what effect the pectolase has before splitting the batch in two, to make room for fermentation and adding yeast.

I'll keep you informed on progress

[maxashton]

Please do!

Looks lovely.

Lambrini, watch your back!

[tubby_shaw]

Please do!

Looks lovely.

Lambrini, watch your back!

Do I detect a hint of sarcasm Max

I was aiming more towards Babycham

[maxashton]

Have you ever *tried* lambrini? You show signs of having skill at fermentation! Lambrini... well.... they are handy with the saccharin!

[The Cardinal]

Where do you get your pear juice from? I've searched high and low, and I can only conclude that a surefire business venture worthy of The Apprentice would be to buy a peice of land and plant a Pear Orchard cos up until I saw your post I thought I'd instantly have a monopoly! Take a while to pay off though, mind.

And the other thing - you said it's only 50% fruit? What's the other 50% then? Am I right in thinking it's mush or sumthing? If it is, what's it normally sold for, and can't you sort of strain it or syphon it?

[prodigal2]

The juice looks like its from lidl,

[retourrbx]

Lidl...

[Frothy]

Pectinase (pectolase, pectin destroying enzyme etc.) will give increase juice yield by ~20% which is pretty impressive. We did an experiment with it at school with apple pulp & it really works.

Frothy

[tubby_shaw]

Where do you get your pear juice from? I've searched high and low, and I can only conclude that a surefire business venture worthy of The Apprentice would be to buy a peice of land and plant a Pear Orchard cos up until I saw your post I thought I'd instantly have a monopoly! Take a while to pay off though, mind.

And the other thing - you said it's only 50% fruit? What's the other 50% then? Am I right in thinking it's mush or sumthing? If it is, what's it normally sold for, and can't you sort of strain it or syphon it?

As P2 said the pear juice is from Lidl, the ingredients are listed as pear puree, water, sugar, citric acid and ascorbic acid

[maxashton]

It's fortified! Plenty of vitamin C in there.
Fortified health perry?

[tubby_shaw]

It's fortified! Plenty of vitamin C in there.
Fortified health perry?

The ascorbic acid is there as an antioxidant to prevent the pear puree from turning brown.
Unfortunately the consumption of alcohol increases the rate of vitamin C excretion from the body so no health benefits

[tubby_shaw]

Quick update for those who are interested.
A week into the Perry experiment and we have this

We have a nice healthy fermentation, but although it is difficult to see from the picture it has separated into three distinct layers.
There is a firm layer of sediment on the bottom, some "floaty" stuff in the middle and the top layer is fairly clear. It is obviously going to have to be strained or filtered
Unfortunately I didn't get a gravity reading so I have no idea how strong this is likely to be, it will all be down to the final taste as to whether or not this gets made again.

[The Cardinal]

wot xactly is pectolase, wots it for and where do you get it? i'm really interestted in this cos i wanna make sum perry

[tubby_shaw]

wot xactly is pectolase, wots it for and where do you get it? i'm really interestted in this cos i wanna make sum perry

Pectolase is an enzyme used by winemakers to destroy the pectin in fruit.
Pectin is the stuff in fruit that causes jam to set. In winemaking pectin causes a haze that will not clear
Pectolase is available from all good homebrew suppliers
Try Here

[Frothy]

Pectin is essentially the cement that holds plant cells together. The enzyme breaks this up and makes it easier to extract the juice.

Frothy