Part 3. Collection, preparation and processing of fruits
Well, since I have confessed my love for black currants, I propose to start collecting, preparing and processing the fruits from it.
First, let's decide how many berries we need? Let's say we want to prepare 20 liters of wine. Calculations show that to prepare this amount of wine we will need approximately 7-8 kg of berries. On average, you can collect 3-4 kg of black currant berries from a bush. It turns out that we need to clear 2, or even 3 bushes. You can't manage it alone in a day. Or maybe there is no need. Personally, I collect blackcurrants in 2 steps. If you wait until all the berries are fully ripe, the largest ones will usually already be on the ground. Therefore, first all the largest ones, and then, after a week, the rest.
And so that there is no conflict of interest and temptation to put the first, large berries to harvest, I have 3 separate bushes of early, sweet currants growing for this purpose. And by the time I start picking berries for wine, the blackcurrant preparations have already been made. In short, we get out as best we can. So what to do? This is why I say that if you want to engage in winemaking, the fruits you need must be in abundance.
They say that it is advisable to pick berries early in the morning, but who says that it is better after rain... Try to collect 4-5 kg of berries in the morning. We should be able to handle this before evening. Some say it is better to collect in the evening. Indeed, on a sunny summer day the berries will gain even more heat from the sun. And it’s not so hot to collect in the evening. But this is when you have the opportunity to choose. And from experience I know that you pick berries when you have time. And from morning to evening. Sometimes in the rain, but what to do if there is no other time.
Berries should be picked only when they have already reached full ripeness. Only such berries can make good wine.
Ripe berries, as a rule, are easily separated from the bush. But if some of them do not separate, do not apply force - let the berries ripen.
Do not pick up berries that have fallen to the ground. It's not just that they can be dirty and in the ground. And the fact is that the fallen berries are already overripe berries and, as usual, vinegar fermentation has already begun in them. Likewise, wine can be contaminated, but it can’t be fixed – you’ll have to make vinegar.
Picked berries cannot be left unprocessed for a long time. Acetic fermentation usually begins within 1-2 days. If, for any reason, you cannot process them immediately, put them in the cold, or better yet, in the refrigerator.
Picked berries must be weighed upon arrival home. We weigh it directly in the bucket in which we collected it - it’s more convenient. Knowing the weight of the bucket, we get the net weight of the berries, which we must write down in our diary (journal). After weighing, we can start washing the berries. As I already said, wild wine yeast is always present on the harvested fruits and it is desirable that they remain there. We will need them to ferment the wort. Without them, you will have to make a special starter and dilute yeast in it or add raisins to the wort. But we will try to do without it.
So maybe not wash it? Be sure to wash, but not very hard and not with hot water. The fact is that the collected berries still contain leaves, twigs, bugs, spiders, dried flowers, and spoiled berries. All this must be removed.
To do this, fill the bucket with the collected berries with cold water, 5-7 centimeters, or more, above the berries, mix thoroughly and let it settle. We collect everything that has surfaced with a slotted spoon. We repeat the operation until there is nothing to float up. After this, drain the water. The berries are now ready for processing. True, they are wet, but for our wine they are what we need; we will still add water. Now, if we wanted to, for example, grind these berries with sugar, we would have to first dry the berries, scattering them on a sheet.
Black currants do not have clusters, but what about, for example, red currants?
It is, of course, easier to collect it in clusters, and separate the berries after washing. But you can also immediately separate the berries from the bunches. This way we waste less time. But then, when washing, through the damage to the berries left from the torn petioles, some of the juice will go into the water. Therefore, it is better to separate the berries after washing.
We don’t need collection in two steps here. And it is advisable to start picking when the top berries on the bunches are already beginning to wrinkle. Then everything is the same as with black currants, but after washing the berries, if they have not yet been separated, you need to separate them from the bunches. For those who like accuracy - in this case, the remaining bunches need to be weighed and subtracted from the previously obtained weight of the berries in order to obtain a more accurate net weight of the berries. And don’t forget to record all your actions in your diary (journal).
We do something like this with any other fruits and berries.
We try to adhere to the following rules:
- We collect only ripe, healthy fruits.
- Be sure to record the weight of the collected fruits.
- Berries collected in bunches are separated from the bunches after washing.
- Rinse the berries with cold water in the container in which they were collected.
- Drain the water - the fruits are ready for processing.
Prepared fruits should be processed immediately.
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