Infusions, Extractions & Tinctures at Home: The Topic (Part 1)

[bostonapothecary]

I have one.  How would you use it as a centrifuge?

 

either using the centrifugal force to push liquid through the filter paper or using agar, clogging all the filter paper then letting the liquid accumulate (very slowly to stay balanced) and separate centrifugally, then improperly draining out the retaining nut hole.

 

you can get really good results on equipment many people already own.

 

sometimes high tech chefs get results from serious equipment like a re-purposed blood bank centrifuge but then they never take the time to work backwards to see if the same results can still be achieved with cheaper or more widely available equipment.

 

I have a Jouan centrifuge and I mainly use it now for de-gassing really high durometer food safe silicon for my champagne bottle manifold seals. I found it pretty much impossible to de-gas the stuff with vaccuum & pressure but spinning it up to 5000 rpms and dropping it works like a charm.

[FrogPrincesse]

I saw some homemade liqueur blog that said first strain through a nylon bag or cheesecloth, then do two rounds of paper towel filtering, then do coffee filters. 

Maybe this is the way to go? I ordered a fine nylon straining bag from Amazon that allegedly strains out a lot of gunk. I'll report back....

 

 

That makes sense. I would start with nylon to remove the coarse particles, then filter again in paper to remove the finer particles. Then a last filtration step with the Büchner to get to clarity.

Edited September 25, 2014 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Hassouni]

Sieve + Grain bag + Double paper towel in Büchner setup + Coffee filter in Büchner setup was dead easy and gave me a crap-free 3rd run of Vermouth. It's not read-through transparent, but it's pretty good. I'm guessing to get ultimate level of clarity I'd need to either use the Pur filter or the scientific filter paper, both of which are agonizingly slow. This multi-step method took all of 10 minutes.

 

But of course, at the end...my fucking porcelain funnel fell on the floor and shattered into a million pieces.

[Hassouni]

Giving the Pur another attempt:

 

iSi infusion of dried fruit in brandy...somewhat cloudy. Thru the grain bag it went, then into the Pur, filtered in no time at all. Not crystal clear but not mucky at all. Looks decent in a stirred cocktail.

 

It does however lighten the color noticeably (not surprising), and also would appear to suck some flavor out.

 

 

Hmmmm

Edited September 26, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[pto]

Decided to make my first infusion, standard 80 proof vodka infused with walnuts. I'm following a recipe that's actually for walnut liqueur, but then I got to thinking: Why put the sugar in it? Why not just leave it as walnut infused vodka and add simple syrup to cocktails that I make with it as I see fit? Even if I wanted to drink it as a liqueur, I could add the desired amount of SS at the time of drinking. Does that make sense or is there a reason why it would better to add the sugar to the whole batch?

 

Also, how long would you infuse with the walnuts? (I used around 1 and 3/4 cup walnuts for 750ml vodka).

[FrogPrincesse]

 

Also, how long would you infuse with the walnuts? (I used around 1 and 3/4 cup walnuts for 750ml vodka).

I did a walnut infusion in rum and let the walnuts infuse for 5 days. If you wait too long, it becomes unpleasantly tannic.

[Hassouni]

More updates - the Pur rocks for clarifying vermouth, but I think the fruit infused brandy clogged it the hell up - I had to change filters. For doing very murky stuff, I think each filter has a functional lifespan of maybe a gallon or two.

[Rafa]

In the new issue of Imbibe Dave Arnold recommends Pectinex Ultra SP-L for clarifying fruit infusions. You can buy it here.

[haresfur]

In the new issue of Imbibe Dave Arnold recommends Pectinex Ultra SP-L for clarifying fruit infusions. You can buy it here.

 

Interesting.  I wonder if it would work to promote dissolving marmalade into drinks. Save a lot of shaking but maybe lose some mouth-feel? 

[bostonapothecary]

Interesting.  I wonder if it would work to promote dissolving marmalade into drinks. Save a lot of shaking but maybe lose some mouth-feel? 

 

I'm pretty sure that one of the products of these enzymes breaking down pectin is methanol and this is one reason they are not used in wines make for distillation. in the context of a fruit juice or even a table wine it is absolutely not a big deal, but in an nth degree scenario like a marmalade, it might not be something you want.

 

I recently visited Greenhook Ginsmiths where they make a really cool beach plumb liqueur. beach plumbs have an extremely high pectin content but they don't use a pectic enzyme on it, they use other fining agents which are enough to precipitate enough of the pectin which floats to the top as a scum. it is then scooped out leaving far less to clog the filters.

 

if you are working with a fruit where pectin is a big concern but you want to be less invasive, you can perform your infusion at a very high proof which is often enough to precipitate much of the pectin. after that you can cut it down to your desired %. you might also just be over infusing by using too much contact time.

 

I think bar fabrication is going to go through a phase where people use all sorts of invasive techniques then eventually retreat back to less invasive techniques once everyone gets a better handle on all their options. I filter far less than other people. some of the recipes I tried from the Booker & Dax catalog seemed pretty much stripped of flavor to me.

Edited October 29, 2014 by bostonapothecary (log)

[haresfur]

I'm pretty sure that one of the products of these enzymes breaking down pectin is methanol and this is one reason they are not used in wines make for distillation. in the context of a fruit juice or even a table wine it is absolutely not a big deal, but in an nth degree scenario like a marmalade, it might not be something you want.

 

Well, that's good to know. 

[Kerry Beal]

Finally got around to finishing my green and yellow chartreuse - formulae from 'A Treatice on the Manufacture and Distillation of Alcoholic Liquors'.  

 

 

My green colouring is a little off - a bit too much blue!

 

Requires some aging to round out the sharpness - but the green is pretty close to the original - don't have any yellow to compare to though.  

[Hassouni]

What's the blue in question?

[FrogPrincesse]

I am guessing brilliant blue, based on the previous discussion about creme de violette.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I doubt the monks use brilliant blue.

[Kerry Beal]

It was just standard primary blue and primary yellow from Chef Rubber - the water based colouring.  Monks probably used indigo or prussian blue, and saffron or caramel for the yellow. 

Edited November 4, 2014 by Kerry Beal (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I am sort of interested, the chartreuse website says:  "Green Chartreuse is the only liqueur in the world with a completely natural green colour."  I've never noticed a color additive notice on the label.

 

Is it possible the green color is just chlorophyll?  But then the color would probably not be light stable.

[Kerry Beal]

The formula suggests not colouring with plant material as it will discolour quickly.  I think indigo and saffron are considered natural.

[lesliec]

My experience with bay leaves is that they give an astonishing initial green, but it fades to brownish over the following few weeks/months.  So yes, chlorophyll isn't ideal.

[Kerry Beal]

Tasted the yellow Chartreuse against the real thing.  The smell was similar, mine was a bit cleaner and less musty tasting.  Pretty close considering it has probably 20 herbs against the greater than 100 in the monk brewed version.  

[Quesmoy]

 

I have a couple questions about infusing alcohol, and I will apologize if they have already been covered in this topic but the 16 pages got a little overwhelming to read through.  First I am planning to infuse some blackberry into vodka, and was wondering if it would also work in other alcohol such as a white tequila (like Patron) or even rum.  I have also seen different opinions on adding sugar, would it taste better with without.

 

 

I am also considering trying to infuse some pomegranate, any suggestions on what is the best way to accomplish this?

[Hassouni]

You can infuse pretty much anything into anything else sufficiently alcoholic. No guarantees for how it'll taste, but yes, you can infuse blackberries into tequila and rum.

 

If adding sugar, I would not add it until the infusion is finished and filtered, and then your end product is a liqueur rather than an infused spirit. If you plan to use the infusion as a base spirit, don't add sugar. If you plan to use it as an accent to another spirit, then sugar is OK, but in that case you might want to raise the ratio of blackberries (in this case) to booze when making the infusion.

 

As for pomegranate....a pomegranate aril ("seed") is mostly juice, so I'm not really sure what benefit infusing the whole arils would be - I would probably just juice the pomegranate, add it to the spirit, and add sugar to make a pomegranate liqueur. The only real other way I can see would be to distill pomegranate into an eau-de-vie, but that's a lot more work, to say nothing of being illegal in the US.

[blue_dolphin]

 

I have a couple questions about infusing alcohol, and I will apologize if they have already been covered in this topic but the 16 pages got a little overwhelming to read through.  First I am planning to infuse some blackberry into vodka, and was wondering if it would also work in other alcohol such as a white tequila (like Patron) or even rum.  I have also seen different opinions on adding sugar, would it taste better with without....

As Hassouni said, you can certainly infuse flavors into any sort of alcoholic base.  I've followed the recipe here for tequila por mi amante (strawberry infused tequila) and it is delightful to sip or mix with.  Although with all those perfect berries giving their all, I usually sip it rather than mix and dilute their effort.   I bet the blackberries would make a beautifully colored infusion.

 

If I had a wealth of blackberries, I think I'd try Katie Loeb's suggestions for Blackberry Shrub.  I think the sweetness of the berries would appreciate the hit of tartness from the vinegar in a shrub.

 

If you decide to go with a straight infusion, I think I'd include the zest of a lemon for a bit of brightness.

[Quesmoy]

Thank you for all the information, I can’t wait to get started.  I am getting the alcohol and should be able to start the process this week!!

[Quesmoy]

I have a couple more questions.  If I do not add sugar do I need to keep it in the refrigerator while making and also afterwords, or will it be okay if I just keep it out of sunlight in a cool area?