This story happened to me in the winter. The cold was doggy. It seemed that even the air became crystal. We are warm in the house, but the bag of potatoes in the basement is frozen.
It’s a pity to throw away the good, and I remembered how on a fishing trip they treated me to moonshine from potatoes. So I decided to cook this exotic, pamper myself and my neighbors.
The story was shared by my subscriber Kirill.
Who invented vodka from potatoes
To expel moonshine from potato tubers is not an easy task, for a long time people could not invent a recipe. Only at the beginning of the XNUMXth century did potato vodka appear in Poland. But the taste of the drink was unpleasant, so they consumed it only as a cheap drink.
The Americans undertook to improve the process of producing alcohol from potatoes in 1946. Subsequently, the Poles joined them again, and half a century later the world tried Chopin potato vodka.
The drink had an oily taste, completely unlike a grain product. The production of one bottle of vodka required 7 kg of potatoes.
Interesting: connoisseurs of potato vodka, for example, the Swedish Karlsson’s Gold, drink it with the addition of black pepper and a drop of oil.
Secret ingredients
The success of making moonshine lies in the correct selection of products. For example, sugar. It is always added during home brewing, but things are different with potatoes.
It contains a lot of starch, which itself breaks down into sugar during fermentation, and therefore it can not be added additionally. But if you want to drive out stronger moonshine, then 1 kg of granulated sugar per 15 kg of potatoes will be enough.
So here are the ingredients I took:
- Potato. Last year’s harvest is suitable for moonshine. From frozen potatoes, as in my case, the yield of alcohol is even greater.
- Malt. Helps starch to react with yeast, so you can not do without it. You can extract it yourself from sprouted grains, but it is much easier to buy it in the store.
- Water. Only filtered will do. If the house does not have a filter, then you can stock up on bottled water. I don’t advise you to experiment with boiled tap water, otherwise the taste of the drink may turn out to be unexpected.
- Yeast. The most common, which are easy to buy in the store, will do. The specific flavor of the yeast will disappear after the alcohol has been purified.
I had to work hard
And a little more about potatoes. I thoroughly washed the tubers, cut off the damaged places and removed the eyes. Processed potatoes grated on a fine grater or passed through a meat grinder.
Interestingly, some craftsmen prefer to make moonshine from boiled potatoes. They say that the taste of the finished alcohol is softer. But here, as they say, an amateur.
The cooking process
It is important to carefully adhere to the recipe, add the ingredients in strict order and maintain the desired temperature. A deviation of 2-3 degrees will put all the work down the drain.
The recipe itself:
- In a large saucepan, I heated 20 liters of water to 70ºC.
- I added 15 kg of grated potatoes and 1 kg of malt to the water.
- The resulting mass must be intensively mixed, covered with a lid and kept on low heat for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes.
- Remove the finished wort from the fire, cool to 30ºC.
- Then I drained the liquid, added 500 g of pressed yeast and sugar, if desired.
- I pour the mixture into a large glass bottle, cover with a water seal and set to ferment in a dark place.
Interesting: you can close the neck of the bottle with a medical glove. Just don’t forget to poke a hole in one of your fingers to let the air out.
This is how my brother wandered.
What happened
For the next two weeks, I had to be patient and watch the contents of the bottle ferment. As a result, the mash brightened, and a sediment appeared at the bottom of the container.
So, after a double run and cleaning with activated carbon, I got 4,5 liters of moonshine. The strength of homemade vodka is 40%, the taste is quite decent.
But the thought that can be done better does not leave me. So, to surprise everyone: this is how it happens, vodka from potatoes. Maybe someone knows another recipe? Share!