Instead of jam, I cook moonshine from apricots on an apparatus from a pot with a lid: I share the method and results

Not for the sake of accursed drunkenness, but to save the folk recipe for apricot moonshine, these lines are being written! My introduction to the art of moonshine began with the light hand of my great-grandmother during Gorbachev’s “dry law”.

This family recipe was shared by Nikolai Leontyevich, who loves to prepare alcohol from the most unusual products.

Why I decided to make alcohol myself

It was in Melitopol – a small town in the south of Little Russia, where in every yard of the private sector in the spring, after the cherry blossomed apricot.

By the middle of summer, fruits appeared. Large, juicy – on the “tint”, as the granny called it, a tree ennobled by grafting.

Easier – on the “wild”.

August was approaching – a month that concentrated a lot of holidays and memorable days for my family. Moderate “use” is indispensable here. And the stores are empty!

Having survived the First World War, the revolution of the 17th year, the Civil and Great Patriotic Wars, the granny was calm: if they survived such troubles, then we will overcome “abundance”. It is only necessary not to sit idly by, but to pick apricots. From the trees – ripe. Overripe – from the ground.

Important! Rotten fruits should not be taken. And yet, the harvested apricot should not be washed. Especially if it is not planned to add sugar and yeast when preparing the mash. We wipe the fruits from dust and dirt with a cloth or paper towel.

What ingredients are required

The preparation of moonshine begins with mash. Apricots, water, sugar, yeast are necessary for “apricots”.

There are three popular ways of mash for apricot moonshine. Let’s call them:

1. Delicacy – 5 kg of ripe and overripe apricots of cultivated varieties with pits removed are turned into gruel with a mixer and poured with cold unboiled water in an amount of 4-6 liters. Fermentation time – 40-45 days. The output of the finished product is 750 g. The taste is the best possible!
2. Ordinary – from 5 kg of apricot fruits of any variety, stones are removed, crushed. Add 2,5 -3 kg of sugar. Pour 6-8 liters of water. Fermentation is as long as in the first case. Yield – 2-3 times more, i.e. 1,5 -2,1 liters. The taste is worse than that of the “delicacy”. However, the aroma of apricot is still felt distinctly.
3. Accelerated – 100 g of yeast are added to the “ordinary” recipe. Better pressed. The recipe is justifiably called “accelerated”. Fermentation time – 7-10 days. Exit, as in the case of the “ordinary” recipe. The only advantage is the speed of production. In home use, it is justified in rare cases requiring “to be in time for a certain date.”

Side note: the mixer can be replaced by hand. Water – bring from the nearest spring. Hiking is good for health.

During the “ripening” period, the mash is stored in a warm unlit place. The lid of the vessel must be hermetically sealed and equipped with a water seal. In the simplest case, a rubber glove serves as such a shutter.

The readiness of the mash will be indicated by a light color and a taste with bitterness. A precipitate forms at the bottom of the vessel. After filtering the resulting liquid through 6 layers of gauze, we proceed to distillation.

The cooking process

Wikipedia defines distillation (distillation) as a technological process of evaporation of a multicomponent liquid followed by condensation of the vapors of the fractions to be separated.

With regard to home brewing, this means that it is necessary to separate spiritus vini – “the spirit of wine” in noble Latin – from banal water.

This sacrament takes place in a moonshine still, which is a distillation still known to alchemists. The modern version of such a device looks like this:

One of the many models of industrial-made moonshine.

From folk experience: in the absence of a moonshine still, it is arranged from improvised items.

The scheme gives a general idea – a clay pot or brick can be a stand, a deep plate can be a cuvette.

We place the pan on a heating source – a gas or electric burner. Cool the lid with a towel soaked in cold water. Evaporating, the distillate condenses on the lid and drops into the cuvette.

What result did I get

I cooked my first moonshine on the “apparatus” from a pot and a lid. I used “makitra” as a stand – this is how a pot made of baked clay is called in Little Russia.

I worked on the first recipe for mash. The result in terms of taste exceeded all expectations. The output of the finished product was small, but enough for family holidays.

With those who read to the end, I want to share a little secret of the recipe. If you leave half the seeds in apricots, the drink will acquire almond notes.

Have you tried moonshine from apricots or just jam?