In the Balkans, moonshine from quince is called “dunevacha” (in the Serbian language, dunia – quince) and is considered one of the highest quality distillates. Tourists who have tried this drink leave laudatory reviews. I propose to reproduce the technology of quince moonshine by making the correct mash and double distillation. The quality is truly amazing. Only ripe, sweet quince of any variety is suitable. If the fruits are sour, sugar must be added.
The maximum sugar content of ripe quince is 12-13%. This means that the theoretical yield from 15 kg of raw materials is about 2 liters of forty percent moonshine. To increase the amount, I advise you to add sugar. According to the proportions of the recipe, you will get 4-4,5 liters of distillate with a strength of 40% with a slight fruity smell.
Ingredients:
- quince – 15 kg;
- sugar – 1-2 kg (optional);
- water – 5 liters and another 4 liters for each kilogram of sugar;
- yeast (optional) – 25 grams of dry or 150 grams of bakery pressed.
You can make moonshine from quince without artificial yeast (dry, alcohol, bakery), replacing them with wild ones that are on the peel of the fruit. To do this, it is enough not to wash the quince, but only wipe it with a dry cloth if the fruits are very dirty. With wild yeast, the aroma will be stronger, but the duration of fermentation will increase by 4-5 times.
Quince mash recipe
1. Cut the fruits into two parts, remove the core, seeds, rotten and moldy pieces that give a bitter aftertaste.
2. Pass the pulp and peel through a meat grinder or grind to a homogeneous mass in any other way.
3. Place the processed quince in a fermentation container, add sugar (optional), water and yeast diluted according to the instructions on the label (optional). Mix.
4. Install a water seal on the neck of the container (a medical glove with a hole in the finger made with a needle).
5. Transfer the quince mash to a dark room with a temperature of 18-27°C. On dry, alcohol or baker’s yeast, fermentation lasts 5-11 days, on wild – 30-55 days. The finished mash is slightly bitter in taste, the sweetness is not felt, it is lighter than it was originally, and sediment appears at the bottom.
6. Strain the mash that has won back through 2-3 layers of gauze so that the pulp does not burn during distillation.
Getting quince moonshine
7. Distill the mash for the first time, taking away the distillate, until the fortress falls below 30% (in the stream). Perhaps the moonshine will be slightly cloudy, this is normal. Measure strength. Determine the amount of absolute alcohol (multiply the volume by the fortress and divide by 100).
8. Dilute the resulting moonshine with water up to 18-20% and overtake again. Collect the first 12-15% of the yield from the amount of absolute alcohol in a separate container. This is a harmful fraction with many impurities, which should be poured out or used only for technical needs.
9. Finish collecting the distillate when the output strength (in the jet) drops to 45 degrees.
10. Dilute quince moonshine with water to the desired strength (usually 40-45%) and keep for 2-3 days in a dark, cool place, in tightly closed glass containers. After that, you can proceed to the tasting.
