Wine yeast: 5 recipes at home

Ready-made wine yeast is good because it does not require special preparation and saves a lot of time. But you don't always have special wine strains on hand, while ordinary baking powders are not suitable for making fruit drinks.

In this case, recipes for creating homemade yeast will be useful, especially since it is not difficult to follow them. For 10 liters of wine must, you need about 200-300 g of leaven.

Tips before you start

1. Raisins or freshly picked grapes are best as a base, but other fruits can also be used.

2. Wine berries are replaced with currants, raspberries, figs, strawberries, gooseberries, honeysuckle, rose hips, plums.

3. Raw materials are not washed so as not to lose the fungi that are on the skin. For the same reason, the fruits are not harvested immediately after rain.

4. The fermentation vessel should have a margin so that the liquid occupies no more than 2/3 of the volume. It should be washed well and sterilized for 5 minutes.

5. Store ready-made yeast in the refrigerator for no more than 10 days.

Raisin yeast recipe

The quality of the berries is of great importance. Choose firm, large, well-dried fruits with a bluish-purple matte color, preferably with tails. No need to clean before use, just remove spoiled berries.

Ingredients

1. Raisins - 100 g

2. Sugar - ½ cup

3. Water - 2 glasses

The method of preparation

1. Boil 1 cup of water and dissolve sugar in it.

2. Gradually pour the second half of the water into the resulting syrup.

3. Transfer the liquid to a wide-necked glass vessel, add the raisins.

4. Seal the container with a lid and put it in a warm place or on a light window sill.

5. Observe the fermentation for 1 week, stirring the mixture occasionally.

6. On the 7-8th day, drain the liquid and use it as a starter.

Grape yeast recipe

Berries should be chosen well ripened, they should be thoroughly mashed before use. Small-fruited grapes are better suited.

Ingredients

1. Sugar - 80 g

2. Grape mass - 2 cups

3. Water - 1 cup

Method of preparation

1. Put sugar and berry mass in a container, pour in water.

2. Stir the ingredients and seal the bottle with a cotton ball.

3. Leave the mixture to ferment in a warm place for 4 days.

4. Pour the juice through a sieve and use as a starter.

"Wild" yeast from berry raw materials

The basis for this recipe is ripe strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries or light currants. Before cooking, it is recommended to let the berries stand for several hours to slightly acidify.

Ingredients

1. Water - 1 glass

2. Sugar - 1 cup

3. Berries - 3 cups

The method of preparation

1. Pour water into the prepared container, add sugar to it.

2. Lightly crush the berries, put the mass in sweet water, mix well.

3. Cover the vessel with a cloth, leave in room conditions.

4. Let it ferment for 3-4 days, stirring occasionally.

5. Pour the berry infusion through a strainer, use it to make wine.

Yeast from fermented wort

This method is used when there is wine that is in the process of fermentation, and you want to preserve the yeast strain that is used. It is best to collect the material at the stage of active fermentation processes from the upper layers of the beverage. The cake obtained after filtration can be reused by diluting with a water-sugar mixture in the same proportions. This starter can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Ingredients

1. Fermented wort - 40-50 ml

2. Sugar - 1-2 tbsp. л

3. Water - 0.4 liters

The method of preparation

1. Pour the wort into a small jar, add sugar and water to it, mix.

2. Cover the container with a gauze cloth, transfer it to a dark place with room temperature.

3. Keep the liquid for 3-4 days, pass through a cloth filter, use to make wine.

Sourdough starter

Yeast is also present in the wine lees and can be added to the raw materials for the preparation of alcohol. The product is good because it can be stored for a long time (up to 2 years) and can be used to create different wines at any time. Keep it in a dry, dark place. Dried fruits (dates, dried apricots, prunes) are used to activate the leaven as desired, you can do without them. They are pre-soaked in boiling water.

Ingredients

1. Wine lees - any amount

2. Water (26-30°C) - 300 ml

3. Sugar - 2 tsp.

4. Large dried fruits - 2 pcs.

The method of preparation

1. Remove the liquid from the wine lees as much as possible.

2. Spread the solid, moist mass in a thin layer on a plate, dry it on a warm stove or in the sun, without heating it above 35 °C.

3. Scrape the dried powder off the surface, pour it into a bag.

4. To activate the yeast, dissolve 1/3 h. л. of the dried sediment dissolve in a jar of warm water, sweeten with sugar, add steamed dried fruits.

5. Put a water seal on the container, keep it dark and warm for several days.

6. After foaming, use the resulting yeast in winemaking.

Update: 24.12.2018

Category: Wine and Vermouth