Moonshine made from different sweets became popular back in the days Soviet Union... Then, when substandard goods appeared in stores in large quantities at a low price, and the local population bought them to make a drink at home. At that time, by the way, they say, it was not always possible to make moonshine legally. But since the goods were quite easy to get, and the cost was low, moonshine from sweets gained particular popularity.
Moonshine from sweets
What kind of sweets are suitable for making moonshine? In fact, very different. It can be prepared from chocolates, from caramel, marshmallows, halva and other sweets are good for this. However, the expediency of such raw materials for preparation is controversial, especially now, with a large amount of additives in the composition of sweets.
These may be aromatic substances that will not have the best effect on the quality and taste of the drink. In addition, it is believed that alcohol from candy will not work better than from sugar, and in some cases even worse. Although some moonshiners note a milder taste of the drink prepared according to this recipe.
In any case, since sweets are more expensive than sugar, the point of making moonshine from sweets is only in using substandard raw materials that you got for free. For example, if its implementation period has passed and it is not suitable for consumption.
Another problem with such raw materials is that they contain a large amount of starch and dextrins, which are polysaccharides and are not fermented directly by yeast. Therefore, the raw material must be prepared before fermentation. Namely, subject to heat treatment to remove excess aromatic substances and parallel sterilization. To convert starch and dextrins into monosaccharides, you need to use green malt.
The standard recipe is as follows. To prepare the wort for 1 kg of sweets, 1.5 liters of water and 130 g of green malt are taken. It is possible and even desirable to use the latter in large quantities, since in the wort of these ingredients it is a source of nutrients. And also the introduction of ammonium sulfate and superphosphate is desirable. The cooking technology is as follows. The water is brought to a boil, stirring, the main raw material is poured and then stirred until it is completely dissolved.
The most appropriate processing temperature for raw candy is 85–90 degrees. The difficulty in choosing a mode is as follows: with more high temperature the caramel dissolves faster, however, the amount of sugar that caramelizes increases, which leads to losses. The duration depends on the temperature, the recipe, the type of raw material and the degree of its contamination.
For example, for mint caramel, it takes about 3-4 hours at a temperature of 85 degrees. This time can be significantly reduced if the raw material is blown through with an air stream from the compressor. During the heat treatment of caramel raw materials, good ventilation in the room should be provided so that aromatic substances do not accumulate. In addition, during heat treatment, it is necessary to compensate for the significant water losses that occur during this process.
After that, the mass is cooled to a temperature of 65 degrees and soy milk is added. The saccharification technology is common: for two and a half hours, the raw materials are kept at a temperature of 65 degrees. At the end, it is cooled to the fermentation temperature, superphosphate and ammonium sulfate are added.
Pour no more than 70% of the volume into the fermentation tank. For 3 kg of sweets, approximately 15 liters of water and 200 g of yeast are taken. All this is mixed and installed in a container on which a water seal is put on.
Braga made of sweets is transferred to a dark room and aged for 5-14 days, depending on which sweets are used. It is believed that fermentation is fastest when using chocolate candies, but this also depends on the amount of yeast and its proportions with sugar in the candies. And, accordingly, how saccharification is carried out.
The fermented candy mash is poured from the sediment through two or three layers of gauze and clarified. For this, it is advisable to use bentonite or another proven method. After that, moonshine is prepared. Distillation cube moonshine still filled with mash, as always, the first 30-50 ml are collected separately, these are heads. If the fortress reaches 30–40%, the selection of the body is stopped, followed by the tails. In this case, the selection of the head and tail fractions must be done sufficiently, otherwise the amount of harmful substances in the drink will be high.
Moonshine can turn out cloudy, it is advisable to dilute it to 17–20% and purify it with coal or another method. Then overtake again. At the second distillation, stop the process when the alcohol at the outlet drops below 45%.
At the exit from five kilograms of sweets, 5 liters of a drink are obtained, which will not require aromatization and contain the smell of moonshine. Be sure to filter it using charcoal. Then you can use a filter that consists of water and soda, it will make the drink very soft and tender.
In addition to standard recipes, ingredients can be mixed in different ways, coming up with your own combinations. For example, this recipe: per kilogram of chocolates, you can take the same amount of caramel or halva, depending on your own preferences. Chocolate creates an incredibly delicate and unusual taste, as well as a pleasant aroma. However, moonshine with chocolate candies is a delicacy that not everyone likes. But it's a good alternative to a sugar drink that has a chocolatey aftertaste and doesn't taste bitter. It is also a rational way to dispose of candy that has already gone bad.
Candy moonshine can surprise a lot of people. But there are many good recipes, according to which at home you can make amazingly tasty alcohol from handy products - sweets left over from the holidays.
Many years ago, villagers came up with a new way of making moonshine - based on marmalade, sucking or chocolate candies. Such delicacies could be purchased in the store at a discount due to the expiration date. The fact is that even dried and weathered candies will not affect the taste of the final product in any way. Basic necessary component they contain sugar, which is quite enough in sweets. The undoubted advantage of such a process at home is that during the preparation of this type of moonshine, there will be no bad smell... And the drink obtained at the exit will delight people with a delicious aroma and pleasant taste. In addition, the more varieties of sweets go for such alcohol, the more interesting its taste will be.
Surely, many people often have caramels at home that have not been eaten. It is not at all necessary to throw these products away - rather, on the contrary, if you collect about a kilogram of such sweets, you can make strong and unusual-tasting alcohol.
A kilogram of caramel candies should be thoroughly dissolved in 4 liters of warm water. This process should take several hours for all harmful aromas to come out of the sweets. Then you should add about 40 grams of compressed yeast to this mass. All ingredients are well mixed, and then sent to a warm place for fermentation for several days. The resulting mash, which will then go through the distillation process, will yield about a liter of a strong aromatic drink at the exit. Such moonshine will definitely appeal to all lovers of extraordinary alcohol.
Moonshine made from chocolate candies was popular in Soviet times... Such alcohol was especially common among the rural population. They knew the special secrets of making such a mash, which in its taste characteristics came out no worse than the alcohol presented on domestic counters.
Homemade moonshine made from sweets allows you to carry out any experiments. You can add and dissolve caramels or gummies to chocolates. Alcohol with the addition of halva and even marshmallow will be no less tasty. Such a combination of sweets in the future alcohol will create a truly delicate taste and delicious aroma that has many shades.
Candy moonshine is peculiar and rather sweet homemade drink, which may not be to everyone's taste. However, this alcohol is absolutely not bitter, does not require the addition of sugar, and, moreover, has an amazing aftertaste. Plus, it's the perfect opportunity to apply candy you don't like to taste for something really worthwhile.
Recipe (simple):
4.5-5l of water + 100g of pressed yeast or 2 bags of Saf-moment (11g) + 1kg of sugar.
Let it ferment, controlling the temperature around 25 g.
Lighten / defend.
TOMATO PASTE BRAGA
3 liters of water, 1 kg of granulated sugar, 300 g of tomato paste or 100 g of dry yeast.
Mix everything and leave in a warm place for two weeks.
JAM BRAGA
6 liters of fermented jam, 30 liters of warm water, 200 g of yeast, 3 kg of granulated sugar.
Dilute the jam with warm water, add yeast and sugar. Insist in a dark place for 3-5 days, then overtake.
The output is 6 liters.
GRAPE BRAGA
1 bucket of grape pomace, 5 kg of granulated sugar, 100 g of yeast, 30 liters of water.
Pour pomace with water, add sugar and yeast, stir everything thoroughly. Insist 7 days, then overtake 2 times. Exit - 7 liters.
CHERRY BRAGA
20 kg of cherries, 2 kg of granulated sugar, 200 g of yeast.
Peel the cherries, knead the pulp, add sugar and diluted yeast. Place in a moderately warm place, stirring occasionally for the first two days.
The removed bones are pounded and after the end of fermentation, mix with the mash and overtake it. Exit - 8 liters.
BRAGA FROM PEAR
10 kg of rotten pears, 400 g of granulated sugar, 40-50 g of yeast.
Boil pears, add granulated sugar and yeast, as well as 1-1.5 liters of water. Insist in a warm place for 7 days, then overtake 2 times. Output - 10 liters.
CRANBERRY BRAGA
2 kg of cranberries, 8 l of water, 800 g of granulated sugar, 1 pack of yeast.
Rub the cranberries through a colander, pour the squeeze with water, then boil for 15 minutes. Pour in granulated sugar and boil the same amount. Cool the syrup to the temperature of fresh milk and pour raw cranberry juice into it. Add yeast, stir and leave to ferment. After fermentation, distill.
BRAGA FROM SWEETS
5 kg of filled chocolates, 20 liters of water.
Dissolve the candies in warm water. Infuse for 4-5 days, then overtake. The output is 5 liters.
STARCH BRAGA
10 kg of starch, 20 l of water, 1 kg of granulated sugar, 500 g of yeast.
Dilute starch with water and brew like jelly. Cool to 20-22 ° С, add yeast and sugar. Insist for 3-5 days, then overtake. Exit - 11 liters.
BRAGA FROM HONEY
3 kg of honey, 2 l of sugar syrup, 300 g of yeast.
Dilute honey and syrup in 25 liters of water at a temperature of 22-25 ° C. Dissolve the yeast in a little water, add to the honey solution and leave for 7-8 days in a warm place. Then overtake. Exit - 7 liters.
BRAGA FROM SUGAR SAND
6 kg of granulated sugar, 30 l of water, 200 g of yeast.
Pour sugar in warm water, lower the yeast and stir everything. Add a handful of blackcurrant leaves and a bunch of dry dill to the solution. Put everything in a warm place for 6-7 days, then overtake. Product yield - 6 liters.
BEET BRAGA
Recipe 1
8 kg of sugar beets, 5-6 kg of granulated sugar, 10 liters of water, 500 g of yeast.
Peel the beets, grate and boil. Add 10 liters of water with a temperature of +25 ° C to warm beets. Dissolve the yeast in a little water and add to the beets.
Infuse the mixture in a warm place for 3-4 days. When the beetroot mass sinks to the bottom and is covered with a crust, mix everything and distill it 2 times.
Recipe 2
15-20 kg of sugar beets, 5-6 kg of granulated sugar, 10 liters of water, 500 g of yeast.
Peel the beets, grate and bake in a Russian oven in cast iron with a capacity of 10-15 liters. Cool to a temperature of 22-25 ° С, add sugar, water of the same temperature and yeast, diluted in a small amount of water. Cover the mixture and place in a warm place for 3-4 days. Then mix, and when the beets sink to the bottom and a crust forms on top, overtake.
SYRUP BRAGA
6 liters of any syrup, 30 liters of water, 200 g of yeast.
Dissolve the syrup in water and add yeast. Insist for 7 days. Exit - 7 liters.
BRAGA FROM PLUM
12 kg of plums, 1-1.5 kg of granulated sugar.
Peel the plums, mash, add sugar and leave for 12-15 days. When fermentation stops distill 2 times.
DRIED FRUIT BRAGA
2 kg of dried apples or pears, 10 l of water, 3 kg of sugar, 300 g of yeast.
Pour dried fruits into water, boil a little. Add sugar and yeast. Insist in a dark place for 7 days, add a bunch of dry thyme and distill. Output - 3.5 liters.
PUMPKIN BRAGA
Take pumpkin and barley malt. Cut the pumpkin into small pieces, peeling off the peel and seeds.
Pour 1 part of water into 2 parts of chopped pumpkin and cook until tender, then crush into a uniform mass and rub with ground malt at the rate of 100 g of malt per 10 liters of pumpkin mass. Mix everything well, add cold water cooled down to the temperature of fresh milk. Add yeast, ferment and distill.
BRAGA FROM FRUIT AND BERRY JUICE
9 liters of juice, 250-300 g of yeast.
Add yeast to the juice and leave for 14 days in a dark place at a temperature of 20-24 ° C. When fermentation stops, distill. The output is 2-3 liters.
BRAGA FROM HALVA
10 kg of halva, 15-20 liters of water, 20 g of mint.
Dissolve halva in water, add mint to eliminate odor. Insist 5 days, then overtake. Output - 10 liters.
BRAGA FROM APPLES
15 kg of apples, 1 kg of granulated sugar, 65 g of yeast.
Thoroughly peel the apples and remove the seeds, then squeeze out the juice. Add sugar and yeast to 12 liters of juice. Insist in a warm place for 7 days, then overtake 2 times. Exit - 1 liter.
BRAGA FROM WATERBOOM
1 watermelon, 1 tbsp. granulated sugar, 1 tbsp. l. liquid yeast.
Cut off the top from the watermelon (you can overripe). Remove some pulp to pour sugar and yeast inside. Close the hole with the cut off tip and leave for two weeks. At the end of this period, the mash will be ready.
GRAPE BRAGA FOR FURTHER COGNAC PRODUCTION
Most of the grape varieties used for the manufacture of alcohol, mash (wort) is prepared using the technology of processing fruits and berries. In this case, the final result is a grape moonshine, called "chacha" in the Caucasus.
But if you decide to start making a more noble drink - cognac, then the wort preparation technology needs to be slightly changed.
Firstly, for these purposes, certain grape varieties are used, which are distinguished by a neutral aroma and taste, moderate sugar content and high acidity. The best varieties for the production of cognac wine materials are: Aligote, Rkatsiteli, Sil-vaner, Bayan-shirey, Rhine Riesling, Plavai, Sereksiya black, Terbash, Claret, Sabbash, White Feteaska.
Secondly, the wort must be separated from the pulp as soon as possible after crushing the berries in order to minimize the presence of wax deposits from the peel of the berries in the wort. The presence of a wax coating spoils the quality of cognac, giving it an unpleasant smell.
Thirdly, cognac wine materials are fermented with natural (natural) yeast without the addition of granulated sugar.
Substandard candies (expired, stuck together, crushed, etc.) contain a lot of sugar, therefore they are a good raw material for home brewing. The problem is that it also contains oils, fragrances, and other chemicals that can ruin the aroma and flavor of the distillate. We will consider a universal technology for making moonshine from sweets, suitable for any raw material.
It is difficult to predict how much quality moonshine will turn out at the exit. It depends on the additives. In any case, the drink will not be better than regular sugar. It is advisable to cook candy mash only from waste that cannot be used for other needs. The yield depends on the sugar content of the candies.
Ingredients:
Care should be taken in advance to ensure good ventilation, since a strong, specific smell will appear during cooking.
1. Peel the sweets from the wrappers without mixing different varieties. Pass soft (chocolate, stuffed) through a meat grinder, caramel and other hard leave as is.
2. Boil the water, slowly add the candy mass to the water, stirring constantly.
Sweets have a different consistency, so each variety must be brewed in a separate container, otherwise some will burn before others have time to dissolve.
3. Maintaining the temperature at 50-85 ° C, cook the wort until smooth. The time depends on the hardness of the candies, chocolate is enough for 10-15 minutes at 50-60 ° C, and caramel may take about an hour to dissolve at 80-85 ° C.
Since all candies are different, it is impossible to predict the exact cooking time. If the mass becomes too thick, you should periodically add water.
4. Cool the mixture to a temperature of 27-30 ° C, pour into a fermentation vessel (you can mix different types). If the consistency is thick, add more water to make the wort runny. Braga should be sweet, but not cloying (maximum sugar content - 20%). Fill the container no more than 70% of its volume, as active foaming is possible.
5. Dilute the yeast according to the instructions on the label, then add to the candy wort and stir.
6. Install a water seal or a medical glove with a hole in the finger on the neck of the container. Transfer the candy mash to a dark room (you can cover it) with a temperature of 18-27 ° C.
7. Fermentation lasts 5-14 days. Then the airlock stops emitting gas (the glove is deflated), a sediment appears at the bottom, and the mash tastes bitter, no sweetness is felt.
During fermentation, an oily film may appear on the surface of the mash, this is palm and other types of oil that are added to sweets. The film should be removed as soon as it appears, especially before distillation.
8. Drain the fermented candy mash from the sediment, strain through 2-3 layers of gauze. Preferably one of the methods.
9. Fill with mash distillation cube moonshine still. Overtake the mash for the first time. Collect the first 20-30 ml of output from each kilogram of sweets separately. This is a harmful fraction that should not be drunk. Stop taking distillate when the strength in the jet falls below 30%. Measure the total strength of the drink. Determine the amount of absolute alcohol (the volume in liters is multiplied by the strength in percent and divided by 100).
10. Candy moonshine (may be cloudy) dilute with water to 17-20%. It is advisable to clean it with coal, milk or another method, then distill it again.
12. At the second distillation, collect the first 14-15% of the yield from the amount of absolute alcohol separately. Stop the process if the strength in the jet falls below 45%.
13. Dilute the obtained moonshine from sweets with water to 40-45 degrees and stand for 2-3 days in a dark room before use.
Yeast is able to give moonshine a specific, not the most pleasant aftertaste. In addition, products that do not contain artificially grown microorganisms are now popular.
Something like bread, pastries. In our case, this is mash without yeast, although it is not entirely correct to say so.
The fermentation process will not start so easily. We need to use let not industrial, but "wild" yeast(microscopic fungi that are found on the skins of fruits), malt from cereals.
In addition, some foods contribute to fermentation: honey, jam, hops, sweets, raisins etc. As a result, we get a natural product, "not muddied" by unknown components, which is easy, pleasant and even healthy to drink (if not overused).
So let's talk about how to make mash without factory-made yeast.
It should be remembered about simple recipes, known to our ancestors, who drove a hundred years ago, when there was no pressed or dry turbo yeast in stores. At best, they were made independently from bran, flour and hops.
Want to get natural wheat vodka, before which even expensive store types fade? Then take this recipe into service. Take wheat, if possible, full-weight, without debris and broken grains.
You will need:
Important. Wheat should be no more than a year old and no less than two months old. Young (recently harvested) grain has insufficient germination energy, like the old one, and we need friendly shoots according to the recipe.
You can take half of this norm, everything will work out too. But the sourdough still needs to be made from 1 kg of grain and 500 g of sugar.
Rinse 1 kg of grain several times clean water without the use of chemicals to remove litter and dust. Distribute evenly over the bottom of the container and fill with water so that it covers the grain for a centimeter or two. Measure the water, its amount is included in the total amount of water for the recipe!
Put in cool and dark place covering with a lid. Do not miss the moment when the grains will sprout (in 1-2 days). Add 0.5 kg of sugar, stir by hand. If the mass is thick, add more water. At this stage, the container must be placed in a warm place and tied with gauze (cloth). The sourdough will be ready in 10 days.
You will need:
Put the grain in the bottle in an even layer and fill it with water so that it is exactly flush with the upper grains. Close nylon cover... We leave in this form for 3 - 4 days, daily "turning" the bottle so that all the grains are moistened and germinate evenly.
You can also germinate on a baking sheet by covering the wet grain after washing with a well-moistened cloth. Spray the cloth twice a day from a spray bottle, shake the baking sheet. Germination takes 3 - 4 days.
Fill the hops with boiling water (1.5 - 2 liters) in a saucepan or other heat-resistant container, cover, leave for 15-20 minutes. We filter, we squeeze out hops. Gradually adding, knead the flour so that there are no lumps. It is not forbidden to use a mixer and loosen up all the steam at once. Let it stand for an hour.
Typically, fermentation lasts 10-12 days. Then the wort is clarified, the sediment falls out. Braga is removed from the sediment and distilled twice. The first time - directly, without division into factions. Secondly - spreading up to 20 °, taking the heads and tails into a separate dish.
The moonshine obtained from this mash has a thick aroma and a rich, harsh taste. Not everyone likes it, and it is difficult to achieve a high yield of alcohol.
They make such mash on unfiltered unpasteurized "live" beer... The taste is reminiscent of traditional rice vodka, but with a peculiar flavor.
You will need:
Advice. Try adding a handful of dried fruits to the mash, they will improve fermentation, add flavor to the final product.
All ingredients are mixed in a suitable container and left warm (best temperature 24-28 ° C) under a water seal. Braga matures in 10-12 days.
Otherwise, we can say that this is braga on wild yeast, which in nature live on the skins of fruits and on the surface of berries. It ferments longer than on purchased yeast, but the moonshine is natural, with the taste of the product from which the mash is made.
During a long fermentation, fruits and berries manage to transfer their aroma to the future distillate and the one who tastes it will feel a fruity smell, not yeast. Here are some berry and fruit mash recipes without yeast added.
Very popular in the Balkan countries plum brandy- moonshine cooked on plums. The main reason is the ease of preparation. But we will not discount the pleasant taste either. For mash, you need 12 kg of plums and 2 kg of sugar. Ripe fruits are not washed, kneaded with sugar, left to ferment in a warm place for 15 - 20 days.
Plum braga is prepared without sugar. 3 buckets of ripe plums are mashed and left to ferment in the heat for 3 weeks. Then distilled.
Note. The difference in ingredients does not affect the taste of the distillate, but with sugar it turns out more.
Rowan is harvested after the first frost, since the frozen berry is juicier. Knead each berry (today you can puree in a blender) and leave it warm for fermentation.
No water or sugar is added. Rowan wort ripens for 7-10 days. It is worth distilling twice to remove the astringency and harshness in the moonshine.
Apples are taken only ripe and unwashed. Not necessarily torn off, fallen from a tree will also go, the main thing is not to be rotten. Cut out the cores, if any - spoiled places and pass the apples through a juicer.
The cake is by no means thrown away, but poured with water so that it only covers and is allowed to brew. Juice is added at the rate of: 1 liter of cake with water - 5 liters of juice. Allow to ferment and distill.
Peculiarities. Apple mash is not only moonshine, but also a cup of which it is pleasant to drink with a friend.
Any unwashed berries, both individually and assorted, are pounded and fermented, then distilled. If you add sugar, then a little: for 10 liters of liquid - 2 kg, no more.
Properly prepared fruit and berry mash gives a soft aromatic moonshine, which is pleasant to drink yourself, and it is not a shame to put it in front of the guests.
Here are some recipes for mash, not very popular among distillers who want to be 100% convinced that they can easily get mash and a good yield of moonshine.
For modern young moonshiners, caramel mash with a filling may seem experimental. But for those who remember the 80s - 90s, this is classic... In those days of sugar shortages and the ban on self-production alcohol, it was candy with jam inside that became a godsend.
Candy moonshine was distinguished not only by the availability of "material", for it it was not yet necessary to "get" the yeast.
Historical fact. At the time of Gorbachev's "dry law", producers forcibly added substances to baker's pressed yeast that did not allow making normal mash on this yeast. The bread turned out, the mash - no.
The caramels also gave a pleasant candy flavor to the homemade distillate, which depended on the type of sweets purchased. Try it too, especially since the output: from 5 kg of caramel - 5 liters of moonshine.
Necessary:
The candies are dissolved in water, stirring and checking how the process is going. Cover with a lid, put in a warm place. After 4-5 days, it can be distilled.
You need to take 3 liters unfiltered beer and any fruit juice... Add 1 kg of sugar, 2 chocolate bars and 10 liters of water.
First, beer and juice are mixed, sugar is diluted in liquid, grated chocolate is added. Stir, cover and heat. Water is added when fermentation becomes noticeable. Braga matures for 3 weeks. Moonshine is soft, without the smell of booze.
Carefully... When setting yeast-free mash, the risk of souring is higher than when using yeast.
Therefore, keep an eye on the room temperature. Use a water seal (glove) and start distilling when air bubbles stop coming out or the glove is deflated.
