Try this Italian Fruit Syrups, Part I recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 5.348 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.644 g
- Fiber 2.94 g
- Protein 5.362 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0833 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (921g)
- Sodium 7 mg
- Sugar 2.408 g
- Trans Fat 0.20062 g
- Calories 41 calories
Step-by-step
- Choose fruit or juice from the list above.
- Hull strawberries; pit (but do not peel) and slice peaches or plums.
- Then puree fruit in a food processor or blender.
- Press raspberry puree through a fine strainer to remove seeds.
- Measure puree; you need the amounts listed in Part II for each fruit.
- Pour puree or juice into a 3 quart or larger glass, ceramic, or stainless steel bowl.
- Sprinkle with yeast; if using lemon or lime juice, add 1 T sugar.
- Stir to moisten yeast.
- Cover bowl with a cloth or paper towel and set aside at room temperature to ferment, stirring occasionally.
- Mixture will bubble and rise in bowl.
- When bubbles no longer appear when mixture is stirred, fermentation is complete (allow about 2 days for juices, 3 to 4 days for purees).
- Line a colander with 3 or 4 thicknesses of moistened cheesecloth, making sure cloths are large enough to hang over sides of colander.
- Set colander over a 6 to 8 quart stainless steel, porcelain, or enamel-coated metal pan.
- Pour puree or juice through cheesecloth; draw together corners of cheesecloth and twist cloth to extract juice.
- (You may have to scrape puree from cloth in order to force out as much juice as possible.)
- Discard pulp and any seeds; remove colander from pan.
- To complete, see Part II.
Using a plastic bowl instead of a glass, ceramic, or stainless steel vessel during the initial room-temperature stage introduces micro-scratches that harbor unwanted bacteria, ruining the fermentation process before it begins. Active dry yeast requires precise environmental conditions to convert sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide without spoiling the delicate fruit integrity. Metal reactivity is another hidden trap, meaning any contact with reactive aluminum will impart a metallic taste to the finished syrup. When straining the fermented mash after three to four days, cheesecloth folded into three or four thicknesses is mandatory; substituting a standard kitchen colander alone lets sediment pass straight into the collection pan. Twisting the cheesecloth firmly extracts every drop of liquid, leaving behind a dry pulp packed with spent yeast and fruit solids. Temperature stability matters immensely here, as ambient room conditions staying near 70 degrees Fahrenheit ensure the yeast remains active without overheating the puree.
