Hot, humid days and bruised peaches are not a good combination. Many of these peaches were rotting fast even though they were sitting in the coolest (by temperature) room in the house and they weren't touching each other. But it seems that proximity was enough to hasten spoilage.
This recipe process comes from the Delishably food blog. The best part about it is that you can leave the skins on. Just wash the peaches and make sure that there aren't any bugs or rot. I also left out the peach pits because I needed space in the jar for more peaches.
 |
| TheFoodening Blog - Peach Wine, Peach Brandy |
Ferment stop: 8/28/2016
Ingredients
1 qt peaches, washed and diced
1 lb organic granulated sugar
2 tsp dry yeast
2 c cold, filtered water
Directions
In a 1.5 qt or 2 qt jar, layer peaches and sugar until the jar is full. You can squish it all down with a wooden spoon, if you want. Add yeast and fill jar with water.
Place a dish below the jar, in case the peaches try to escape.
If you have cheesecloth, use that. Otherwise, you can use clean paper towels to cover the top of the jar. Secure the towel or cloth in place with rubber bands.
You'll want to give this a stir every day until the yeast is done eating. This summer it's been between 80-90 degrees F indoors. My batch stopped bubbling at around 1.5 weeks. And, if you let the mixture sit undisturbed, a clear, dark peach-colored layer of alcohol will separate from the rest of the pulp pixture.
To decant:
Place a mesh strainer (one that has a handle, so it can balance on top of a much larger bowl) on top of a bowl large enough to accommodate one quart of liquid. Let the fermented peaches strain using gravity (e.g., don't try to hurry the peaches along by using a spoon to push the peaches through; you don't want any of the pulp in your alcohol).
What I made:
1 pint + 2 oz in glass jars in the refrigerator
3 cups in a quart container in the freezer (to separate the solids from the liquid)
