Now that the new crop of apples is in, I want to make the apple wine from the recipe posted in January 2011. Do the apples need to soak in a glass container? Would a plastic bucket work? A 1 gallon jug is my largest size and after adding the gallon and one half water to the 3 and one half lbs. of minced apples, my gallon jar will not work. I do not believe a large stainless steel pot would work due to the acidity. Any suggestion for a container to soak apples and water in would be appreciated.
By Frances Godwin from Rockingham, NC
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My husband makes home made wine, usually 5 gallons at a time. He uses both glass and plastic containers. A new plastic pail or small trash can would work well. Just make sure you sterilize it before filling.
It would be safe to soak the apples and water in plastic but make sure it's food grade recycle #2, 4 or 5. All the other food grade #'s leach harmful chemicals after the one time (what was originally held in them) use.
Do NOT use-non food grade containers at all! All containers such as waste baskets, kitty litter containers, buckets or tubs you might purchase for storage or cleaning, etc. are made with different chemicals and they all leach harmful chemicals into food and beverages.
You could ask a local bakery, deli or restuarant if they would give you one or more of their empty buckets. I am sure they would be happy to see them recycled rather than having to dispose of them. Make sure they actually held food and not non-food items.
Stainless steel is non-reactive so you don't need to worry about the acidity. Don't use plastic pails or garbage cans because the plastic in them is not food grade.
I made apple wine one year and used a plastic ice chest and it worked fine.It held a double batch perfectly and even had a cover that fit. The wine tasted great and now has a lot of kick to it.
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