Oranges?

[captaincrash3424]

I'm thinking this might be a dumb question but I'm drunk so here it goes.

We have alcohol fermented with honey, with apples, with pears. We have half a dozen types of sour beer with different fruit additions. Soo. Why am I only finding orange juice as an adjunct to beer, or as a bottle conditioning aid? Could I not just ferment a whole butt-ton of OJ? The only reason I could think of is that maybe with the acid content it could come out as orange tasting vinegar...

Any thoughts?

[spiderwrangler]

A friend once said they fermented orange juice with bread yeast when he was in highschool... said it tasted like bananas. Try it and report back to us.

[captaincrash3424]

We do have an empty bucket right now..oh man. Just gotta convince the husband & I'm on it.

[BDawg]

The low pH from the citric acid may affect the yeast. However, it's worth a shot.
Rather than do a whole 5 gallons though, start off with a small batch and see if it works.
Remember to NOT use any OJ with preservatives or they'll kill the yeast.

Good Luck and let us know if it works

[captaincrash3424]

My grandparents are coming back from Florida next week, I'm going to have them bring back as many oranges as they can fit in the car & juice them myself. I'm going to shoot for a 2.5 gallon batch. Can I boil that juice, or at least get it hot enough to kill off any bugs that might be a contamination issue? I'm also thinking I want to use a wine yeast, something that can handle the PH. Any recommendations there?

[dmtaylor]

Yeah, use a wine yeast. I like Cote des Blancs although I have never used it on OJ before, so YMMV.

Be sure to add some of the zest from the outer peels as well. 90% of the good flavor of oranges comes from the peel/zest, not the juice itself. But avoid the white pith which is very bitter -- just get the outer orange part. A quarter cup in 3-5 gallons should give you a really wonderful character, if this is going to turn out tasty at all, which I'm not sure of.

[siwelwerd]

Can I boil that juice, or at least get it hot enough to kill off any bugs that might be a contamination issue?

If you do, you'll want to add some pectic enzyme to reduce the pectin haze that sets in (this goes for pretty much any fruit juice).

[spiderwrangler]

If it were me, I'd do a trial run with store bought before potentially wasting the oranges you're asking your family to mule across state lines for you...