Saturday, September 3, 2016

Get A Moonshine Recipe And Know What Is In Your Drink

By Betty Perry


Those in the know have discovered that famous brand names do not always mean that the product is better. In fact, something that you made yourself, in the comfort of your own kitchen, is often far superior to what you can get in the stores. It also allows you to know exactly what the product contains. Furthermore, you can make almost everything yourself, including strong liquor. For a great homemade tipple, you only need a moonshine recipe and some basic equipment.

Moonshine is normally associated with Appalachian farmers who would clandestinely turn at least part of their harvest into a much more valuable product. The liquor that they distilled could fetch a higher price than the produce from the land and they could also transport much more of it at a time, earning them a handsome bit of extra income. You will find different versions of strong, home-distilled liquors all over the world.

The first step in the production process is to create a mash. This is often a mixture of corn, water, sugar and yeast. The mash has to ferment, with the corn mainly included for flavor while the sugar creates the alcohol.

The mash has to ferment for a few days. When it is ready, you can strain the liquid, which by this time is similar to beer, and drink it. However, to create something much more fiery, the mash has to be distilled first, by heating it in a special distilling pot. The pot has a condenser at the top and as the vapors from the fermented mash rise to the top, they enter this condenser. Here they cool and condense into the clear liquid known as moonshine.

While the moonshine made in the Appalachian region normally has a base of corn, you can also try other starches instead, including wheat, barley or rice. Potatoes are commonly used in countries such as Finland, Iceland and Ireland. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, people sometimes use cassava or plantains to make what they call lotoko.

Using fruit as your main ingredient can give a special flavor to your liquor. In much of Europe, you will find versions made from cherries, peaches, apricots or even nuts. Eastern Europeans often choose to use plums and in the countries of the Caribbean, homemade liquors distilled from sugar cane are very common.

Where wine is made, grapes are abundant. For this reason, wine-producing regions are often home to home-distilled liquors with a grape base. These can be of very high quality, such as the 'witblits', which means 'white lightning', made in South Africa and sometimes sold in liquor stores in that country.

Before you rush out and buy a distilling pot, you first need to check the legality of producing alcoholic drinks in your area. In most countries it is highly illegal to make your own liquor and you can face hefty fines or even a prison sentence. However, it may be possible to get a distilling license in your country and make a drink that you can use for home consumption or for earning an extra income.




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