The taste of banana wine is the taste of the sweet life. And also a taste of health and impressive benefits for your body. That's because banana wine is loaded with potassium and manganese, vitamins C and B6, and dietary fiber. This makes this intoxicating drink beneficial for the heart and blood vessels, stomach and intestines, and organs of vision.

The tradition of making such wine originated in East Africa, where the drink was produced by mixing fermentation products of banana pulp, raisins and white wine.

Today, banana wine is popular in many countries around the world due to its vibrant exotic essence and low alcohol content (approximately 8%).

Focus on blood pressure

Banana wine contains a huge amount of potassium, which doctors associate with lowering blood pressure among patients and preventing hypertension among healthy people.

The extra supply of potassium, which acts as an electrolyte, into your body establishes a balance between the two substances that may be responsible for spikes in blood pressure. We are, of course, talking about sodium and potassium.

As is known, high sodium concentration is the main cause of pressure surges and hypertensive crises. And potassium is designed to neutralize this negative impact.

Potassium is also useful for improving brain function. It prevents hemorrhages in the brain and protects nerve cells from overstrain.

A wonderful source of vitamins

Vitamins C and A, as well as B vitamins (mainly B5 and B6) are present in banana wine and make it one of the most nutritious alcoholic drinks.

Vitamin A is needed to nourish the optic nerve and restore vision.

Vitamin B5 prevents wear and tear of the intestinal walls, as it participates in the synthesis of specific fatty acids that coat the inner walls of the small intestine.

Other vitamins from banana wine help the body absorb calcium for healthy bone and muscle tissue.

Medicine for the intestines

The amazing concentration of fiber and some other unique compounds found in banana wine make the drink healthy for your gut.

First of all, these are fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which saturate the intestines with friendly bacteria and eliminate harmful organisms. These substances include a protective mechanism directed against the destructive effects of digestive acids, and therefore prevent the appearance of stomach ulcers.

Banana wine can prevent bouts of diarrhea or constipation. It contains protease inhibitors (a protein-degrading enzyme) that kill bacteria and eliminate the development of infection in the human body.

Do not forget that any alcoholic drink, especially if consumed regularly, does much more harm than good.

Home distillers never cease to delight with new ideas, such as mash and distillation methods. There is also such an original idea: distill moonshine in a slow cooker. The manufacturer can hardly be distracted by the process; the temperature regime will be monitored by a vigilant electronic eye, so the quality of the product will certainly be at its best, and at its maximum.

Multicookers have been a common appliance in our homes for ten years now. This is a hybrid of an electric steamer with a software module that frees us from kitchen slavery and seriously saves time on preparing stews, pies, porridges and soups. Why not assemble a distillation cube from a multicooker with your own hands? Home-grown Kulibins are ready to throw in a couple of interesting ideas.

Assembling a distillation cube based on a multicooker

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To start a career as a home brewer, it is not at all necessary to purchase equipment that is not too expensive, but still affordable. You can do it from a slow cooker, and you don’t even need any technical skills to do it. On your own and at minimal cost, you can equip a kitchen distillery in one day.

You will need:

• multicooker with a bowl volume of at least 5 liters;
• a distiller, possibly made of tempered glass or metal (cheap options cost less than a thousand in the store);
• a rubber tube 3 meters long (you need to make 3 pieces of 1 meter each) from food-grade (medical) rubber;
• contact thermometer for measuring the temperature of the mash;
• alcoholometer;
• access to electricity and water supply.

If you don’t have a multicooker yet and are planning to purchase one for home brewing purposes, choose models with a removable valve in the top lid. If you have equipment but don’t have a valve, you can make a hole that will be closed with a homemade stopper during the cooking of regular dishes.

Read also: Characteristics and application of alambik

The first rubber tube is inserted and secured into the hole in the lid, its second end will be connected to the inlet of the distiller. This is a low pressure system, so no special mounting methods are required, simply not leaking steam will be enough. Now let’s connect the cooling system to the refrigerator - inlet (second tube) and outlet (third tube) of cold water, and we can assume that our moonshine still from a regular multicooker is completely ready for work.

Preparing mash for the multicooker

Since we only have a five-liter bowl, we need to take a small amount of mash. You can make it using the following recipes:

1. Proportions sugar:water: like 2000:2000:250. Fermentation time is about 7 days in a warm place.
2. The proportions are sugar:water:yeast as 1000:3000:100. Fermentation will take a little longer - about 8–10 days.

After the mash has completely fermented - it has stopped producing foam and has lost its sweet taste, you can start distilling the moonshine in a slow cooker. This is a simple procedure.

Distillation process

Each distiller chooses his own modes for preparing high-quality moonshine, but you can start using the following program:

1. We turn on the device to the “multi-cook” or “porridge-soup” mode at a temperature of +120°C. As soon as foam begins to form, immediately set the mode to +100°C.
2. We control the temperature of the mash with a contact thermometer. We try to maintain it within +65°С–+68°С. This is an ideal mode for removing harmful impurities, that is,. Since we took 2 kg of sugar, the volume of the “head” will be about 100–150 ml. It can be poured out as it is too harmful for internal use.
3. We change the temperature setting of the multicooker so that the mash warms up to +80°C. Now the distillation of the useful fraction - the “body” - will begin. Gradually raise the temperature. We drive until the moonshine from the multicooker drops in strength below 40°. By this time, the mash should warm up to a temperature of +85°C - the “tails” fraction begins.
4. Separate the “body” fraction. In a separate container

Each of us is accustomed to the fact that wine is a purely grape product. Few have tried any other unusual types of drink that use different raw materials. However, you shouldn’t limit your horizons and tastes so much, but you should take a risk and try to make an equally tasty and healthy drink - wine from bananas. Exotic? Without a doubt! But the taste of such a product is unforgettable.

Components

It is not difficult to prepare such a drink at home, especially if you have a dozen or two kilograms of bananas in stock. As you know, bananas are an excellent source of vitamins, pectins, and healthy fiber. Such a wine, in addition to excellent taste, will contain a whole range of useful elements and components. It goes amazingly well with cream desserts, chocolates and various exotic fruits.

The wine recipe includes the following components:

1. Bananas - 10 kg;
2. Granulated sugar - 10 kg;
3. Water - 15-20 liters;
4. Raisins - 2 kg;
5. Citric acid - 5-6 tsp;
6. Nutritional yeast - 1g. for 1 liter of wine material;
7. Tannin - 1.5 tsp;
8. Enzymes to activate fermentation: glucamyl - 25 ml., amyl - 15 ml.

Recipe

On the day of preparation, it is necessary to make the must, which will be the basis for our further wine. The wort is prepared according to the following recipe:

• Cut the entire volume of bananas together with the peel into 1-2 cm slices;
• Place them in a 30-40 liter pan;
• Pour water in there;
• Add granulated sugar and mix;
• Place the container on the fire and, stirring, bring to a temperature of 60-65⁰ for 40 minutes to an hour. At this temperature, the inulin contained in the fruits is broken down into monosaccharides. We turn the mass into a puree state as much as possible;
• Remove the hot wort from the heat, add citric acid, tannin, enzymes, mix thoroughly and leave for several hours;
• Pour unwashed raisins into another prepared container, which we sort through to separate twigs and rotten berries;
• Pour the strained wort on top, then add 1/3 of the pulp from the digested wort to a new pan;
• Add the remaining 7-10 liters of warm water;
• Close with a water seal (instead, you can use a rubber glove with a pierced finger or with a tube placed in another container);
• Leave it for a day.

The second stage of making wine from bananas includes preparation for the fermentation process. The next day after aging, you still need to work on the wine material:

• Drain the liquid from the container with the wort;
• Squeeze the remaining cake into the drained wine mixture;
• Remove all fruit pulp and sediment;
• Add yeast to the prepared wine material;
• Close with a water seal and place for 7 days to ferment at room temperature;
• Stir for a week;
• After a week, strain off the sediment and close it again with a water seal;
• Place the vessel with the wine material in a dark, cool (not cold!) place for 30 days. We make sure that the fermentation process is completed - bubbles should not escape into the gas outlet tube, and the glove should deflate. If this does not happen, then let the wine sit for a while longer, having first separated it from the sediment into a disinfected container with a water seal. For some, the process takes 2-3 months. During this period, you can add sugar to make the wine sweeter;
• After a certain time, we again separate the liquid from the sediment and pour it into clean, sterilized bottles for long-term fermentation and storage. Some winemakers stop the fermentation process with potassium sorbate, but this should be done no earlier than 2-3 days before bottling;
• Seal with cork stoppers.

Maturation in bottles

Banana wine, according to the recipe, ripens from four months to 2-3 years. The wine acquires more noble shades after a year, while after several months its taste becomes sharper.

Wine bottles should be stored following the rules for storing grape wine. Keeping the temperature within 11-12⁰ will ensure its proper ripening. Wine should not be stored in direct sunlight or in damp basements, then it will be able to please the winemaker and guests with its bright exotic taste.

Many winemakers find banana wine difficult to make, despite the detailed recipe. It all depends on the quality of the material and the fact that banana is considered a “capricious” product. It is necessary to start production with small volumes in order to take into account all the emerging issues and shortcomings, eliminate gaps in knowledge during the preparation process, without spoiling a large volume of products. And if the process is a success, then you can safely proceed to large-scale batches. And banana wine, after ripening, will certainly delight the eye and taste of the most notorious gourmet.

Homemade banana wine is an aromatic honey-colored drink with light notes of the raw material, the taste is difficult to compare with anything. The preparation technology is somewhat different from traditional winemaking, since the fruits do not release juice and other substances well, but even beginners can do the recipe.

Wine requires any ripe bananas. They will be suitable even with blackened skin, as long as the flesh is not rotten or moldy. To avoid contaminating the wort with pathogenic microorganisms, all containers and instruments used should be sterilized with boiling water, then wiped dry with a clean cloth.

Ingredients:

• bananas – 5 kg;
• water – 10 liters;
• sugar – 2 kg;
• citric acid – 7 teaspoons (35 grams);
• unwashed raisins (any fresh berries) - 100 grams or wine yeast per 15 liters of wort.

Citric acid is needed to increase acidity and break down sugar into fructose and glucose, which promotes fermentation, improves taste, increases shelf life and prevents the occurrence of some wine diseases. To activate fermentation, wine yeast is required (other types are not suitable) or raisin starter (you can use fresh berries).

Banana wine recipe

1. If there is no wine yeast, 3-5 days before processing the bananas, make a starter from unwashed raisins (raspberries, currants, cherries, etc.): pour the raisins or berries into a jar, add 25 grams of sugar and 250 ml of unboiled water , mix, cover with gauze, place in a dark place at room temperature.

After 2-3 days, the starter will be ready - foam will appear, a slight sour smell will appear and a hiss will be heard.

2. Peel bananas. Grind the pulp with your hands, a wooden rolling pin or a meat grinder until pureed.

It is not advisable to make wine with banana peels because the peels are treated with toxic chemicals to increase shelf life.

3. Mix 5 liters of water (half), 1 kg of sugar (half), banana puree and citric acid in an enamel saucepan. Bring the mixture to a homogeneous consistency.

4. Heat the wort to 55-58°C, maintain the specified temperature range for 60 minutes, warming the pan over low heat. Stir occasionally so that the mixture remains homogeneous and there are no lumps at the bottom.

It is very important not to let the temperature rise above 60°C, otherwise the enzymes will be destroyed and the release of fructose from bananas and sugar will stop. As a result, some of the raw materials will be wasted.

5. Cool the wort to 25-27°C. Add the remaining water and sourdough (along with raisins) or wine yeast. Mix. Cover with gauze and leave for 4 days in a dark place at room temperature. Stir once every 12 hours with a clean hand or a wooden stick. After 3-8 hours, foam and the smell of fermentation should appear on the surface.

6. After 4 days, strain the wort through 4-5 layers of gauze, squeeze the cake well, removing all the liquid. No more squeezes needed. Add 500 grams of sugar to the liquid part and mix.

7. Pour the resulting banana juice into a fermentation container. Fill to a maximum of 60-65% of the volume. Install a water seal of any design on the neck (you can pull on and secure a medical glove with a small hole in one of the fingers).

Attention! When fermenting banana wine, a lot of foam appears during the first 6-10 days, so I advise you to fill the container halfway or even less.

8. Transfer the container to a dark place (or cover) with a stable temperature of 18-27°C and leave until the end of fermentation.

9. After 5 days from the moment of installing the water seal, add the remaining sugar (500 grams). To do this, pour 250 ml of wort through a tube into a separate container, dilute sugar in it, pour the resulting syrup back into the fermentation container and close it with a water seal.

10. Depending on the activity of yeast and temperature, homemade banana wine ferments for 30-60 days. The end of fermentation is indicated by the absence of gas from the water seal (the glove is deflated) and a layer of sediment. You need to drain the young wine through a straw, without touching the sediment at the bottom, into another container.

If fermentation does not stop after 50 days from the start of preparation, drain the wine from the sediment and leave to ferment at the same temperature, otherwise bitterness may appear.

11. Taste the drink. If desired, sweeten with sugar (to taste) or fix with vodka (alcohol) in an amount of 2-15% of the volume of drained wine. Hardening promotes storage but makes the taste somewhat harsh.

12. Pour the wine into storage containers. To minimize contact with oxygen, it is advisable to fill to the top. Close tightly. If sugar was added at the previous stage, I recommend keeping it under a water seal for the first 7-10 days in case of repeated fermentation.

13. Transfer banana wine to a refrigerator or basement at a temperature of 5-16°C. Leave for at least 4 months (preferably 7-8). Aging significantly improves the taste.

14. Every 15-20 days (then less often), as sediment appears in a layer of 3-5 cm, filter the wine by pouring through a straw into another container.

15. When no sediment appears, homemade banana wine is ready. The drink can be poured into bottles and capped. Shelf life – up to 3 years. Strength – 9-12%.

The simplest and at the same time original way to pleasantly surprise your loved ones and friends is to invite them to taste banana wine. Exotic light alcohol has an unforgettable and unique taste, as well as a special tropical aroma.

The original recipe for banana wine came to us from distant Latin America, where abundant harvests of delicious and aromatic tropical fruits are harvested. So, let's find out how to make exotic wine from bananas using a simple, time-tested recipe that can be easily implemented at home.

Step-by-step preparation

Preparation

Fermentation stage

1. Stir everything thoroughly, cover the pan with gauze and send it to the same dark place for about 4-5 days. Approximately 6-8 hours after the start of fermentation, foam and a noticeable smell of fermentation should appear on the surface of the wort. Do not forget to thoroughly stir the mass every day with a clean hand or using a wooden spatula.
2. We strain the fermented wort through multi-layer cheesecloth, while squeezing the resulting cake well, trying to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. If necessary, repeat the procedure twice.
3. Add half a kilogram of sugar to the purified liquid and stir everything thoroughly.
4. Pour the resulting mixture into the fermentation container, filling it to a maximum of 60 percent of its volume.
5. We install the water seal - you can use a medical glove, after making a small hole in one of the fingers.
6. We place the container in a dark place where the temperature does not drop below 18-20 degrees, and leave the mass there until the end of the fermentation process.
7. After five days after installing the water seal, add the remaining granulated sugar. To do this, you need to pour about 200-240 ml of wort from the container using a straw and dilute sugar in it, after which the resulting syrup is returned back to the fermentation container and the water seal is installed again.
8. We are waiting for the end of fermentation. On average, banana wine ferments anywhere from 40 to 50 days. Fermentation is complete when carbon dioxide ceases to be released and a layer of sediment has formed.

The final stage

1. Carefully drain the new wine using a straw, trying not to touch the sediment at the bottom of the container.
2. Let's taste the drink. If necessary, sweeten with sugar or fix with vodka or alcohol. Fixing with alcohol promotes longer storage, but at the same time makes the taste slightly harsh and increases the strength of homemade alcohol. If sugar is added again, we strengthen the water seal again and return the vessel to its original place for about a week.
3. Pour the finished wine into three-liter glass jars, filling them to the very neck to minimize contact with oxygen.
4. We seal the jars hermetically and put them in the refrigerator or any other cool place.
5. We allow the alcohol to mature for at least 4 months, and preferably 7-8. Long aging will definitely improve the taste of the drink.
6. Every 17-21 days, as a sediment 4-5 cm thick appears, filter the liquid, draining it from the sediment through a tube into another container.
7. When sediment stops forming, pour the alcohol into bottles.

Did you know? The strength of banana wine prepared according to this recipe ranges from 9 to 13 revolutions. The shelf life of the finished product reaches three years.

Subtleties of cooking

• Do not wash raisins under any circumstances, as there is “wild yeast” on their surface that will help activate the fermentation process. You just need to carefully sort it out, removing rotten or moldy berries, which can significantly spoil the taste of the alcohol, giving it too tart notes.
• Instead of raisins, you can use wine yeast or a starter made from any fresh berries, such as cherries, raspberries, red or black currants, and so on.
• During fermentation, a lot of foam will appear during the first 6-9 days, so I recommend filling the container halfway or less with wort.
• If the fermentation process does not stop after 50 days, it is necessary to drain the liquid from the formed sediment and set the wine to ferment again. Otherwise, the finished product may be too bitter.

Banana Wine Recipe with Orange and Lemon

List of required components

Step-by-step preparation

1. We peel ripe bananas, then cut the fruit pulp into pieces of arbitrary shape and put them in an enamel container.
2. Fill the sliced ​​bananas with 2-2.2 liters of cold water.
3. Place the pan over medium heat, and after the liquid boils, boil the mixture for half an hour.
4. Cool the prepared compote to room temperature, and then pour the remaining amount of water into it.
5. Squeeze the juice from one lemon and one orange into a separate bowl using a method convenient for you.
6. Add the resulting citrus juice to the banana mixture, and add granulated sugar.
7. Stir the liquid until the sugar grains are completely dissolved. Then we taste the prepared liquid and, if necessary, add sugar or citric acid if there is not enough sourness.
8. Add wine yeast there and stir everything thoroughly, then pour the prepared mixture into a fermentation container.
9. Cover the vessel with a lid and place it in a warm, dark place for about a week. During this time, stir the contents of the vessel daily.
10. We leave the wort to ferment for about 2 more months, without shaking the mass.
11. After the specified period, add unwashed raisins to the fermented liquid and allow the wine to infuse for another six months.
12. We filter the alcohol through multi-layer gauze and bottle it.
13. We place the bottles in the refrigerator or any other cool place for another six months.

As you can see for yourself, there is nothing difficult or unattainable in making banana wine at home. If you have developed your own variations of this delicious light alcohol, then share your experience in the comments and describe in detail your original recipe. Banana wine is perfect before meals and will significantly improve your appetite. I thank everyone for their time and wish you a successful tasting!