Cooking chacha from grapes at home

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-15 15:29

Chacha made of grapes is a primordially Georgian drink, a welcome guest of any feast and an excellent addition to almost any dish. At home, they use a simple step-by-step recipe for such a drink - even a beginner can handle it!

There are several options for creating chacha: with yeast, without yeast, with and without sugar, as well as with the addition of fruits, wood chips, etc.

Chacha from grapes without yeast

The most traditional recipe for chacha is yeast-free. The drink turns out to be tastier and more aromatic, and the characteristic flavor of yeast is absent. However, there are also disadvantages - the amount of time spent on fermentation increases several times.

Ingredients:

• grapes (cake) 10 l;
• sugar 7 kg;
• water 30 l.

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Preparation:

• In order not to ruin a simple recipe for chacha at home, it is important to determine the proportions of grapes with water. The proportions of water depend on the quality of the cake and pulp: the ratio of cake and water is 1/3, and if you want to use fermented pulp, then 1/2. The amount of granulated sugar is usually from 7 to 10 kg, depending on the variety of berries. In such a recipe, the most important thing is to in no case allow the grapes to be washed, since there are natural wild yeasts on its surface, which catalyze the fermentation of the pulp.
• Primary fermentation. The first step is to prepare the primary fermentation. For this, the grapes are crushed (preferably with hands or feet). After that, they are placed in a container (it is better to immediately into a large bottle, so as not to disturb the drink once again and it is convenient to close it with a glove or a water seal), warm water (30-40 degrees) is poured and sugar is added there. Many traditional grape chacha recipes do not add sugar, but at home, a simple yeast-free recipe requires sugar to speed up the fermentation process - this increases the yield of the finished product. Many moonshiners do just that. After adding sugar, the container is covered with gauze and placed in a dark, warm place to begin the fermentation process.

The important point is that the wort must be stirred 3-4 times a day to prevent mold formation. Chacha made from grapes (also white) contains a lot of acids, which means that it is undesirable to mix the wort at home according to a simple recipe with a metal spoon - the material will oxidize and spoil the taste of chacha. Use plastic or wooden utensils.

• After the start of fermentation, a rubber glove with a puncture is placed on the bottle to release carbon dioxide. The container is placed in a warm room (from 14 to 20 degrees) for 1-2 months. A fallen glove or a quieted water seal will tell you about the end of fermentation - the bubbles will stop emerging. In this case, the cake will sink to the bottom, and the liquid itself will brighten significantly. A special device ariometer will help determine the readiness of the wort by the density of the liquid - it should be at least 1, 002.
• Primary distillation. The course of further actions includes draining the liquid from the sediment, filtering and primary distillation. It is recommended to use a copper moonshine still, as it cleans the mash well from sulfur and reveals the taste of the grapes more fully. Make sure that no seeds and twigs get into the cube - from them the drink will acquire bitterness. After the first distillation of chacha from oil cake at home, according to a simple recipe, it is subjected to a secondary one. At the same time, it is divided into fractions - head, body and tail. This means that the first part (10–12% of the volume) is drained and not used for further processing (only diluted and for domestic needs).

The use of the head fraction as a food agent will cause irreparable harm to health. After draining the head part, the body of the future drink is chased until the strength drops to 40%.

Infusion. The next step in a simple recipe for making chacha from grape pulp at home is infusion. The drink is diluted with water to the required strength and bottled in glass bottles. It can be drunk immediately after distillation, but ripening in a cool dark place (a refrigerator is also suitable) will help stabilize the taste of the drink. When infusing chacha, you can add fruits, cloves, cinnamon, nuts, coffee, wood chips to it - in general, whatever your heart desires! On average, it is recommended to infuse the drink for at least a month.

The process of distilling chacha can be accompanied by the release of fusel oils, which spoil the taste of the drink, make it too strong and with a sharp taste. There are several ways to get rid of such a nuisance:

Potassium permanganate … This classic method of purifying spirits involves diluting chacha to a strength of 45%. Then 3 grams of manganese is added to 3 liters of the drink. The solution is thoroughly mixed and left in a dark place for several days. After the expiration of the period, black flakes appear at the bottom of the container - this is a bound agent of oils and manganese. It remains only to filter the drink from the sediment.

Pine nuts. Within a couple of weeks, the nuts take on unnecessary residues and contribute to the excellent filtration of the drink. Proportions: 1 liter of chacha - 1 handful of nuts. After the procedure, the nuts are thrown away - it is not recommended to eat them.

• Freezing. With this method, low temperatures are used, which exfoliate all fractions unnecessary in the drink. Chacha diluted to 45% is poured into the container and placed in the freezer. Please note that the container must be selected such that it will not crack at low temperature conditions. The water will take away everything harmful, and all that remains is to drain the purified drink.
• Activated carbon. Also used in the distillation phase. We will use a funnel filter for cleaning. Gauze is put in it, and then activated carbon is poured in a layer. Chacha is poured into another container in a thin stream and, accordingly, is filtered from impurities.

Homemade chacha without sugar

When preparing chacha without sugar, it is important to choose the right variety so that the acidity of the grapes does not ultimately ruin the drink. Sugar-free chacha is a truly natural drink, and herbs or wood chips are added for flavor.

Ingredients:

Grape cake 10 kg

Preparation:

Choosing a variety. According to the classical technology, Georgian chacha is made only from the Rkatsiteli grape variety, and in Abkhazia they prefer Akachich - they have sufficient sweetness. In Russia, where the sun is not as much as in these southern countries, the Isabella variety is more often used. It is quite frost-hardy, high-yielding and is one of the most common varieties for a simple recipe for making Isabella chacha at home in our country. However, in the northern regions of Russia, even ripe grapes have a low sugar content, so the yield of moonshine does not justify the effort expended on it.

Salvation in this case is the addition of sugar to the mass of grape cake during the initial preparation of the wort. We will consider making chacha without sugar.

Primary fermentation. Place the crushed berries in a container. After that, the container is covered with gauze and placed in a dark, warm place to begin the fermentation process. The wort also requires stirring. Fermentation of the pulp is active, which means that in order to avoid "escape", a place should be provided for the rising cap of the wort.

Distillation … It is carried out in the same way as according to the above recipe. Do not use a moonshine still with devices that trap essential oils during the initial distillation. If the moonshine still does not have a steam generator, the pomace is collected in a bag and placed inside the cube to create a wide palette of aromas.

White grape chacha without moonshine

In Georgia and Abkhazia, a simple homemade chacha recipe refers to the use of white grapes. From light varieties, a lighter drink with a sourness is obtained compared to the recipe for red grapes. In home production, it is quite common to mix different grape varieties to create a palette of different flavors.

Ingredients:

• pomace of white grapes (cake or pulp) 5 liters;
• sugar 2.5 kg;
• dry wine yeast 15 gr;
• water 15 liters.

Preparation:

1. Place the grape pomace in a fermentation vessel. At the same time, we squeeze out the juice.
2. We warm up the water. The temperature can be between 25 and 30 degrees. The water should be fresh, soft, drinking, but not boiled. In this case, both wild and commercial yeast will receive the necessary oxygen and mineral salts for their effective life. To remove chlorine from tap water, it is defended for a couple of days.
3. Add sugar and yeast.
4. Cover the wash with gauze and insist in a warm room for 10 days.
5. At the end of the period, we filter the liquid from the cake and sediment.
6. Construct a capacitor. To do this, put a pan with a smaller diameter in a container with a wash - it should float on the surface of the liquid. A basin is placed on top of the pan, which will tightly cover the edges of the lower pan.

Braga is heating up. In this case, alcohol vapors will rise to the basin and settle on its surface. This way you will get pure chacha.

Bonus

1. To make chacha at home according to a simple step-by-step recipe, cake from Rkatsiteli, Akachich and Isabella grapes is most often used. Depending on the grape variety, the required amount of sugar is calculated for its volume: more - for sour Russian varieties and smaller - for sweet southern ones.
2. The wort and ready-made chacha are infused in a warm and dark room, since the sun's rays destroy the substances that are extracted and passed into solution. And low temperatures will kill wild yeast as well as high temperatures. 14-20 degrees is optimal.
3. In order to avoid an unpleasant odor, an infused drink is cleared of fusel oils and impurities using: activated carbon, pine nuts, potassium permanganate, freezing, etc.