BANANAS

FullySilenced

Went to the store and bought 120 pounds of bananas a huge store buggy full for 7.37 cents now what do i do with em ... LOL

Brandy? Banana Bread? Smoke the Peels? Gotta work for a bit...maybe you guys and get me lined out while i am away for a couple hours.... :(( don't know a damn thing about banana distillation...

Lloyd

Fully, this is the first thread that I've bookmarked. Going to keep my eye on this one in the hope that you get some good bottles out of this.

MIG35

I have a recipe somewhere for banana brandy, will see if I can find and post it.

SDeurope

Just for reference, 1 kg of (B-quality) Bananas is considered a bargain here at 1.29 EUR ~ 1.76 USD ~ 1.89 AUD ~ 10.96 CNY. :-O

Lloyd

We usually pay about 7 CNY (about $1.13 USD) per 1/2 Kg of B-quality bananas.
Most fruit is expensive here.

SDeurope

I guess that means no Banana brandy for us then...

Although one fellow MoB comrade has tried it and brought his result to one of our tastings, quite nice if done right. With that quantity at hands I'd give it a try, @FullySilenced.

Lloyd

That or buy a monkey.

Chalmer

Hey the monkey idea is cool. You could teach him to bring you a beer or pour you a shot.

Lloyd

No, too many problems with a drunk monkey.

Watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes recently and thinking it might be best to keep them away from the liquor cabinet.

googe

Buy a circus?

DistilliTraK

I have a graphic "overview" of one possible use for banana's, but it belongs in the RA section ;)

Lloyd

Really hoping someone, anyone, adds to @FullySilenced's thread here that has something to do with fermenting and distilling bananas.

Sorry, Fully, for mentioning monkeys. Wish you luck and I am very interested in your success with this.

Love banana flavor.

Smaug

@Mountaineer has done a few banana fermentation's.

grim

Do Bananas need to be cooked to maximize yield? I always thought they were part starch part sugar, which would mean either enzymes or cooking?

I admit, I'm intrigued.

Mickiboi

Bananas, yeast, water, bit of nutrients maybe? Probably make sure they are brown and mushy before you use them. Can't be any harder than that can it?

FullySilenced

I read somewhere to leave some of the peels in the mash as they have an enzyme that converts the starches to sugar... found about 3 basic recipies is all ... but i did start a banana schnapps last night took some light rumka i made from my dirtier bird recipe and 4 bananas mushed in a 1.3 liter container... tastes like bananas already and it supposed to rest for 1 to 2 weeks before you strain it...

DistilliTraK

There is a thread at HD on this - I do not know how valid it is...

And then, there is this man;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MfD9S23rAU

punkin

I think i saw FS packing his car...

FullySilenced

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTTrXAE7OPU

Al Jolson sings "Yes we have no bananas" @ Dailymotion

Sunshine

I would not wait until the bananas are too brown and mushy, the fruit esters are not very pleasing then and the chance that the mash goes to seed is too high. I would stick to ripe fruits and pure cultured yeast, enzymes, phosphor acid and a blender to start fermenting as soon as possible.

DistilliTraK

And that dude's (in the video) had a failed run for that very reason. His first video was that failed run. The one I linked was when he used "ripe" ones and said he got it "right" but.. that guy uses gave no SG or FG values so I who knows how it really turned out.

The thread I saw at AD mentioned freezing them after they turn brown, that was prolly what kept it changing boilogically..

Moonshine

And you know it's getting out of hand when ..... you click refresh every 10 seconds waiting for MORE bananas ..... :(|)

grim

I suspect you can mash banana at approximately 160'F, adjust pH, and add glucoamylase.

This should help convert the residual starches and dextrins. Just reading through some literature it appears that dextrins are quite high.

Changes in Amylase Activity, Soluble Sugars and Proteins of Unripe Banana and Plantain during Ripening (PDF)

Banana pulp free from starch

Physical Properties of Starch from Cavendish Banana Fruit

Suspect if you did this, you could eliminate the need to add sugar, which would likely result in a smoother product (I really find anything that uses processed sugar to be much too rough).

You could really push the limits and use a yeast that is known for banana-flavor esters.

Damn you guys, now I've got to look for where I can pick up a few hundred pounds of banana.

I'm going to attempt the approach above (cook mash, adjust, use glucoamylase) and let you know what my OG looks like, and how the ferment goes. I'll shoot for a reasonable sg of 1.06-1.07.

Sunshine

Who adds sugar to the mash? (this is a serious question!)

Smaug

Pretty sure banana has the highest sugar content of all the fruits with dates coming in second,,,,,

Sunshine

so why add sugar then?

grim

Looks like about 25% potential carbohydrate by weight - I suspect you may need to break down the dextrins in ripe fruit to hit this number from a yield perspective.

Cooking the mash and using enzymes will help efficiency if not all fruit is at the same stages of ripeness.

I'm excited to try this one - going to age it on oak too.

grim

Maybe even use a weizen yeast and and push towards the higher end of pitching and fermentation temps- bananabomb

Smaug

@Sunshine said: so why add sugar then?

More yeild only.

Sunshine

Adding sugar weakens the flavor. If not "a lot" but a lot of flavor is the goal, I would refrain from sugaring the wash. (I am sipping a "Korn" spirit made of rye right now, it's the basic product for our local whisky here. It smells like fruity perfume and leaves a chocolaty taste in the mouth. Amazing. B-) )

bentstick

@punkin said: I think i saw FS packing his car...

I would of enjoyed being there when He pushed the cart full of bananas thru the store and at the cash register Taking pics of peoples faces! =))