Aloha from Maui, Here in upcountry Maui we have the numerous wild
Panini cactus in their annual heavy fruiting. I believe the Panini is
the same plant as the Southwest's Prickly Pear Cactus. Anyways the
fruits are in full growth with the majority falling, and going to waste.
Anty one here ever try making wine with Prickly Pear fruit? They are
very sweet, full of sugar. Will I need to fortify with additional
sugar? Will regular bakers yeast work for starting fermentation? I
recall as a child one of my relatives making wine with pneapple juice
using dry yeast. Thank you for your input, and patience for a newbie.

Spy in Hawaii

Welcome,
Check out Jack's wine site, he's made wine from a lot of different things.
You'll also find a lot of info on making wine.
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp
I would not use bakers yeast, there are very inexpensive wine yeasts out
there. You'll get a better product if you use a wine yeast.
Darlene

"Spyda Man" > wrote in message
...
> Aloha from Maui, Here in upcountry Maui we have the numerous wild
> Panini cactus in their annual heavy fruiting. I believe the Panini is
> the same plant as the Southwest's Prickly Pear Cactus. Anyways the
> fruits are in full growth with the majority falling, and going to waste.
> Anty one here ever try making wine with Prickly Pear fruit? They are
> very sweet, full of sugar. Will I need to fortify with additional
> sugar? Will regular bakers yeast work for starting fermentation? I
> recall as a child one of my relatives making wine with pneapple juice
> using dry yeast. Thank you for your input, and patience for a newbie.
>
> Spy in Hawaii
>

"Spyda Man" > wrote:
> Aloha from Maui, Here in upcountry Maui we have the numerous wild
> Panini cactus in their annual heavy fruiting. I believe the Panini is
> the same plant as the Southwest's Prickly Pear Cactus. Anyways the
> fruits are in full growth with the majority falling, and going to waste.
> Anty one here ever try making wine with Prickly Pear fruit? They are
> very sweet, full of sugar. Will I need to fortify with additional
> sugar? Will regular bakers yeast work for starting fermentation? I
> recall as a child one of my relatives making wine with pneapple juice
> using dry yeast. Thank you for your input, and patience for a newbie.

Aloha. Panini is Mexican prickly pear cactus. It was introduced to Hawaii
~1800 with the best of intentions as a cattle feed. Mexican cattle love it.
Hawaiian cattle got indigestion, and dumb though cows may be, refused to eat
it. So now it's a pest and nobody is quite sure of how to get rid of it. But
you can make great wine from it!

Jack Keller has a recipe somewhere on his website:
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp. Or you can just mash them up,
extract the juice, add sugar to an SG of 1.095, adjust the acid to .60% TA,
add yeast and nutrient, and see what happens.

Despite their sweetness, you will probably have to add sugar. The best thing
is to use a hydrometer to determine the amount. The procedure is described
in the aforementioned website under "winemaking basics".

Bakers yeast _will_ work for starting fermentation. The problem is it won't
ferment to more than 7-9% alcohol, and will leave residual sugar and a
yeasty flavour in your wine. A packet of wine yeast costs $0.25-1.00
depending where you buy it, and is well worth the investment. For cactus
wine, I would suggest Premier Cuvee yeast. Also, please read "winemaking
basics" at the aforementioned site, as there are a number of essentials to
be learned, so that your first batch does not become your last.

Definitely visit Jack's site. He has a recipe for both cactus fruit wine
and cactus flower wine.

Ray

"Spyda Man" > wrote in message
...
> Aloha from Maui, Here in upcountry Maui we have the numerous wild
> Panini cactus in their annual heavy fruiting. I believe the Panini is
> the same plant as the Southwest's Prickly Pear Cactus. Anyways the
> fruits are in full growth with the majority falling, and going to waste.
> Anty one here ever try making wine with Prickly Pear fruit? They are
> very sweet, full of sugar. Will I need to fortify with additional
> sugar? Will regular bakers yeast work for starting fermentation? I
> recall as a child one of my relatives making wine with pneapple juice
> using dry yeast. Thank you for your input, and patience for a newbie.
>
> Spy in Hawaii
>

Aloha Darlene,
Thanks for the link to Jacks website, he had exactly what I was lookig
for, a recipe, and tips on cactus wine.

Spy in Hawaii

(Spyda Man) wrote in message >...
> Aloha from Maui, Here in upcountry Maui we have the numerous wild
> Panini cactus in their annual heavy fruiting. I believe the Panini is
> the same plant as the Southwest's Prickly Pear Cactus. Anyways the
> fruits are in full growth with the majority falling, and going to waste.
> Anty one here ever try making wine with Prickly Pear fruit? They are
> very sweet, full of sugar. Will I need to fortify with additional
> sugar? Will regular bakers yeast work for starting fermentation? I
> recall as a child one of my relatives making wine with pneapple juice
> using dry yeast. Thank you for your input, and patience for a newbie.
>
> Spy in Hawaii

I've got a prickly pear melomel (mead) going in the secondary right
now. At racking the flavor was nice, it's a little sweet, just enough
to preserve a little of the pear's original flavor. I juiced the
fruit because I was doing a 1-gallon batch, and still had plenty of
lees. You can see the steps at
http://www.geocities.com/ulery/brewi...d/pricklypear/ Maybe that
will help.

Thank you for the link to your website, it has been bookmarked. Hate
to see all Huapanini (Cactus Fruit) go to waste. Mahalo a nui loa,
SPY

(Xiejol) wrote in message . com>...
> (Spyda Man) wrote in message >...
> > Aloha from Maui, Here in upcountry Maui we have the numerous wild
> > Panini cactus in their annual heavy fruiting. I believe the Panini is
> > the same plant as the Southwest's Prickly Pear Cactus. Anyways the
> > fruits are in full growth with the majority falling, and going to waste.
> > Anty one here ever try making wine with Prickly Pear fruit? They are
> > very sweet, full of sugar. Will I need to fortify with additional
> > sugar? Will regular bakers yeast work for starting fermentation? I
> > recall as a child one of my relatives making wine with pneapple juice
> > using dry yeast. Thank you for your input, and patience for a newbie.
> >
> > Spy in Hawaii
>
> I've got a prickly pear melomel (mead) going in the secondary right
> now. At racking the flavor was nice, it's a little sweet, just enough
> to preserve a little of the pear's original flavor. I juiced the
> fruit because I was doing a 1-gallon batch, and still had plenty of
> lees. You can see the steps at
> http://www.geocities.com/ulery/brewi...d/pricklypear/ Maybe that
> will help.

Thanks for the info. Another plant introduced quite by accident, and
related to cattle is the Kiawe known in Mexico (and Texas) as
Mesquite. The seed pods of these trees are quite sweet, and tasty,
and they are still a favorite of cattle here. When the first cattle
from Mexico arrived in Hawaii in the early 1800s they already had
seeds of the Mesquite in there digestive tract, and everywhere they
pooped a Mesquite (Kiawe) grew. It is now the most common tree in
Hawaii at lower elevations. Hawaii has a cattle industry older than
Texas', and the first Cowboys in Hawaii were from Old Mexico (no such
thing as cowboys in U.S. yet) otherwise known as Hispaniola, and thus
all future Hawaiian Cowboys would be known by a variation of the that
word - Paniolo.

Has anyone here ever tried making a wine, or beer from the Mesquite
(Kiawe) seedpods?

"Negodki" > wrote in message >...
> "Spyda Man" > wrote:
> > Aloha from Maui, Here in upcountry Maui we have the numerous wild
> > Panini cactus in their annual heavy fruiting. I believe the Panini is
> > the same plant as the Southwest's Prickly Pear Cactus. Anyways the
> > fruits are in full growth with the majority falling, and going to waste.
> > Anty one here ever try making wine with Prickly Pear fruit? They are
> > very sweet, full of sugar. Will I need to fortify with additional
> > sugar? Will regular bakers yeast work for starting fermentation? I
> > recall as a child one of my relatives making wine with pneapple juice
> > using dry yeast. Thank you for your input, and patience for a newbie.
>
> Aloha. Panini is Mexican prickly pear cactus. It was introduced to Hawaii
> ~1800 with the best of intentions as a cattle feed. Mexican cattle love it.
> Hawaiian cattle got indigestion, and dumb though cows may be, refused to eat
> it. So now it's a pest and nobody is quite sure of how to get rid of it. But
> you can make great wine from it!
>
> Jack Keller has a recipe somewhere on his website:
> http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp. Or you can just mash them up,
> extract the juice, add sugar to an SG of 1.095, adjust the acid to .60% TA,
> add yeast and nutrient, and see what happens.
>
> Despite their sweetness, you will probably have to add sugar. The best thing
> is to use a hydrometer to determine the amount. The procedure is described
> in the aforementioned website under "winemaking basics".
>
> Bakers yeast _will_ work for starting fermentation. The problem is it won't
> ferment to more than 7-9% alcohol, and will leave residual sugar and a
> yeasty flavour in your wine. A packet of wine yeast costs $0.25-1.00
> depending where you buy it, and is well worth the investment. For cactus
> wine, I would suggest Premier Cuvee yeast. Also, please read "winemaking
> basics" at the aforementioned site, as there are a number of essentials to
> be learned, so that your first batch does not become your last.

"Spyda Mann" > wrote:
> Has anyone here ever tried making a wine, or beer from the Mesquite
> (Kiawe) seedpods?

I haven't heard of it being done. There isn't much sugar (to ferment) in the
mesquite seed pods, but they could be better used to flavour a wine. I have
experimented with using (aged) mesquite wood instead of oak, and it works
very well in Concord and table grape wines.

I have not used the seed pods but I have made a mesquite mead. I don't know
that it is that different form any other mead but it gives it a nice local
character anyway. Jack Keller reports good success with using cured
mesquite wood for aging wines. I want to try it but have not.

Ray

"Spyda Mann" > wrote in message
m...
> Thanks for the info. Another plant introduced quite by accident, and
> related to cattle is the Kiawe known in Mexico (and Texas) as
> Mesquite. The seed pods of these trees are quite sweet, and tasty,
> and they are still a favorite of cattle here. When the first cattle
> from Mexico arrived in Hawaii in the early 1800s they already had
> seeds of the Mesquite in there digestive tract, and everywhere they
> pooped a Mesquite (Kiawe) grew. It is now the most common tree in
> Hawaii at lower elevations. Hawaii has a cattle industry older than
> Texas', and the first Cowboys in Hawaii were from Old Mexico (no such
> thing as cowboys in U.S. yet) otherwise known as Hispaniola, and thus
> all future Hawaiian Cowboys would be known by a variation of the that
> word - Paniolo.
>
> Has anyone here ever tried making a wine, or beer from the Mesquite
> (Kiawe) seedpods?
>
> "Negodki" > wrote in message
>...
> > "Spyda Man" > wrote:
> > > Aloha from Maui, Here in upcountry Maui we have the numerous wild
> > > Panini cactus in their annual heavy fruiting. I believe the Panini is
> > > the same plant as the Southwest's Prickly Pear Cactus. Anyways the
> > > fruits are in full growth with the majority falling, and going to
waste.
> > > Anty one here ever try making wine with Prickly Pear fruit? They are
> > > very sweet, full of sugar. Will I need to fortify with additional
> > > sugar? Will regular bakers yeast work for starting fermentation? I
> > > recall as a child one of my relatives making wine with pneapple juice
> > > using dry yeast. Thank you for your input, and patience for a newbie.
> >
> > Aloha. Panini is Mexican prickly pear cactus. It was introduced to
Hawaii
> > ~1800 with the best of intentions as a cattle feed. Mexican cattle love
it.
> > Hawaiian cattle got indigestion, and dumb though cows may be, refused to
eat
> > it. So now it's a pest and nobody is quite sure of how to get rid of it.
But
> > you can make great wine from it!
> >
> > Jack Keller has a recipe somewhere on his website:
> > http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp. Or you can just mash them
up,
> > extract the juice, add sugar to an SG of 1.095, adjust the acid to .60%
TA,
> > add yeast and nutrient, and see what happens.
> >
> > Despite their sweetness, you will probably have to add sugar. The best
thing
> > is to use a hydrometer to determine the amount. The procedure is
described
> > in the aforementioned website under "winemaking basics".
> >
> > Bakers yeast _will_ work for starting fermentation. The problem is it
won't
> > ferment to more than 7-9% alcohol, and will leave residual sugar and a
> > yeasty flavour in your wine. A packet of wine yeast costs $0.25-1.00
> > depending where you buy it, and is well worth the investment. For cactus
> > wine, I would suggest Premier Cuvee yeast. Also, please read "winemaking
> > basics" at the aforementioned site, as there are a number of essentials
to
> > be learned, so that your first batch does not become your last.

Spy Da Man,

> Has anyone here ever tried making a wine, or beer from the Mesquite
> (Kiawe) seedpods?

Go to http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/texwines.asp and scroll down to
Mesquite Bean Wine. I have two batches going right now....

Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/

One of these days some one is going to ask about a wine Jack has not made
and stump him.
;o)
Ray

"Jack Keller" > wrote in message
om...
> Spy Da Man,
>
> > Has anyone here ever tried making a wine, or beer from the Mesquite
> > (Kiawe) seedpods?
>
> Go to http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/texwines.asp and scroll down to
> Mesquite Bean Wine. I have two batches going right now....
>
> Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page
> http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/

Hi Jack,
I have been to your website and I must say that it's quite usefull. I
have a neighbor that has Prickley Pear cactus in there yard and I wanted
to make a wine from it. I need to know however, what method is used to
remove the spines from the fruit? TIA!
Slaintia!
Dominick
--
Dominick Fiumare Email:
Facilities & Services Voice: 505-646-2529
New Mexico State Univ., Box 30001, MSC 3545 Fax: 505-646-1269
Las Cruces, NM 88003

Dominick, I posted these instructions in the recipe:

"Put prickly pear cactus fruit in large crock or pail. Pour one gallon
boiling water over fruit. Wait two minutes (to loosen skin) and drain
off water. Allow fruit to cool and carefully peel skin off, being
especially watchful not to touch spines."

I pick the fruit up with tongs, holding it by the top and bottom, and
use a fillet knife to cut the skin and then just flick it off with the
blade. It takes a few to get the technique down, but it's a lot
faster than burning the spines off and then peeling them.

Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/

Thanks Jack,
I must have overlooked that.
Slaintia!
Dominick
--
Dominick Fiumare Email:
Facilities & Services Voice: 505-646-2529
New Mexico State Univ., Box 30001, MSC 3545 Fax: 505-646-1269
Las Cruces, NM 88003