Topic: Use of campden tablets

[jennym]

Am I the only person who doesn't use campden tablets? I've never seen the point.
1. I don't really want to use chemicals
2. You can stop the wine fermenting by pasteurising, and it doesn't seem to affect the taste.
3. You can easily sterilise containers with boiling water, steam, heat in oven etc.
Maybe I'm taking a huge risk, but have been making my own fruit wines for around 5 years now with no apparent ill effects.
Please advise.

[Svea]

anything i dont have to spend money on/reduce chemicals is fine by me.
am reading the drinks section with huge interest righ now ;)

[blight]

You can stop the wine fermenting by pasteurising, and it doesn't seem to affect the taste.

i think it does in a big way. it tastes boiled. but why not test it : (2 jugs, one with sulphur added , one pasteurized...)
in any case: do not overdose the sulphur.or underdose.

[Fingle....]

I cant see anything wrong with them, my wine tastes perfectly good, altho I must confess I have no idea how much better it would have tasted without them.
Not sure id like to pasturise it (do you mean straight boiling ?, and pasteurization is a far more technical process invented to maintain the chemical properties and taste of a liquid)

[Merry Tiller]

When you say you don't like to add chemicals do you not add Sugar (saccharides) or water (H2O)? Where do you draw the line?
Wine is a living, breathing thing, it should not be boiled, except when it's in my gravy ;)

[jennym]

I appreciate what you say about chemicals, everything is of course a chemical. I'm not sure what's in campden tablets, I think its sodium metabisulphite, it's just that I seem to perceive a 'bleachy' smell to them, and it puts me off.
To pasteurize the wine, you don't boil it, just bring it up to 60 degrees centigrade for three minutes. I think the grand old man himself, Louis Pasteur, actually discovered this method. The wine doesn't taste boiled at all. In fact, all the living organisms in wine can be killed anyway if the alcohol level is high enough... but I understand that fortifying wine by adding anything distilled to it is illegal, although I have done significant basic research upon the subject of simple moonshine. ;D

[the_snail]

Sodium Metabysulpite is used to stop the furmentation proses of the wine and to sterelise and to help with clearing.
The addition of finings also helps with clearing. It is not bad for you as it is found in many soft drinks as a preservative.

The_Snail

[the_snail]

I would like to add it is not bad for you in VERY Small Traces!

The_Snail

[Derekthefox]

The presence of the bleachy smell is one reason why wine is given a chance to 'breathe' before being drunk, so that the vapours can dissipate. The metabisulphite in solution is very small, eg one or two tablets to a gallon, so I am not sure if it can be tasted except by an educated palate. I don't think I can, but I am willing to get a thermometer and try the pasteurisation method, to see if it is better.

Derekthefox :D

[boris]

I always used them and never tasted anything, but next day would always have a very sore throat. I am trying ascorbic acid as a preservative now (on recommendation from local home brew shop) See how it goes. Mind you, mine never seems to reach the bottle anyway, so not much need to preserve.

[Derekthefox]

Sore throat eh? Just how much are you drinking at one sitting then ... ?  ;)

Derekthefox :D

[derbex]

I use them for sterilising equipment -for a really powerfull brew add some citric acid and don't breathe :) I don't use it for stopping fermentation as that'll stop of its own accord when the suger is used up, or for preserving it as the alcohol will do that. I don't really see the need to pasturise either isn't that the point of fermentation, converting juice that will go off to wine that won't? Well, allright, a beneficial side effect :)

I do sometimes use it on the fruit before adding the yeast (wait 24 hours for it to dissipate) if there are bits that look a bit manky (technical term); or for fermentation with a 'wild' yeast for cider, as it's supposed kill off some nasties but the more alcohol tolerant yeasts will cope with it in small doses. If it's a recipe that requires boiling the fruit then I don't bother as the heat will kill off the bugs.

Jeremy

[Derekthefox]

I may use sterilising agents but then I rinse thoroughly using boiled water, so there are no traces of chemicals. I am progressively reducing my use of chemicals, using thermal methods, ie pasteurisation and steam.

Derekthefox :D

[derbex]

Derek,

in general I agree -and I've got the melted sieve, bubbler and straining bag to prove it, I tried to sterilize them in the microwave  ::)

I rinse out my stuff too -although, in theory, the sulphur in the tablets should end up as S02 -a gas and disappear from the wine -especially if you only use it at the start. And, of course, people have been using sulphur to sterlize wine since roman times, and the products from burning it are likely to be nastier than those from the tablets.

If things have been washed in hot, saopy, water -or better been through the dishwasher- then you're generally OK, probably, ish.

Jeremy.

[tin can]

Just wanted to give a word of warning about campden tablets...Back in the 20th centuary(!!) when my husband and i were students, we made quite a bit of home-made wines, using campden tablets to sterilize the bottles. On one occasion my OH inhaled the fumes briefly and had a coughing fit. It turned out that the sodium metabisulphate had irritated his lungs and gave my otherwise fit,rugby playing OH asthma from which he has never recovered. For the past 30yrs I have had to check for this ingredient in eveything I have bought as it brings on a severe asthma attack. There are plenty of drugs used in hospitals which contain this too as it is used as a preservative. It's even in tonic water and fruit juice. I could NEVER use this again, and the simple modern alternative is Milton or another brand of baby sterilizing liquid/tablets.  I hope this is of help to someone in preventing an awful side-effect to what,after all, should be a bit of fun! (wine-making I mean!!)