Homemade fruit enzymes are still very popular these days. I can understand why, the many beneficial qualities offered (health wise) is very attractive. Not only that it is simple and fun to make.
So what shall it be?
Apple & lemon
Orange, pineapple & lemon
Dragon fruit, grapes & strawberries
Dragon fruit & lemon
Grape & lemon
Mango, apple & lemon
Other fruits to consider include banana, kiwi, star fruit, papaya, peaches, plums, etc.
Other variations include aloe vera, red dates, wolf berries, dried longan, garlic, ginger, etc. Seems the limitation is as wide as our minds are closed (er, did you get that?)!! ha ha ha
Unless you have a fixed combination, best probably decided with a trip to the supermarket and be dictated by what’s on OFFER!!! I'll elaborate more later.
Making it is simple as long as you remember a few rules.
- 3 parts fruits and 1 part sugar (brown slab sugar, honey, normal brown sugar or even gula Melaka is fine).
- Wash container, utensils and fruits. Wipe and air dry them well.
- Entire preparation process is done without any additional water since everything else is clean. This is to prevent/limit possible contamination, ie mouldiness!
- In a clean jar, fill 1/3 sliced fruits of your choice, then add a few slabs of sugar.
- Keep alternating fruits and sugar until jar is about 70% full.
- End final layer with sugar.
- Close jar, using some cling wrap at the mouth of the jar if desired.
- Store in dark cool place giving the bottle a shake every 3 days for 3 weeks. Open the bottle to let out some gas once every 2-3 days. Note some bubbles will be evident in the early days. If the entire process is done right, the mixture will not get mouldy (hence, probably not 'safe' to consume??).
- When ready (after 3 weeks or 21 days), sieve and bottle them. Keep in cool area or in the refrigerator to stop/retart it from turning into alcohol.
- WAIT, don’t throw out the fruit remnants – be eco-friendly and either: a) use as compost/fertiliser for your plants or b) even exfoliate the body.
Personally, I would go for (a) but your choice if you wanna go with (b).
Exact recipe??
Well it really depends at the end of the day what expectations you have in consuming the fruit enzyme. Just remember the above rules and the 3 parts to 1 part combination.
How to consume?
1-2 tbsp a day mixed with some tepid water.
The benefits?
Depending on the combination of fruits used – apparently the benefits are aplenty!!
Here are some that I came across in my reading:
Digestive aid, cleanse our body digestive system, stimulate blood cells production, rejuvenate the skin, reduce fat and many more.
Sounds like a real miracle cure-all doesn't it????
The brew....Since dragon fruits were also on sale at the supermarket - got them for a dollar each, why not start with them. Btw, I’m not a fan of dragon fruit (find them somehow lacking in taste) so perhaps they might fare better as a slightly alcoholic enzyme drink, you think?
Dragon fruit, lemon and aloe vera.
Test Bottle #1 - The lemon smell is very refreshing.The next day, star fruits were on sale - rm1.20 for 3 in a pack and couldn't resist. And so I bottled my 2nd. At this stage my family are a little concerned that I might have gone enzyme crazy - why so many bottles and even without any certainty that they will turn out properly!!
Star fruit, orange, aloe vera and wolf berries.
Bottle #2 - Was a little surprised that the star fruit smell was much stronger than the orange!Since I had a few pineapples around which I got from a friend’s farm recently, decided to concoct a 'tropical' brew - if only I could add in some kahlua or coconut milk, I'm sure that would make a very 'refreshing' Malibu drink indeed!!
Tropical mix - Pineapple, papaya and lemon.
Test Bottle #3.If you are wondering why there is an aloe vera stem in every brew, the reason is that I have a big pot of it and have always wanted to do something with it since it purportedly has many beneficial qualities.
Jotting down some observations on the experimental brews.
After one day, some bubbles are visible.
After 2 days, noticed that as the fruits have reduced a little, with more room at the top.
The 'precious' fruit enzyme being cultivated! Note that if you are successful, there will be lots of bubbles like a fizzy can drink. *claps hands - a little excited with my dragon fruit and lemon brew*
Err, a little gross but just to share that the presence of mould may appear. If so, discard and press on ahead with fingers-crossed that it will come together at the end.
Actually, not too sure how this one will turn out at the end. Marked 'possibly contaminated'!! Ha ha
Anyway, happy experimenting and brewing. I still got at least 2 more weeks before I can taste anything. Apparently it is suppose to taste slightly alcoholic, hopefully not too fermented or yeasty! Will report back which it is. Finger crossed no one gets food poisoning ;p
See how much the fruits have reduced by so I suppose its ok to pack the fruits full to the top (well at least in my case). Just make sure you open the cap to let out any gas after the 1st day.
The 'precious' fruit enzyme being cultivated! Note that if you are successful, there will be lots of bubbles like a fizzy can drink. *claps hands - a little excited with my dragon fruit and lemon brew*
Err, a little gross but just to share that the presence of mould may appear. If so, discard and press on ahead with fingers-crossed that it will come together at the end.
Actually, not too sure how this one will turn out at the end. Marked 'possibly contaminated'!! Ha haAnyway, happy experimenting and brewing. I still got at least 2 more weeks before I can taste anything. Apparently it is suppose to taste slightly alcoholic, hopefully not too fermented or yeasty! Will report back which it is. Finger crossed no one gets food poisoning ;p
4 comments:
It taste alcoholic because what you're doing is actually making alcohol.
Moonshine is made from fermentation process of fruits or grains with sugar which acts as the foodsource for the bacteria, on top of the sugar from fruits/grains/veggies (in the form of carbohydrates).
The feeling that you are getting could be just the body reaction to alcohol and homemade fruit "enzymes" are a bit worrisome atm. Alcohol effects will make your body have more energy if taken in small doses but with prolong use, if not careful, it may lead to intoxication or other effects.
There is a book about vinegar which touches briefly about homemade vinegar. And having a chemistry background, I would agree with the author of the book. You can find it at Popular Bookstore usually amongst the pile of books for display. It's published by the publishing house of the Popular Bookstore Chain. Can't remember the name. Starfish or Sunshin Publishing. It's a bilingual book (Chinese / English). The title was something like "Benefits of taking and drinking Nourishing Vinegar" or something like that. I've lent my copy to a friend. When next you're at Popular Bookstore, have a brief look through for the section. I know it's listed on the contents page.
1-2 tablespoon is probably ok but taking more than that, is not a good idea. When I went on a weightloss program, I cut out all alcohol. I took a strict viewpoint towards healthproducts and understanding of different body reactions when eating food.
The wiki page on Alcohol is informative of the health effects.
I'm also very very careful when reading up about enzymes. Too many marketing propaganda going around that doesn't explain things well. And the ironic thing is that when alternative therapy doesn't go quite the right way and we end up more sick, we resort to going back to the hospital where western medicine philosophy abounds.
Hahaha, welcome to the enzyme tasting world! ^_^
Fyi, I read from some sites that white color mould is ok, just scoop them out, add in more sugar and continue to let it brew. But if it's black color mould, it is contaminated, u may need to discard all the fruits or be eco-friendly, wash them & feed the plant ;p
Somehow, my family likes only the pineapple & lemon enzyme prepared in this way, we prefer preparing other fruits enzyme in the Ecoparadise pail, which r faster & more bubbly. We went crazy with the dragon fruit enzyme lately. U wanna try it? Sheee... may smuggle 1 for u when they r not watching :)
Wena, tks for the explanation and comment. Will check out the book u mentioned when I go to Popular next.
Agree that homemade brew/'medicine' and even chinese herbal medicine can be harmful if taken wrongly. We all have different bodies and sometimes I'd guess we react differently - what may work for others may not necessary work for me/you.
Kel, tks for offer - dont want u to get into trouble now with your family since so popular!! Btw what's an 'ecoparadise pail'?
Also want to let you know that I added more sugar as you suggested and now the starfruit brew is doing very well, no more mould and also lots of bubbles!!
Actually lots of bubbles for all 3 bottles.
U may c the look of the pail at my blog: http://kels-place.blogspot.com/2008/07/fruit-enzymes.html
And more info of the pail, here: http://www.ecoparadise.com.my/products/pail1.html
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