Even in case right mash and fractional distillation, the taste of moonshine can remain harsh - slightly burning the throat and drying the tip of the tongue. Often, owners of distillation and beer columns face this problem. To make moonshine soft, you need to choose the right ingredients and calculate the proportions.

Remember that softening the taste does not replace cleaning and does not improve the quality of moonshine, but can only mask the shortcomings of a bad distillate in some cases. Therefore, I recommend adding the substances listed below to a double, fractional distillation drink.

How to soften moonshine

There are two groups of substances: sweeteners and acidifiers. The first group includes:

  1. Sugar. A simple, affordable option. The disadvantage is that depending on the quality, it can give the drink a slight turbidity and an unpleasant odor. To avoid side effects, it is advisable to use refined sugar, and before making it, crush the pieces into sand or grind them into powder with a coffee grinder (the best option) and smell them. The average amount is 1 tablespoon of sugar per 1 liter of moonshine with a strength of 40%.
  2. Glucose (dextrose). The very best solution. Sold in pharmacies and specialized stores. Any form of release is suitable: in powder (it is this type that is called dextrose), tablets or an aqueous solution (in ampoules). To soften moonshine with glucose, 5-25 ml of a 20-40% aqueous solution or 1-5 grams of dry matter per 1 liter of forty percent distillate is required. Before adding the tablet must be crushed to a powder. The taste of expensive store-bought vodkas is softened with dextrose.
  3. Fructose. Sweeter than sugar by 1.8 times. Release form - powder. It has proven itself well for fruit distillates: from apples, grapes, cherries, peaches, etc., but it is also suitable for drinks from other raw materials. Proportion - 0.3-0.5 tablespoon per 1 liter of moonshine (40 degrees).
  4. Honey. You need a fresh liquid or in the form of a syrup (mix with water in equal parts, bring to a boil, boil for 2-3 minutes, removing the foam, then cool to room temperature). The disadvantage is that it can give a precipitate, affect the color, aroma and add characteristic honey tones to the distillate, which is not always appropriate. Usually they add no more than 0.5 tablespoon of honey per 1 liter of moonshine, the main thing is to dissolve it well.
  5. food grade glycerin. Viscous, clear, syrupy liquid. Registered as food additive E422. The main problem is that glycerin gives excessive sweetness, it is difficult to correctly calculate the concentration in small volumes, and cloying taste appears. To soften moonshine, 1-5 ml of glycerin per 1 liter with a strength of 40% is required.

Acidifiers include (added separately or together with sweeteners):

  1. Vitamin C. White crystalline powder with a sour taste, which dissolves well in water and alcohol. In a pharmacy it can be sold in the form of a dragee. Used to soften any kind of distillate, prevents oxidative processes. To soften moonshine, you need 3-5 grams of ascorbic acid per 1 liter.
  2. Lemon acid. A more affordable home remedy that performs its functions no worse than "ascorbic". Can be used as citric acid in its pure form - 2-6 grams / liter, and replace with lemon juice - squeeze 1 medium lemon per 1 liter of moonshine. Flaw lemon juice– May cause sedimentation and turbidity.

Glucose powder (dextrose) - the best option

Moonshine flavor softening technology

1. Dilute the distillate with water. Make a fortress 1-2% higher than you need to get in the end.

2. If moonshine is made from sugar or grain raw materials, it is advisable to carry out carbonization - filtering the drink through a birch or coconut Activated carbon(brands BAU-A, KAU-A, BAU-LB). There is no fundamental difference between the two methods of carbonization (infusion of moonshine on coal and passing through a column or other filter).

Coal will remove the largest molecules of harmful impurities (slightly improve the quality) and partially oxidize the aldehydes contained in ethyl alcohol to acids under the influence of air in the pores of the coal. As a result, esters will appear, which in themselves soften the taste of moonshine.

Do not clean berry and fruit distillates, otherwise the aroma of raw materials may disappear.

3. Pour 100-150 ml of moonshine into a separate container. In 2-4 passes, add the selected sweetener and (or) acidifier, starting with the minimum dosage. After each addition, stir the distillate until the substance is completely dissolved and record the amount of ingredients, then evaluate the taste after 4-5 minutes.

4. After the softness of the moonshine is satisfactory, proportionally recalculate the amount of substances for the entire required volume, add to the distillate and mix.

Preliminary calculation - fractional addition of a softener to a limited amount of drink minimizes the risk of spoiling the entire batch. I advise you to perform this procedure every time, even if the optimal proportions are already known, since the quality of sugar, glucose, honey and other substances changes.

If too much emollient is added, you can try to lower the concentration and stabilize the taste with another batch of moonshine or pure alcohol with water. Another option is re-distillation.

5. Close the container hermetically. Transfer to a dark room with a temperature as close to zero as possible, the recommended temperature is 2-4°C. Leave for 3-4 days to complete chemical reactions and stabilize the taste.

Cloudiness may occur depending on the quality of the water and other ingredients ( milky color). If, when kept in the cold, the turbidity did not disappear after 5 days after mixing or a precipitate formed (it happens when lemon juice and honey are added), filter the moonshine through cotton wool.

Glucose, trimoline, molasses - these words are often found in recipes that form confectioner's world. But very often on different confectionery blogs you can read that all these products are almost the same or that they are interchangeable. In this and several subsequent articles, I will tell you about what all these are from a scientific point of view. confectionery what physical and chemical properties they have, where and why to use them. Together with you, we will dot the “and” in this complex issue and connect the threads of cause-and-effect relationships in a chaotic tangle of information. I will try to be as concise and precise as possible so as not to confuse you even more with complex chemical terminology.

Today we will learn more about syrup confectionery glucose. Glucose syrup is a viscous, viscous liquid of a transparent color. It is less sweet than sugar and has a pleasant taste. For confectioners it is a very versatile product. It is added to mirror glazes to give that characteristic and beloved perfect glossy sheen, caramel to prevent sugar crystallization. Often, to extend the shelf life, glucose is added to candies and marmalade.

As a component of various glazes, glucose syrup is used because of its low hygroscopicity: this allows glazes to protect the surface. confectionery from excess moisture, foreign odors and other environmental influences. Because of the glucose syrup, ice cream and other products that are to be frozen do not completely freeze, they simply become dense, while maintaining their elasticity. At any whipped ganache glucose is added to create a more uniform texture, with the addition of glucose they make an easy-to-use element confectionery — plastic chocolate, which is used as cake decor or cake.

Now let's look at the chemical features of this product. Glucose syrup is an aqueous solution of the monosaccharide glucose (or dextrose), which is found in a large number of berries, fruits and vegetables. In order to make an aqueous solution (that is, syrup) of glucose in production, you first need to extract the glucose itself. Simply add glucose to various confectionery masterpieces much more convenient in a diluted, rather than powder form. It is obtained by hydrolysis of starch and cellulose. Starch is a substance found in many grains and legumes that acts as a store of important nutrients. Most starch is found in rice, wheat, corn and potatoes. Accordingly, glucose can be obtained from the starch of any of these plants. Bottom line: glucose is produced from starch, and syrup is already being made from glucose (in other words, they simply make it in a convenient, liquid, form). At this stage, everything should be clear. Difficulties start further.

Numerous pastry blogs tell us that in most recipes, glucose can be replaced with a homemade “invert syrup” (I will introduce you to the process of inverting sugars in a future article), which is recommended to be prepared from water, sugar and citric acid. Honestly, I don’t cook such syrups myself (I don’t really trust them), but I always add them to various sweet products only ready-made purchased glucose syrup. A lot depends on the quality of glucose syrup. For example, if you add it to mirror glazes, then glucose syrup from different manufacturers will behave differently: one can make the glaze “watery” (due to which it will drain very much), and the other will make it “correct” density and fluidity. On the master classes in confectionery art I endure only those recipes, in the application of which we eventually get a stable end result, which is why I try to almost always use the best patisseries ingredients from the same manufacturers. I work with these ingredients every new recipe, repeatedly reproduce it, and after the stability of the result suits me, I show it for everyone to see. It is extremely important for me that visiting my Master Class you came home and with the same ingredients you could cook any dessert. The same is true with custom-made cakes and pastries: if you want to have a consistent result and be sure of the quality of the product you sell, always use the same quality ingredients. That's all I'm leading to the fact that any major factory, which produces confectionery ingredients, does it according to strict established technology and always receives the same quality ingredient at the output. And, if we boil syrup every time, then no matter how hard we try, the result will be different each time: a few degrees were not cooked or digested, we took sugar of a different quality, the wrong pan, etc ..

Pastry craftsmanship is an exact science, despite all possible manifestations of virtuosity. We can change something in taste, shape, appearance, but certain basic processes always remain the same. That is why I always emphasize the importance of clear measurements.

Now the question of interchangeability. Despite the fact that glucose syrup, molasses and invert sugar have glucose in their composition, I do not consider them interchangeable products. Firstly, they all have a different sweetness, and secondly, they all have a different effect. Of course, these ingredients undoubtedly have similarities, but in my recipes I clearly indicate the ingredient and expect that you will use it. For example, in many recipes from my book "From simple to complex with Elizaveta Glinskaya" contains glucose syrup. "Colored glasses for decoration", "Caramel sauce", "Mandarin orange confit", "Zest in syrup", "Marmalade", " mirror glaze”- in these and many other recipes, I add confectionery glucose syrup. In some cases, it plays the role of a preservative, in others it creates the necessary structure, plays the role of a recrystallizing agent for sugar.

I very often use glucose syrup in the process of preparing various confectionery products, so if you are just starting to work with mirror glazes, then I advise you to immediately learn how to cook them correctly. often on master classes I am asked "What is the secret of a good mirror glaze? I will answer: there is no secret, it all depends on how high-quality ingredients you use, whether you follow certain technological rules and adhere to accuracy.

In the next article, we will continue this complex and informative topic with an analysis of the properties of molasses.

Glucose is one of the most easily digestible sources of valuable nutrition that can increase the body's energy reserves and improve its functions. How to prepare a glucose solution and why, read further in the article.

What are glucose solutions?

There are isotonic and hypertonic solutions of this substance.

  • 5% isotonic glucose solution is used to replenish fluid reserves in the human body. In addition, this glucose solution is a serious source of nutrients, the metabolism of which releases a huge amount of energy in tissues - the energy that is so necessary for full-fledged work organism.
  • In turn, hypertonic glucose solution (10-40%) is used for intravenous injection into the body, and allows you to increase the osmotic pressure of the blood, improve metabolism and antitoxic functions of our liver, increase the flow of fluid, which is directed from tissues to blood.
  • In addition to the above functions, the use of hypertonic glucose solutions also contributes to vasodilation, an increase in the volume of urine excreted by the body and activation of the contractile activity of the myocardium (heart muscle).
  • As a general tonic, glucose can be used in chronic diseases accompanied by physical exhaustion.

How to prepare a glucose solution at home?

Today, glucose solution has found the widest application in the medical practice of doctors of absolutely all specialties. This drug is prescribed to patients with infectious various diseases, with hepatitis, as well as all sorts of possible intoxications. How to prepare a glucose solution, often other drugs that are injected into the body intravenously are diluted with a glucose solution.

Remember for yourself that in everyday practice, doctors in most cases prescribe 5% and 40% glucose solutions. However. In certain cases, there is a need for other dilutions of glucose - these are 10% and 20% concentrations of this substance.

How to prepare a glucose solution and make a calculation?

To know how to prepare a glucose solution yourself, read and study the method for preparing 1 liter of glucose solution (40%), which usually acts as the basis for preparing similar formulations of other concentrations.

You need to take sterile measuring utensils, glucose powder and solvent. Often, water is used as a solvent, which must comply with GOST FS 42-2619-89. Glucose should be taken in large quantities, with a margin, given that it will evaporate during the preparation process.

How to prepare a glucose solution - an alternative formula

Calculate the required mass fractions of each of the components in order to prepare a glucose solution, following the formula:

  • (A*100)/(100-B),
  • where A is the mass of anhydrous glucose,
  • B is the water content in it (as a percentage; this will be the correction for evaporation).

Thus, 440 g of glucose, having a moisture content of 10%, should be placed in a volumetric flask and filled with a small amount of hot water. Leave the solution until glucose is completely broken down and cooled. After that, this volume must be brought to 1 liter and filtered.

When the quantitative content of the substance, and hence the concentration of the solution turned out to be higher than required, the situation can be corrected with the help of the same water. The required volume of water to prepare a glucose solution can be calculated as follows:

  • X \u003d (A * (C - B)) / B,
  • where X is the volume of water required for dilution (expressed in ml);
  • A is the volume of the resulting solution, in ml;
  • B is the required solution concentration (in %);
  • C is the actual concentration of the solution (in %).

When the required concentration of the glucose solution is reached, pour the solution into a vial, attach a label to it indicating the concentration of the solution and its name (preferably also the date of manufacture and batch number).

Store the glucose solution in an airtight container away from direct sunlight at a temperature not exceeding +25°C.

Confectionery housewives often come across this ingredient on their list. necessary products. If you are unable to buy a component on store shelves, try making it yourself in your own kitchen.

Invert syrup - what is it

Many recipes contain ingredients that you may not have heard of before. Housewives are often interested in how to invert sugar. Invert syrup is a substance that is an aqueous solution of fructose and glucose, which has anti-crystallization properties. It is obtained by heating a mixture of sugar and water, adding acid. A viscous substance will be an excellent substitute for some hard-to-reach components. You can buy unscented syrups at the store or make your own. Right product resembles honey, it can be stored for up to six months.

Invert syrup - what is it for?

In the confectionery industry, the use of invert syrup occurs for some operations:

  • giving the dough a golden hue;
  • slowing down the aging of the product;
  • biscuit impregnation;
  • creating fillings;
  • breakdown of sucrose;
  • making sweets.

How to replace invert syrup

Happens to buy desired ingredient does not work. According to experts, you can replace invert syrup with the following products:

  • molasses;
  • corn syrup;
  • glucose syrup.

Invert syrup at home

  • Cooking time: 2 hours.
  • Servings: 2 persons.
  • Calorie content of the dish: 274 kcal.
  • Purpose: for desserts.
  • Cuisine: European.

The recipe for invert syrup will require you to have a minimum set of ingredients. Knowing how to cook it is necessary for those who like to try new things. delicious food. Glucose syrup at home may be needed in the manufacture of icing, mastic and other elements of baking decoration. It will make it much easier to create alcoholic beverages, for example, moonshine.

Ingredients:

  • baking soda - ¼ tsp;
  • water - 155 ml;
  • granulated sugar- 350 g;
  • citric acid - 2 grams.

Cooking method:

  1. Pour hot water into the pan, add sugar, stir until the crystals dissolve.
  2. Turn on the fire of small power, wait for it to boil. When the water starts bubbling, pour in the citric acid.
  3. Cover the future syrup with a lid so that it fits snugly against the pan. Boil the substance until it acquires a golden hue. Remove the finished liquid from the heat.
  4. Add a dessert spoon of water to the baking soda. Pour the resulting mixture into syrup. You will see a reaction with the release of abundant foam. The syrup will be ready when the process slows down. This will take approximately 15 minutes.

For mash

  • Cooking time: 1 hour 50 minutes.
  • Servings: 1 person.
  • Calorie content of the dish: 274 kcal.
  • Purpose: for alcoholic beverage.
  • Cuisine: European, Russian.
  • Difficulty of preparation: medium.

Inverting sugar for mash is indispensable for home brewing. This process involves the interaction of raw materials with yeast, during which fermentation should occur. However, this cannot be done quickly with cane or beet sugar. Yeasts first carry out hydrolysis, and then the reaction to obtain alcohol. Alcohol experts recommend that the sugar be decomposed artificially, which can reduce the time it takes to make the mash.

Ingredients:

  • water - 1.5 l;
  • citric acid - 9-12 g;
  • sugar - 3 kg.

Cooking method:

  1. Pour water into a saucepan and heat to 70-80 degrees. Gradually add granulated sugar with constant stirring, observing the proportions.
  2. Wait for the boil to begin, boil the syrup, removing the foam. The liquid should acquire a uniform consistency.
  3. Reduce flame intensity to minimum. Pour in citric acid gradually, mix.
  4. Cover the pot with a lid, increase the heat again. You need to cook the mass at 80 degrees for about 1 hour.
  5. finished product cool to 30 degrees, pour into a container where fermentation will be carried out.
  6. Add water, yeast and granulated sugar to the substance in the amount necessary to obtain alcohol.

Mirror glaze with invert syrup

  • Cooking time: 3 hours.
  • Servings: 1 person.
  • Calorie content of the dish: 342 kcal.
  • Purpose: for dessert.
  • Cuisine: European.
  • Difficulty of preparation: medium.

Mirror glaze with invert syrup is often used to decorate confectionery, cakes and pastries. Its main advantage is beautiful and bright appearance, which is achieved due to the glossy sheen. The composition of sweetness includes invert sugar. To prepare this component, you will need special kitchen appliances: scales and a thermometer. They are important because accurate measurements of temperature and mass are needed.

Ingredients:

  • sheet gelatin - 12 g;
  • inverted syrup - 150 g;
  • water - 75 g;
  • sugar - 150 g;
  • White chocolate- 150 g;
  • condensed milk - 100 g;
  • food coloring - 3-4 drops.

Cooking method:

  1. Soak gelatin in ice water. Place finely chopped chocolate and condensed milk inside a tall glass for a blender.
  2. Take a saucepan, pour in water and liquid glucose, add granulated sugar. Put the dishes on the fire, dissolve the sugar crystals, gradually heating the mixture. However, you do not need to stir with a spoon, you need to move the stewpan a little in different directions.
  3. Wait until the mixture begins to boil, measure the temperature. Bring the indicator to 103 degrees.
  4. Pour the hot mass into the glass with chocolate. Squeeze gelatin, add to ingredients. Mix the ingredients.
  5. If you need to receive bright color add a few drops food coloring. Insert the immersion blender while holding it at a 45 degree angle. Turning the glass, pierce the future icing on glucose syrup with the apparatus. If you do everything right, then the number of bubbles will decrease.
  6. Ready product wrap tightly with cling film, put in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
  7. You can warm up the edible decoration in the microwave or in a water bath, beat again with a blender. Temperature sweet mass should be 30-35 degrees, strain it through a sieve into a jug with a spout. This measure is necessary if bubble formation has occurred. Glaze is ready.

mastic

  • Cooking time: 1 day.
  • Servings: 1-2 persons.
  • Calorie content of the dish: 354 kcal.
  • Purpose: decorating dessert.
  • Cuisine: European.
  • Difficulty of preparation: medium.

Mastic from invert syrup is suitable for decorating cakes, pastries and other confectionery. With fondant, you can not only cover the product, but also fashion various decorative elements. Making sweets at home is not easy, but with due patience, the hostess will cope with this task. Baking, decorated with mastic with glucose syrup, looks beautiful, suitable for special occasions.

Ingredients:

  • sugar - 1 tbsp.;
  • water - 0.5 tbsp.;
  • gelatin - 12 g;
  • invert sugar - 85 g;
  • corn starch- 100 g;
  • salt;
  • powdered sugar - 0.6 kg.

Cooking method:

  1. Pour gelatin with ¼ of cold temperature water. Mix the remaining liquid, salt, sugar, syrup, put on the stove, bring to a boil. Reduce the flame, cook for 8 minutes.
  2. Pour the boiling water mixture to the gelatin, beat with a mixer for 10-15 minutes. until mass white color.
  3. powdered sugar sift, add to the mixture in parts, not forgetting to stir. To prepare a colored decoration, add dye at this stage. Mix all ingredients well, cover tightly with cling film. Leave for a day at room conditions.
  4. Sprinkle starch on your work surface. Put the mastic, mix well.

Video: how to make invert syrup

Internet and social networks literally blew up photos of cakes with a perfectly smooth glossy or mirror surface. Now edible gloss is used in the preparation of cakes, pies, desserts, cakes, and mousses.

Someone covers the entire surface of the product with a “gloss”, and someone only a part, leaving beautiful smudges. One way or another, such a design of sweets would not be possible without the main ingredient of mirror glaze - glucose syrup.

Features of Glucose Syrup

Glucose syrup is a multifunctional product with a number of properties required in the confectionery business. It is viscous and sticky, very much like fresh honey. At the same time, the syrup is absolutely transparent, and its taste is similar to caramel. It is less sweet than honey or sugar and does not have a cloying aftertaste. In fact, glucose syrup is the concentration of an aqueous solution of monosaccharides, which are obtained by hydrolysis and purification of starch.

In nature, the main source of glucose is fruits and honey. Glucose syrup for confectionery is made from corn, and some manufacturers use potato starch for this.

Ready-made liquid glucose syrup is sold in plastic buckets. It can be stored up to two years without losing its properties. There is also dry glucose syrup - in the form of a powder it is used for baby and diet food.

Glucose syrup produces sugar recrystallization, providing softness, freshness and excellent preservation of various products, preventing them from drying out. Glucose syrup has low hygroscopicity - it absorbs moisture, due to which it is used as a protective glaze. And good viscosity makes the product with such a coating convenient for eating.

Glucose syrup has found a wide range of applications in various industries - in the confectionery and baking business, in the production of sweet and alcoholic beverages. Thanks to its properties, glucose syrup improves the characteristics of all types of bread and flour products. It is also added to desserts, gingerbread, cookies, creams, Turkish delight, sweets, ice cream and marmalade.

Glucose syrup is popular not only because of its properties, but also because of its cheapness. Agree, growing corn is easier than cane or other sugar plants.

Summarizing all of the above, we can distinguish the following distinctive properties of glucose syrup:

  1. delay and decrease in crystallization;
  2. decrease in indicators of activity of liquids;
  3. providing aroma and color when heated;
  4. moisture absorption.

Preparing the mirror glaze

Mirror glaze, created using glucose syrup, is shiny, can have any color or even combine several shades, and it is also very plastic and catchy. You can cook it at home.

Mirror Glaze Ingredients:

  • glucose syrup - 150 g;
  • sugar - 150 g;
  • water - 75 g;
  • condensed milk - 100 g;
  • white chocolate (can be replaced with dark) - 150 g;
  • gelatin - 10 g;
  • dye - optional.

Soak the gelatin in half the volume of water. Mix the remaining water with glucose syrup and sugar. Bring the resulting mass to a boil over low heat. Then quickly pour the boiling syrup over the condensed milk or chocolate. Knead the mass without beating. Then add the already swollen gelatin. Mix everything again and add the dye. Beat the mass with a blender until a perfectly smooth surface without bubbles is obtained.

Put the resulting glaze to infuse for 7-9 hours in the refrigerator. You can use the glaze after you warm it up to 35 degrees - it is better to use a cooking thermometer to measure the temperature.

It is necessary to cover the confectionery product with a mirror glaze after you have cooled it well. This will help her to lie perfectly on the surface of the dessert.

After that, the cake or any other delicacy with mirror glaze will look so bright that it will not leave anyone indifferent. And thanks to glucose syrup, the dessert will be not only tasty, but also healthy.