Pasteurization

[vejgaardzoo]

I was making my first cider this weekend but in the middle of the process it occurred to me that I had no idea about pasteurization.

I think i read somewhere that you shouldn't boil the apple juice. So I heated it to about 180F and then left it to cool down outside (it's pretty chilly in Denmark now).

It was a last minute decision to make the cider. My sister was pressing some apples just for making the non-alcoholic sort and was getting way more juice per pound than she expected. So I sanitized a fermenter, grabbed a package of US-05 and hurried over there.

Should I worry about the pasteurization? Searching the forum and wikipedia gives some diverging views. If >160F for 15 minutes results in pasteurization I think I'm good.

Jacob

(anyone ever made cider with US-05? Pros and cons of using a beer yeast?)

[Ozwald]

This surprised me, since it was much different than the temps/times that I've previously heard, but this is what I've dug up from the United States Food & Drug Admin.

For apple juice at pH values of 4.0 or less, FDA recommends the following thermal processes to achieve a 5-log reduction for oocysts of Cryptosporidium parvum. Because this parasite is believed to be more heat resistant than E. coli O157:H7, these parameters will also control bacterial pathogens.

160 degrees F for at least 6 seconds
165 degrees F for at least 2.8 seconds,
170 degrees F for at least 1.3 seconds,
175 degrees F for at least 0.6 seconds, or
180 degrees F for at least 0.3 seconds

71.7 degrees C (161 degrees F) for 15 seconds (milk pasteurization) is also considered adequate.

Remember to set your Operational Limit higher to assure you meet your Critical Limit!

Whenever I've pasteurized anything, I prefer a gentle pasteurizing where I hold 140 F for 35-45 minutes, followed by a quick cool down. I think cooling quickly is key, so you don't provide an environment that would allow more critters to make a home.

When you cooled outside, how long did it take to reach a pitching temp & did you have the vessel covered to prevent micro-organisms to get back in there?

Whatever you do, don't rely on Wikipedia - I find more incorrect info on there than I can believe. I've heard of true experts correcting misinformation in an article, only to have it switched back over and over. Turns out someone with a personal vendetta was behind the whole thing. Wikipedia is a horrible resource.

By the way, I got that information from a food safety course at Penn State University.

[vejgaardzoo]

Thanks for the help. (And sorry for the late reply.)

It took a couple of hours to cool down the cider. I used white plastic bucket-fermenters.

It seems that I overdid it with the pasteurization. But I just bottled the cider today and It tastes absolutely great

[Ozwald]

No worries. You can pasteurize anywhere from 140ish to 180ish. The higher the temp, the quicker, but you're changing your wort (or must, in this case) chemically. This is why I prefer a longer, gentler pasteurization - hence 140. I'm glad it worked out for you. Cheers!

[spiderwrangler]

Boiling will set the pectins, similar to when making jelly or jam. Pectin is a polysaccharide that can be broken down by using pectic enzyme. It seems like treating with enzyme before boiling would circumvent this, but not sure if boiling will bring out other off flavors in the juice. I use low temp for pasteurization.

[ApresSkiBrewer]

I think you really messed up. You should send all of your finished cider to me, for close organoleptic analysis.