Steps in Making Fermented Fruit Juice
1. Collect ripe fruits or vegetables that are already available or in season, for example, if squash is available, then make fermented squash juice. There are plenty of materials to be used so you can make different kinds of Fermented Fruit Juice. Use any materials that are free from insect pests and diseases.
2. Chop the materials into small pieces so that the juice can be easily extracted.
3. Put 1 kg chopped materials in a basin, add 1 kg crude sugar or molasses, and then mix thoroughly with your bare hands. You must make sure that all chopped materials are coated with sugar or molasses so that the juice can be extracted easily.
4. Put the mixture in a net bag or cloth bag. This is done so that the extracted juice will ooze from all sides of the bag. Put the bagged mixture in a ceramic pot or plastic pail, and put weight to compress the mixture. Stone is a good material used to weigh down the mixture.
5. Cover the pot or pail with paper or cloth and secure with a string or rubber band. Paper or cloth is used as cover to allow some air to get inside the pot or pail and for the gas that is being produced during the fermentation process to escape. On the cover, write the date of processing and the expected date of harvest.
6. Store the container with the bagged mixture for 7 days in a cool dry shady place. Make sure that the storage area is not infested with cockroaches or mice, because they might feed on the mixture and contaminate the extract. In 7 days, plant juice is extracted and fermented. The fruit extract will change its color from yellow orange to brown, and will smell sweet and alcoholic. After 7 days, lift the bagged mixture and squeeze hard to get the remaining extracts.
7. Collect the fermented extracts and preserve in dark colored glass jar. To cover the jar, use paper or cloth to allow the gas to escape during further fermentation, then, store in a cool, shady place. You may add the fruit residue to compost pile to hasten decomposition or you can apply it to the garden plots as source of organic matter. You can use your Fermented Fruit Juice more effectively if it is stored for another one week after co