[h=3]Extracting the Flavor[/h] In fruit, flavor is normally in the juices. With fruits rich in natural juices, flavor extraction is usually rather simple. The fruit is placed in a mechanical press and brute force mashes it and forces the juice out. Grapes, apples, some pears, and most melons submit well to pressing. Pitted fruit such as plums, peaches, nectarines, and apricots only press well after being pitted (destoned). Most citrus fruit press well, but driving the juice through the pith (the white pulp between the skin and the juicy sections) can ruin the taste, so a citrus juicer is preferred. Pressing and juicing will yield most of the juice, flavor and natural sugar. Additional flavor and sugar are locked in the remaining fruit pulp and can be obtained by steeping the pulp in the extracted juices and letting the yeast work on the pulp. If one wishes, one can forego extraction altogether and simply buy juice concentrates. Be advised, however, that only concentrates packaged (canned) for winemaking are guaranteed to be free of yeast-inhibiting preservatives. However, it is possible to find organic juices -- usually not concentrated -- which are preservative-free. Indeed, organic apple juice is available in most health food stores. Even concentrated juices, however, invariably lack enough natural sugar, acid and/or tannin and must be supplemented.
Pressing, however, will not work for some apples, most pears, and most other fruit, berries or vegetables. More accurately, pressing will work, but not as well as other means. Hot or boiling water and the action of yeast are usually required. Bruising, dicing, slicing, mashing, and straining are also often specified. The fruit are prepared (cut up, diced, sliced, or buised) and introduced to hot or boiling water. The heat breaks down the pulp enough for extraction of flavor through steeping. Deficient constituents and nutrients are added and then the yeast is introduced. A primary fermentation begins on the pulp and continues until most of the sugar, flavors and color are extracted from the base ingredients by the yeast. The remaining pulp, dead yeast cells and other particulants (called lees) are discarded to prevent production of unwanted flavors. The remaining liquid (called liquor) is then fermented until the yeast die off or fermentation is chemically stopped. At this point the liquor is wine and is bottled but the flavor is not fixed. The flavor changes (and usually improves considerably) as the wine ages.
For herbs, flowers, leaves, bark, roots, and wood chips, the basic method of flavor (and aroma) extraction is steeping in water. Either hot or cold water may be called for, but more often than not cold water is specified to preserve a color or aromatic characteristic. This is called infusion. Boiling may be required, and on rare occasions a pressure cooker is called for.
Proven recipes will tell you which method to use, but for some bases there is a choice. For example, the accepted method of preparing prickly pear cactus fruit for winemaking is to peel, chop and ferment in cold water. But you can also peel, chop and press the fruit, or peel, chop and boil, and press the fruit, or even chop the fruit without peeling and strain well to remove the fine, hair-like stickers. I prefer to boil this fruit so as to set the deep, rich, burgundy color.
