Why Pasteurisation is Important during Cider Making

Why Pasteurisation is Important during Cider Making



If you’re an avid cider maker, or you’re interested in creating your own, it’s likely that you have looked into pasteurisation. There are many advantages to using pasteurisation during the cider making process, which we cover in this blog.
Pasteurisation is a heat treatment of which kills a number of microorganisms present in the cider, the main purpose is to kill the yeast which will ensure that the fermentation of the cider is stopped. It relies on the concept that most bacteria that are harmful can be killed by high heat.
Pasteurisation can keep the flavour of your cider strong and delicious, pasteurisation can help to make your cider last longer if sealed tightly and kept cool within a fridge.
It’s important to understand that when performing pasteurisation on your cider you must use clean equipment. This is because any bacteria that is introduced to the liquid post pasteurisation, it could inhabit it and make it unsafe to consume. We can guarantee that our pasteurisers are purpose-built and versatile, meaning that they are guaranteed safe to use and can handle liquid in the correct way.
Bacteria can still appear after the pasteurisation process has completed, however. Liquids should continue to be safely handled and stored in the correct way throughout the entire process of cider making.
If you’re unsure how to pasteurise sweetened cider, we can help. There are two methods to pasteurising, whether you want to do it in a bottle or in a bag.
**Bottle Pasteurising**
Start by filling clean glass bottles with your cider and loosely closing the caps. Place the bottles in the tank of the pasteuriser and fill it with water to its required level. We’d advise setting the temperature to 75 degrees, and then set the timer to around 25 minutes. Once the cider has reached the temperature, the timer begins to count down. Once it has ended, the caps on the bottle should be tightened and the bottles removed to cool- be careful, as it will be hot.
**Bag Pasteurising**
Cider can also be pasteurised via bag-in-boxes  Bags can be filled with cider with the help of a filling stand ready for pasteurisation and then sealed. Bags can be pasteurised in a pasteuriser using the same process as if you were using a bottle. The average life of cider pasteurised in a bag-in-box is around 3-6 months.
Here at Vigo Presses, we can help you if you’re in need of some help making the most of your fruit. Whether you need advice on pasteurising or cider in general, you can get in touch by giving us a call on 01404 890093 or by visiting our contact page.