BANANA WINE

     Let's welcome this New Year with a toast 'HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017', with my home-made Banana Wine.  Also my blog 'ESSENCE OF LIFE- FOOD' is nearing its First Anniversary in another 16 days on 17th Jan which marks up our 21st Wedding Anniversary too.
     A few years back if somebody told me that we can make wine out of Bananas, I would have keeled over in disbelief.  It was until I got through an old collection of recipes with nearly 100 wine recipes with unimaginably different varieties of fruits and combinations. And once my MIL said that she had tasted Homemade Banana Wine at her friend's place and it was awesome. All these quickly made up my mind with an idea of brewing Wine with Bananas.
    And the major reason behind this wine is the Banana Tree in my back yard.  Whenever a whole lot shoots up, I wonder what to do with all those tasty Golden Coloured Bananas.  I usually end up giving them to our friends and neighbours, or sometimes I make Unniyappam or Fruit Salads with loads of bananas or Banana Smoothies out of it.  I have a long list of recipes to try with every new batch of Bananas.  This time I thought why not give a try with this Banana Wine!
    My son was so sceptical even at the idea of making wines with Bananas.  He said it would surely not be good, as there will be a high note of Banana flavour in the wine.  After a few days of brewing while, I was testing to make sure the amount of sugar added is well enough for the recipe... my son said I don't think this is a good idea.  It tastes, more of BANANA - there is no feeling of a WINE in it.  The colour was cloudy too.  But my patience proved well at last.  After six months of brewing, I felt confident that it's going to come out clean.  And as expected (just to back up my confidence) it turned out to be distinctive with a new tasting experience.
     Banana Wine as such has a long history and a rich cultural significance.  Though these wines are not much commercialized, they always claim to be a household recipe cherished and shared from generation to generation.  Patience is much appreciated while brewing this wonderful homemade Wine, as it takes a bit longer time to get a clear looking wine.

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Recipe Type - Wine
Difficulty - Medium
Yields - 3 Bottles
Author - SM

Preparation Time - 30 -45 Minutes
Brewing Time for Banana Wine - 10 Months - 1 Year.

INGREDIENTS :

Bananas - 1100 Grms
Sugar - 900 Grms
Black Tea - 230 Millilitre
Lemon Juice - 2 Nos.
Water - 3.750 Litres
Yeast -  3 Teaspoons

METHOD :

• Mash or cut the Bananas into small pieces.
• Put the Bananas, Sugar into the water and bring it to boil.
• Brew up a strong concoction of Black Tea.
• When cool, mash the Bananas, add Lemon Juice and Black Tea Concoction to it and mix well.
• Cover the jar and leave it aside for 12 hours.
• Activate the yeast by putting it in warm water and 5 tspns of sugar.
• Add activated yeast to the Banana mix after 12 hours
• Can add some extra Sugar and few sticks of Cinnamon to add more sweetness and flavour to the drink.
• Cover the jar and leave it in a dry and dark place for about 5 days to a week stirring the mix daily.
• Taste the wine after two months, add sweetness and flavour if needed.
• After about two months, strain the juice out of the mixture and bottle it. 
• Keep the bottles tightly closed.
• Store the Banana Wine in a dark and dry place for another 10 - 12 months.
• Re-bottle the clear wine leaving the sediments behind.
• The wine should be filtered properly at this stage.
• Do the above process until there are no sediments left.
• The taste of this Banana Wine totally depends upon the variety of bananas used.
• Like most of the wines, Banana Wine will improve with age.

NOTES :

• Mashing or Cutting the Bananas into small pieces will yield more flavour and body to the wine.
• Some variety of Bananas are naturally sweeter, so adjust the amount of sugar accordingly.
• I used Lady Finger Banana* variety (Pisang Emas in Malay) for the wine
• I just used normal yeast, as it is very difficult to get wine yeast in my area.
• Stirring the wine is very important for the fermenting process.
• Store them in clean and dry bottles in a moist free place.
• As I am staying in a tropical area, my wine brewed up sooner. But I had to wait for at least 9 -10 months for the wine to clear.
• I did not use any artificial colours, food preservatives or enhancers to the wine.
• The colour and flavour, which I got naturally out of it was more satisfying.

*Lady's Finger bananas (also known as Sugar Bananas, Sucrier, Niños, Bocadillos, Fig bananas, or Date bananas). They are small, thin-skinned, and very sweet.