I have a basket I would like to try to use to press some grapes but the basket is made of aluminum. Would it cloud the wine ( casse ) or impart any other problems ?
= Me
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15 years ago
Wine press basket - Can one use aluminum
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15 years ago
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15 years ago
I sure wouldn't use that. Aluminum dissolves fairly readily in acids. There are two potential problems from getting it into your wine:
1) altered taste, and probably not for the better 2) toxicityThe only common metal that should *ever* be allowed to come in contact with acidic foods is stainless steel.
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15 years ago
I really didn't think it a good idea, but wanted to know for sure. Thanks for the info.
As it is, I made a basket by drilling 1/4" holes in a plastic 5 gal. pail. It did the job well enough.
Thanx
= Me
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15 years ago
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15 years ago
You're welcome. The recommendation to use only stainless steel for food contact comes from a friend who is a PhD biochemist specializing in food chemistry. Back when we had milk goats, she advised us against using copper tubing to make a chiller for the milk -- seems that even milk is acidic enough to dissolve enough copper to pose a health risk. Now consider that wine is waaaaaay more acidic than milk....
BTW -- ever cook spaghetti sauce, or anything else containing tomatos, in an aluminum pan? That's a mistake you won't make twice. There's a distinct, and unpleasant, metallic flavor to it.
Works great, I'll bet!