Cherry, What Am I Tasting?

I  was wondering what Cherries tasted like, and I found this article  by Nui and several other Chinese authors.  They linked the molecules to the flavor profile. 29 compounds contribute to the taste including slightly disturbing chemicals like benzaldehyde.

Fifty-one odor-active (OA) compounds were detected by GC–O and quantified by GC–MS, and 45 of them were identified. Twenty-nine OA compounds having more than 50% detection frequency were selected as specific compounds correlated to sensory attributes by partial least squares regression (PLSR).


   The correlation result showed ethyl 2-methyl propionate, 2,3-butanedione, ethyl butyrate, ethyl pentanoate, 3-methyl-1-butanol, ethyl hexanoate, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, ethyl lactate, 1-hexanol, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, ethyl hydroxyacetate, acetic acid, furfural, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, benzaldehyde, propanoic acid, butanoic acid, guaiacol, beta-citronellol, hexanoic acid, 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol, 2-ethyl-3-hydroxy-4H-pyran-4-one, ethyl cinnamate, 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol were typical OA compounds, which covaried with characteristic aroma of cherry wines.

My 2011 continues to ferment, and ferment quickly. It has been 48 hours and the sweetness is diminishing. The cherry fragrance is still there. The alcohol is still to faint to pick out.

2011 Cherry Wine

It's Summer, and I drove out to find cherries, hopefully Michigan cherries for my cherry wine.   My three year old cherry tree produced about five cherries this year.

I could have driven to Western Michigan, but that would have taken all weekend. Instead, I went to the Eastern Market, which is a local Farmer's Market in Detroit. Cherries were hard to find, but I came home with six pounds of tart Michigan Cherries. I also got some California Black Cherries there and at the grocery. I also got ten pounds of frozen tart cherries from GFS -- these are pitted, so much easier to use.

 I bought the different cherries so that I would get a "broader" flavor profile. I think that the Black Cherries are the best though. They seem to be the most flavorful.

I boiled the cherries, and added eighteen pounds of sugar.

2011 Cherry Wine Recipe

Michigan tart cherries       6 lb
Black Cherries                  24 lb
Rainer Cherries                   5 lb
Frozen Tart Cherries          10 lb
TOTAL                             45 lb, all boiled than then broken open with a potato masher
Sugar                                  18 lb, added as syrup
Water to make                      8 gallons; density is 1.14, 1.33 Brix - perhaps too high
Pectic enzyme                      6 g
Yeast Energizer                    3 g
Red Star Curvee                   1 packet

This is a little more sugar and cherry concentration than last year's 36 pounds of cherries. The plan is to make a desert wine, and that is why it is so strong.
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