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Interesting problem. What type are the apples? Depending on the volume you are dealing with you could blend in some lower TA apples that don't have a high pH.
Jolicoeur (The New Cider Maker's Handbook) has published a chart of pH vs TA for almost 200 different apples. He doesn't identify which is which, but it is clear that there is a cluster of apple types that have a pH between 3.2 and 3.6 and TA between 3 and 8 g/L and every combination of these. For example, there are some with pH around 3.4 with TA 3.2 - 3.8 g/L which could bring your blend to more normal levels.
The hard part is finding out what type of apples they are and getting them. Generally, I find that common eating apples such as Delicious, Fuji, Gala, etc have a pH in the order of 4.0 but a TA around 3 -5 g/L so they might help a bit if blended in. I imagine that this might be the case with "store bought" juice.
Andrew Lea (Craft Cidermaking) suggests that the acid taste can be chemically neutralised by using potassium or calcium carbonate up to 0.3%, with potassium hydrogen carbonate being preferred to avoid a chalky taste from calcium. However, he doesn't really seem to recommend this approach and notes that potassium may affect the flavour.
For my own purposes I checked the pH and TA of some quite drinkable commercial ciders and note that most of them have a pH in the order of 4.0 and some sweetness which negates any excessive acidity anyway. |
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Post time 2022-12-21 06:40:48
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