substituting lemons with citric / tartaric acid

[malcolmfraser]

Hi there,

A lot of wine recipes ask for lemon rind / juice - is this mainly to increase acidity? Or is there more to it e.g. contributes to taste?

I'm wondering if there is any issue just substituting some cream of tartar / citric acid in the place of lemons?

thanks
Malcolm

[MKG]

All wines need a certain amount of acid, Malcolm - the yeast does better in an acidic environment, and it stops the wine from tasting flat. Citric acid does that admirably - a level teaspoon per half lemon is the going conversion rate. But then you don't get the lemon taste, which certainly adds to the wine. If you use rind, make sure it's pared as thinly as possible to avoid pectin problems.

I wouldn't use cream of tartar unless you're going to mature the wine for a couple of years (in which case it's definitely worthwhile). But even then, it shouldn't be a case of "instead" - it's extra.

Mike

[malcolmfraser]

Hi MKG -

I used cream of tartar in meadowsweet champagne that I recently made: http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... 86#p208467

Adapted from a recipe here: http://huntergathercook.typepad.com/hun ... nteed.html

I wonder why he recommended cream of tartar instead of citric acid...? Thanks for the advice - I'll use citric acid (or lemons) next year.

Malcolm