Figs in brandy

[SaxonWessex]

had a bumper crop this year so did 30litres of figs in brandy
Some in screw on lids and some jars with hinge lids

5 jars burst thier seal and weeped down the jar they also turned into vinegar

All the other jars are fine

2 questions

1 why did some over flow abd turn to vinegar

2 ive bottled the vinegar now - what can I use it for

Thanks

 

[dragnlaw]

Hi SaxonWessex, welcome to DC!

Perhaps you could tell us a bit more? Brandy, to my way of thinking, can not turn to vinegar.
Was there any vinegar to start with in your mixture?
What other ingredients in the mixture?
Which jars overflowed, screw caps or hinge? Perhaps the shape of the jars were misleading as to how full they could be filled?
How long were they processed?

 

[blissful]

@larry_stewart , what are your thoughts on this?

Figs are a very sweet fruit, so there is sugar, and natural yeast or bacteria from the air on the outside of the fruit. There would be a natural water content, so that could ferment into vinegar. If they burst their seal then oxygen is available.

I have no idea how brandy added would affect it except that if the volume of figs was much greater than the brandy, maybe the brandy didn't have much effect.

If it is vinegar, then you don't have to do anything besides strain it and bottle it. If it is very sweet it will continue to ferment until most of the sugar is used up to make more vinegar.

 

[larry_stewart]

@larry_stewart , what are your thoughts on this?

Figs are a very sweet fruit, so there is sugar, and natural yeast or bacteria from the air on the outside of the fruit. There would be a natural water content, so that could ferment into vinegar. If they burst their seal then oxygen is available.

I have no idea how brandy added would affect it except that if the volume of figs was much greater than the brandy, maybe the brandy didn't have much effect.

If it is vinegar, then you don't have to do anything besides strain it and bottle it. If it is very sweet it will continue to ferment until most of the sugar is used up to make more vinegar.

I have some fig trees ( they haven't been too productive in the past few years, but were a few years ago). Sometimes when the fruit gets overripe , they kinda get a tanginess to them. In addition to that, they are a very plump fruit, so I'm wondering if (depending on the brandy to fig brandy ratio) if they can start to break down internally, starting the vinegar process before the brandy can fully infuse them ( assuming the brandy even makes it to the core of the fruit).

Thats the only thing I can think of. That being said, if the vinegar tastes good, sounds like a win to me.

 

[SaxonWessex]

Hi all thanks

I pick them when they turn purple and black and they melt in your mouth so very plump and soft

I followed a simple recipe which was to wash and dry them and place them upright in a large Pan (i used a 4litre cast iron pan) then add sugar to the weight ratio (cant recall the exact ratio) which basically covered the figs in sugar
Step 2 is to place them in a fridge over night - (Presumably this allows the figs to absorb the sugar)
Step 3 (next day) bring them to the boil and simmer until they are very soft
step 4 is remove the figs from the pan into jars and add brandy to the syrup left in the pan
Step 5 is top up the jars with the fig/brandy syrup
I let them cool before securing the lid

the only change I made to the process was skipping step2 on my last batch

they last batch was in Hinged lid jars some Kilner some other brands from TK max!

The Jars that are good have a very dark black syrup

the jars that turned into vinegar did not turn black

you can see the vinegar in a bottle and the 5 overflow stains and the good jars too

 

[dragnlaw]

So I'm guessing that it was only the last batch that you had the problem with?
Again, I'm not a canner or preserver, as mentioned, lots of members here know a lot more than I.
Although my first thought is that perhaps you did not wait long enough for the sugar and figs to sit together. I don't know how important the fridge part is (but for that length of time it certainly needs it, to prevent bacteria growing) But the sitting length of time is probably the crucial part? Sounds like the figs were still fermenting.