Winegrowers Supplies - Automatic pasteuriser / preserving cooker, 27 litres capacity
stainless steel with digital display panel 
An automatic cooker that can be used for pasteurisation of juice in bottles (up to 14 bottles in one batch, maximum height of bottles 290 mm)
or preservation of fruit and vegetables in jars. Outlet tap for bottling. Temperature range 30 to 100 °C, 230 Volts.
Stainless steel model, 2000 Watt, with thermostat, timer and digital display, £175.00
Method advised:-
Rinse and fill glass bottles with juice and twist on the screw caps, leaving them slightly loose.
Place the bottles (or jars) inside the cooker, standing on the grid that covers the bottom, which prevents direct contact with the heater.
Fill the tank with water to 2.5 cm or less below the top of the bottles. Put the lid back on the cooker.
Set the dial on the thermostat to 75 °C and allow the water to heat up to that temperature. Then set a timer for the required length of time for pasteurisation.
At the end of the time, allow the bottles to cool down and screw the caps down tightly.
A much faster method is to fill the cooker with the liquid to be pasteurised, then, after the necessary length of time for pasteurisation, to either:-
- fill the container through the outlet tap on the cooker, or
- use an Enolmatic bottle filler with the Frutta Kit, the special kit for hot filling liquids at up to 85 °C.
The great advantage of the Enolmatic is that it will fill quickly to a consistent fill-height, necessary to meet Trading Standards requirements if you wish to sell your product. Remember to allow for the level to drop as the liquid volume shrinks significantly when it cools; a trial can be made initially to find the correct fill-level after cooling; once adjusted the Enolmatic will remain constant afterwards.
The minimum pasteurising temperature necessary depends on the length of time the apple juice will be held at the temperature.
The acidity of the juice and the amount and types of yeast and bacteria present in the juice are other important factors.
When pasteurising apple juice 'in bottle' in a water bath, it is said that the minimum is 72 °C for 20 minutes; the water and bottles being at that temperature. That's a long time to wait.
A flash pasteuriser works at 80 to 82 °C for the apple juice, it is only at that temperature for a few seconds, although the juice is heated progressively for a short time before that, while it travels through the pipe-in-pipe heating coil.
If the juice is heated 'in bulk' in a small pasteurising cooker then the same should apply. It's safer to set a temperature 2 °C higher (e.g. 74 or 82 °C at the two extremes).
Prices shown are exclusive of Vat.
Delivery will need to be charged at cost.