This thing about Campden tablets...

[Crosbie]

I've searched the forum...really I have...but I'm non the wiser:

I understand you use a Campden tablet just prior to bottling to stop fermentation occuring {in the bottle}.

But do I really need to add a Campden tablet to a bucketful of elderberries if I've poured boiling water over them and leave to steep for a few days?

Are wild yeasts going to flourish? What's the problem? I don't hear of Campden tablets being used in other raw food preparations.

Thanks
Crosbie

[Two_Sheds]

do I really need to add a Campden tablet to a bucketful of elderberries if I've poured boiling water over them

I don't think so. I posed the same question last year and the consensus was that boiling or freezing the fruit is just as good, if not better, than sterilising it with Campden

[Crosbie]

Cheers Two Sheds. That's what I wanted to hear!

[shirlthegirl43]

Just so you know, campden tablets don't stop fermentation. You need to be sure that ferment has well and truly stopped before you bottle.

[rustylady]

I've never used campden tablets, but have often wondered exactly what they were, so for those of you who may be interested, here's the Wikipedia explanation Campden tablets - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Two_Sheds]

from Rusty's link: "Campden tablets are ...used towards the end of the fermentation process to halt the ferment"

[Flummery]

They are a tablet version of the powder you can buy for sterilising wine equipment - sodium metabisulphite. They can cause skin irritation if the hands are in contact with the liquid you make up to sterilise your stuff so I only use the powder for cleaning glassware etc and never add a tablet to the wine. I can taste it if I do. I prefer to keep the wine in the demijohn a bit longer till I'm sure it's fermented out.

[shirlthegirl43]

Campden tablets do not kill yeast therefore they will not stop fermentation. They stun the wild yeasts and allow your bought yeast to take hold (hence the wait before adding yeast or the camplden will stun that too). They are used in fermented wine to stabilise and reduce the chance of bacteria causing oxidisation of the wine.

[Polly Fouracre]

I use Campden tablets for sterilizing only, then rinse thoroughly.
One important tip, do not ever breathe in the fumes or put your face over the solution, especially if you are asthmatic!
In years gone by only wild yeasts were used to ferment home-made wines (probably why home-brewing got such a bad name)

[Hilary B]

I used powdered Sodium Metabisulphite to sterilize demijohns etc when I started out, stopped bothering after abut 20 gallons without problems. I never liked the idea of adding campden tablets to the wine. I keep them in stock in case a batch goes badly wrong, because then I would want to sterilize the demijohn, bucket etc before re-using them.
So far the worst failures have been fit for cooking purposes..

[Two_Sheds]

Campden tablets do not kill yeast therefore they will not stop fermentation.

I'm confuddled on this point Shirl, and bow to your superior knowledge re: brewing.

However...
"add another campden tablet to the wine, this will kill the remaining yeast" How to make homemade wine

"Campden tablets kill yeast" DIY BOOZE

on the other hand:
" 'adding Campden Tablets to a brew will kill the yeast' ...is just not true! While [it] stops wild yeast from taking hold [but does] not kill it with any degree of success. . . . If you desire to stop a fermentation ... what you need to add is potassium sorbate The HomeBrew Forum • Brewing FAQ

CJJ Berry says it suppresses wild yeasts and stabilises a wine, and then later in the book that it pays to add a Campden tablet to end fermentation ...

confused dot com

[shirlthegirl43]

I'm confuddled on this point Shirl, and bow to your superior knowledge re: brewing.

However...
"add another campden tablet to the wine, this will kill the remaining yeast" How to make homemade wine

"Campden tablets kill yeast" DIY BOOZE

on the other hand:
" 'adding Campden Tablets to a brew will kill the yeast' ...is just not true! While [it] stops wild yeast from taking hold [but does] not kill it with any degree of success. . . . If you desire to stop a fermentation ... what you need to add is potassium sorbate The HomeBrew Forum • Brewing FAQ

CJJ Berry says it suppresses wild yeasts and stabilises a wine, and then later in the book that it pays to add a Campden tablet to end fermentation ...

confused dot com

I would never claim to have superior knowledge on brewing Two_Sheds. I have gotten pretty confused about it too but the brewing forum I am a member of frequently states that ferment can start again after addition of a campden tablet and to ensure that wine is fermented out properly before bottling.

If you wish to have a sweeter wine, ferment out to dry then back-sweeten with a non-fermentable sweetener.

[Two_Sheds]

I would never claim to have superior knowledge on brewing Two_Sheds.

you may not claim it, but you do have it

[shirlthegirl43]

you may not claim it, but you do have it

LOL, I haven't brewed anything other than kit wines for over a year now

[Crosbie]

I did a quick cursory trawl on the internet on campden tablets - it seems their efficacy is in killing any diffuse yeast at the time it is administered. The base of campden tablets i.e. sodium metabisulphate quickly loses it's strength in a matter of hours and so its chlorination effect/or whatever diminishes.

Having said that, I don't know if it was in the context of aerobic environs or anaerobic environs.