Is moonshine harmful and how to make it at home

The benefits and harms of moonshine are ambiguous, since it has both positive and negative effects on the human body. Proper preparation and limited use allows you to reveal all the useful properties of the national Russian drink.

The history of the emergence of moonshine

Moonshine appeared in Russia a long time ago. According to some sources, it has been produced since the end of the 9th century. It became widespread five centuries later, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible - it was sold in taverns and pubs. Sources testifying to the medicinal properties of moonshine have been preserved, for example, the Novgorod Chronicle (1533), in which the drink is called "infusion". Starting from the 19th century, the moonshine industry became official, in other countries of the world, similar products, obtained by distilling mash, began to be produced.

Moonshine in different countries

Almost every world power has its own type of alcoholic beverage, which is similar to moonshine. Only the haulage technology and the raw materials used differ.

The table summarizes far from all types of similar products produced by other countries of the world. There are many of them, each has its own characteristics.

Varieties of homemade moonshine

At home, you can prepare several types of this drink using a variety of raw materials.

1. Starch... Distillation technology based on grain crops is particularly complex and has many nuances. Despite this, many are trying to get a product using cereals, as the result is a product with a noble taste and aroma.
2. Sugar... The method of obtaining using sugar and yeast is considered the simplest, and therefore the most popular: for every 5 liters of water, 1 kg of sugar and 100 g of yeast are added.
3. Fruits and berries... The finished drink will have a sweet fruit and berry aroma. The main issue in the creation of such moonshine is the determination of the amount of sugar in the raw material. The optimum sugar content is 25%. If it is less, you will have to calculate the amount of sugar you need to add. For example, a pear contains on average 10% sugar, so for every 10 liters of chopped fruit, 1.5 kg of sugar is added.

Thanks to such a variety of raw materials, you can overtake any type of moonshine.The benefits and harms of homemade moonshine will directly depend on the quality of raw materials and technical nuances.

The chemical composition of moonshine

The exact chemical composition depends on the ingredients, but there are certain standards according to GOST, which are followed during preparation. Allowable components:

• grain crops;
• vegetable raw materials;
• soft, purified water;
• yeast;
• sugar,
• honey.

There are also norms that cannot be exceeded (the drink will cause irreparable harm), they are summarized in the table.

Calorie content of the product: 235-290 kcal, so drinking moonshine is harmful for obesity.

Why is moonshine useful?

The health benefits of the drink have been proven and tested. The use of moderate dosages has a positive effect, namely:

• lowers blood pressure;
• cleans blood vessels from cholesterol deposits;
• prevents the appearance of stones in the gallbladder;
• reduces nervous tension, stress, normalizes sleep;
• removes toxins, disinfects the body.

Medicinal tinctures on moonshine

The beneficial properties of moonshine are most pronounced if it is used in the preparation of medicinal tinctures.

Moonshine on hawthorn

Hawthorn tincture is a familiar liquid that is freely sold in pharmacies. You can make a similar remedy yourself at home. As an alcohol base, moonshine is great for making it. The use of hawthorn on moonshine is in no way inferior to the pharmacy version - it has the same properties.

The recipe for hawthorn tincture, with the addition of spices, implies the presence of the following ingredients:

• hawthorn fruits (dried) - 1 tbsp.;
• moonshine - 0.8 l;
• cinnamon stick - 1 pc.;
• vanillin - a pinch;
• honey - 1 tbsp. l.

Preparation:

1. If there are no dried hawthorn fruits, you can use fresh ones, but their quantity is doubled. Frozen berries are fine too; you don't need to defrost them before cooking. They must first be cut.
2. The berries are poured into a container, a cinnamon stick is added and poured into an alcohol base. For infusion, the reservoir is removed in a dark place where the sun's rays do not penetrate. The aging period is 3 weeks. By the end of the specified time, the hawthorn fruits will give off the color of the liquid, and themselves will become pale yellow.
3. The infusion is filtered through a layer of gauze, the pulp is squeezed out and filtered again through cotton wool.
4. Vanillin is added to the warmed honey. The mixture is poured into the tincture, mixed and left to infuse for another week.
5. The moonshine tincture will have to be filtered again, since a precipitate falls out when honey is added.

The benefits of hawthorn tincture are in the prevention and treatment of many diseases associated with the work of the heart. Its properties are manifested when:

• angina pectoris;
• ischemia;
• arrhythmias;
• heart failure;
• atherosclerosis;
• tachycardia.

Cores are recommended to take a drink of 20-30 drops 0.5 hours before meals 3 times a day. In this case, the medicine is dissolved in 1 tbsp. l. water. The standard course is 20-30 days.

Moonshine on walnuts

Walnut tincture has an exquisite aroma, rich color and beneficial properties.

Ingredients:

• moonshine - 3 l;
• walnut partitions - 2 cups.

Cooking steps:

1. Partitions should be picked from fully ripe nuts. They are poured into a container, filled with an alcohol base.
2. Duration of infusion in a cool dark place is from 30 to 60 days. The first month the bottle is periodically shaken.
3. After filtration, the drink is ready to drink.

The tincture is suitable for a festive table.Mild, pleasant taste, cognac shade and amazing aroma will please the guests. She, like pure moonshine, brings benefits and harm to the body, so the dosage should be small.

Moonshine on rose hips

Rosehip moonshine is an excellent tool for maintaining immunity and preventing vitamin deficiency. The tincture retains all the benefits of rose hips. To prepare it according to the classic recipe you will need:

• rose hips - 0.5 kg;
• yeast (fresh) - 100 g;
• sugar - 4 kg;
• water - 7.5 liters.

Cooking steps:

1. Rosehip is cleaned, washed, folded into a fermentation container. Then add sugar, water, yeast.
2. After 3 months, the mash is ready. It needs to be overtaken once without further cleaning.

If a ready-made drink is available, you can prepare a rosehip tincture: 1 glass of fruits is poured with 0.5 liters of an alcohol base, 200 g of sugar are added. You need to insist in a dark room for about 1 month. After straining, the medicine is taken in a few drops daily.

Moonshine on pine nuts

The medicinal properties of moonshine on pine nuts are high in calcium, which makes it possible to use the drink in the treatment of bone and joint diseases. Ingredients:

• pine nuts - 60 g;
• moonshine - 3 l;
• sugar - 50 g

Preparation:

1. Preparation of nuts involves steaming them in boiling water for 5 minutes. The procedure is repeated twice. In this case, the shell is left on the cores.
2. Sugar and nuts are added to a liquid base, mixed, left to infuse for 2 weeks.
3. After filtration, the drink is ready to drink.

Moonshine on Kalgan

For 1 liter of moonshine, take 100 g of galangal root. The mixture is infused for 2-3 weeks, filtered. Galangal tincture on moonshine has medicinal properties: it effectively fights diseases of the cardiovascular system, stomach, and nervous system. The benefits of the drink for men are the prevention and treatment of prostatitis and impotence. The benefits of galvanized moonshine and the specific taste have made this tincture very popular.

Why is moonshine harmful?

Moonshine has not only useful properties, but also has a dark side: it contains fusel oils that harm the body, and if improperly made, the drink can poison a person and lead to death.

Fusel oils in moonshine

Fusel oils are an integral part of this drink, resulting from the fermentation of raw materials. It is this component that gives the drink its characteristic taste and aroma. Fusel oils (fusel) consist of harmful elements that poison the human body. Their concentration directly depends on the method and quality of cleaning the drink during production.

Manufacturing errors

If you choose high-quality raw materials and technologically competently make moonshine at home, then its taste will be soft, the aroma will be pleasant, the color will be close to transparent. These indicators are used to assess the quality of the drink. If any of them does not meet the requirements, then the concentration of harmful impurities of moonshine is clearly increased.

Hangover after drinking moonshine

A hangover is a difficult consequence of yesterday's feast, which perfectly demonstrates the harmful effect of moonshine on the human body. It has been noticed that the painful symptoms of a hangover occur with the unrestricted use of this drink. It's all about fusel harmful impurities of moonshine, which cause poisoning of the body, manifested in a hangover.

Is purchased moonshine dangerous?

Cooking at home allows you to get a pure natural drink. Purchased moonshine can be dangerous, sometimes carbide is used to clean it. The drink purified in this way has a blue tint. Its use is harmful and can be fatal.

How to make home-made moonshine from sugar

The use of sugar as the main raw material allows you to get home-made moonshine in a simple way.

Step 1. Cooking mash

Braga is a specially prepared raw material as a result of fermentation, which will produce moonshine.

1. Preparation of syrup is a long-term heat treatment of a mixture of sugar (6 kg) and water (3 l) over low heat. The duration of cooking is 1 hour. 10 minutes after boiling, 25 g of citric acid is added to the mixture. The syrup is cooled.
2. Syrup is mixed with 18 liters of warm water in a container. Yeast is activated and added to the general container. During fermentation, foam is released, which can flow out, so the container should be filled with ingredients by ¾ of its volume.
3. A water seal is installed on the container, transferred to a warm room with a temperature of + 26-32⁰C, where it is left to ferment for 10-14 days.
4. Braga is poured through a rubber tube into a new container and heated to +50⁰C. Then it is clarified with bentonite. For every 20 liters of mash, you will need 2.5 tbsp. l. powder. It is preliminarily bred in a glass of warm water, after 15 minutes it is poured into the wash. The clarification process will take 1-1.5 days.

The last step is to carefully separate the liquid from the sediment.

Step 2. Distillation

Distillation is a process that directly affects the quality of the finished drink.

1. During the distillation process, it is necessary to separate the "heads" (300 ml) and "tails" (their strength is less than 40%). The rest of the liquid is used in the future.
2. The composition is diluted to a strength of 20%, passed through a charcoal filter.
3. Secondary distillation is based on the same principle of separating heads and tails.
4. The finished drink is kept in a dark place for 4 days, after which it is tasted.

Making a drink at home using sugar is the easiest option.

Conclusion

The benefits and harms of moonshine are due to its quality and daily intake. A properly prepared drink can be a real medicine against various diseases, but abuse of it will result in harm to the body. Therefore, it is impossible to determine exactly whether moonshine is useful or not.