A Serbian mobiledistillery ready to go,

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Over the centuries ahomemade product hasbeen present in almostevery household acrossSerbia. It is called rakijaand no birth, baptism,engagement, wedding orfuneral can be imaginedwithout it being served toguests. Justified or not,some types of it (forexample dudovaca,travarica) are evenconsidered to have acurative effect.

The production and consumptionof rakija is strongly connected

with folklore and tradition of thepeople living in this part of Europe.This strong alcoholic beverage can

be found in every country of formerYugoslavia. At the same time, inHungary this homemade product iscalled palinka, inAustria andGermany schnapps, in Slovakiapalenka.Rakija is a clear, colourless,

strong alcoholic drink. It has acharacteristic odour that depends onthe fruit it is made from. It is saidthat at least every second householdin the rural parts of Serbia producesits own rakija. Thus there are asmany varieties of rakija as there areproducers. Mostly the followingkinds of fruit and their mixtures areused for fermentation: plum, apricot,apple, pear, grape, quince, cherry,sour cherry, peach, evenstrawberries.Wild-grown fruit canalso be used, for example, wildcherries, apples, plums.At thebeginning of the 20th century, manyhouseholds in Serbia grew silkworm, which ate mulberry leaves.Therefore, rakija made of mulberry(dudovaca) was often made. Thesedays, it is reckoned that šljivovica –

rakija made from plums, accountsfor 65% of the entire production inSerbia. There is also one special typeof rakija called travarica, which isproduced by adding herbs.Every household has its own

procedure how to make the bestrakija. The recipe is a well guardedsecret and is being passed onthrough the generations. Similar toother traditional ways of makingsomething, people learned how tomake a good rakija by a method oftrial and error, and observing over along period. For example, it has beenknown for ages that a small quantityof distillate isolated at the beginning(prvenac) and the end (patoka) hasto be separated and should not beused for drinking. It is not thrownaway, but can be used for otherpurposes, like cleaning windows.Also it is widely known that thestones from fruit have to beeliminated before fermentation.Recently this common knowledgehas been approved scientifically andthe majority of producers have heard

by Vladimir ErdeljiAlltech Serbia

Distilling your own rakijaThe phenomenon of mobile distilleries in Serbia

(Photo:D

rRozsa

Peter.)

”“Every householdhas its ownprocedure how tomake the bestrakija. The recipeis a well guardedsecret and is beingpassed on throughthe generations.

of methanol and cyanides formationand their harmfulness.Of course, lots of other beliefs that

have no logical sense are still aliveamong the amateurs. For instance, itis believed that the quality of rakijacan be determined by pouring it in aclear glass bottle which is thenclosed and shaken upside down. It isthought that the appearance and sizeof the bubble ring, which is formedon the surface of the liquid in thatway, speaks volumes about itsquality. However, a lot of producersand rakija lovers are now wellinformed, educated and organised.Some of them are equipped with up-to-date apparatus, while others arestill using the same equipment theyhave used for decades. Nowadaysthere can be found someextraordinary homemade rakijas,that can stand side by side with themajority of strong, internationalalcoholic beverages.Rakija is produced by the

fermentation of ripe fruit and byfurther distillation (mostly doubledistillation is used) of the fermentedfruit broth (komina). Fruitfermentation mainly takes place insummer, because the majority offruit is plentiful then, with averagetemperatures around 30°C at dayand 20°C at night. On the otherhand, some fruit like grape ripen inautumn, when the temperatures arelower.Microflora which are

spontaneously present on the fruit’ssurface are responsible for itsfermentation, in a traditional way.Some producers add a small amountof sugar (max 2-3%) to improve thestart of fermentation. There are twotypes of producers, those who do not

add anything to thefruit broth, and thosewho use differentsubstances, such asenzymes, yeast, pHmodifiers, nutritients orantifoam agents. Somehumoroustechnologists say thatthe first group’s rulesare more strict than thebrewer’sReinheitsgebot!

The distillation process usuallytakes place in mobile distilleriescalled pecenjara. They are made ofcopper or stainless steel. The basicprinciple is shown in Figure 1.Whenit comes to mobile distilleries asingle batch is usually 150–200litres of fermented broth. In mostcases, in Serbia people produceprepecenica, i.e. rakija made bydouble distillation, which providesbetter elimination of undesiredcomponents and therefore, improvesrakija’s quality. The heat needed fordistillation is derived from burningwood. It is necessary to stir the brothduring the distillation process. Thisis achieved by a hand-driven stirrer.Some examples of humanimagination and creativity can beseen in the photographs.Along withthese unique samples, the mostmodern distilleries can also be found(see following page).The distillation process is usually

accompanied with a characteristicodour, spreading down the street. Asa teenage boy the author himself

used to help his father during thismagnificent process, by stirring thebroth and sniffing around. On oneoccasion he got so carried away byhelping, that he felt dizzy, althoughhe had not tasted a single drop ofrakija. It was much later that helearnt he was suffering from his firsthangover.An example of well-organised

rakija producers is The Society ofRakija Lovers and Tasters (Društvodegustatora i ljubitelja rakije) fromSenta, Serbia. Its president Dr PeterRozsa says that the motto of thesociety is ’Pure rakija into theglasses’. The society has organisednumerous tastings, educationalcourses, presentations and lecturesheld by experts and equipmentmanufacturers. It also holds annualawards for the best rakija producers.To take part in this contest producershave to meet strict demands. Theminimum quality of rakija isrequired, so before the final tastingsamples are analysed chemically. Ifthe following criteria: alcohol max52%ABV, copper max 5mg/l,cyanide max 70mg/l, pH minimum4.0 are not reached the sample is nottaken forward for further evaluation.Societies like this have done a lot toeducate producers, by answering notonly how, but also why to theirquestions. One example of theiractivity is shown in Figure 2 thatsociety has drawn as a result of theset of experiments. Its purpose wasto help producer to determine thequantity of the distillate at the

Left: Figure 1:A traditional homedistillery showing someof the component partsand a schematic of theprocess.

Brewer & Distiller International • September 2011 • www.ibd.org.uk

Local spirits

35

(Photo:D

rRozsa

Peter.)(P

hoto:D

rRoz

saPe

ter.)

Another traditional homedistillery.

”

“The distillationprocess is usuallyaccompanied witha characteristicodour, spreadingdown the street.As a teenage boythe author himselfused to help hisfather during thismagnificentprocess, bystirring the brothand sniffingaround.

beginning and the end of distillation,which should be separated frommain part, to get the best quality ofthe final product. This is donesimply by sensory evaluation ofproduced distillate all the timeduring the distillation and measuringthe alcohol level and quantity.At the moment the law in Serbia

does not allow home-made rakija tobe sold, but the production is notforbidden. However, many bottlesare exchanged between neighbours,friends and relatives. Keeping inmind that some wedding receptionsin Vojvodina (northern part ofSerbia) can involve more than three

hundred guests, the quantity ofrakija that is drunk on suchoccasions is significant. Somefathers even treasure high-qualityrakija for their children’s weddingsfor decades. During that time itssensory attributes improve further.The majority of households inSerbia grow their own fruit and aftermaking compote, jams, juices andother homemade preserved food,there is still enough left over forproducing rakija. Furthermore,considering the fact that almostevery village has a few distilleries

on wheels, which can be rented atreasonable prices or borrowed, it iseasy to understand how amateurrakija production still flourishes in21st century’s Serbia.�

� The author

Since 2006 VladimirErdelji has beenDevelopmentEngineer for Alltechin Serbia. He wasawarded an MSc inFood Engineeringfrom the University ofNovi Sad and wasone of 17 studentsfrom the old

Yugoslavia given scholarships to carryout research in the UK for three monthsin 2007. His work on bioethanol fromspent grains under GraemeWalker atAbertay gained him a prize for thestudent who the made best use of thevisit. He is also a member of MENSA.You can reach him on:verdelji@alltech.com

Rakija production inprogress.

Brewer & Distiller International • September 2011 • www.ibd.org.uk

Local spirits

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(Pho

to:D

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roslav

Fejdi.)

Amore permanentinstallation.

The dependence of the alcohol level in the second distillate from the quantityand quality (by sensoric evaluation) of the distillate.

Dr Peter Rosza and a moderndistillery.

(Pho

to:D

rRoz

saPe

ter.)