Dunder is the liquid left in a boiler after distilling a batch of
rum
Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...
.
It is a traditional
flavor
Flavour or flavor is either the sensory perception of taste or smell, or a flavoring in food that produces such perception.
Flavour or flavor may also refer to:
Science
* Flavors (programming language), an early object-oriented extension to L ...
source used in the fermentation of the
wash
Wash or the Wash may refer to:
Industry and sanitation
* WASH or WaSH, "water, sanitation and hygiene", three related public health issues
* Wash (distilling), the liquid produced by the fermentation step in the production of distilled beverages
...
of Jamaican rum. Similar in process to
sour mash
Sour mash (or sourmash) is a process used in the distilling industry that uses material from an older batch of mash to adjust the acidity of a new mash. The term can also be used as the name of the type of mash used in such a process, and a bo ...
in
Bourbon whiskey
Bourbon whiskey (; also simply bourbon) is a Aging (food), barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn (maize). The name derives from the Kingdom of France, French House of Bourbon, although the precise source of inspiration is uncerta ...
, it is a crucial step in achieving an authentic rum flavor. In Europe, waste liquors from alcohol distillation are referred to as
vinasse
Vinasse is a byproduct of the sugar or ethanol industry. Sugarcane or sugar beet is processed to produce crystalline sugar, pulp and molasses. The latter are further processed by fermentation to ethanol, ascorbic acid or other products. Juice sugar ...
.
Dunder contains many by-products that help in future fermentations, including dead yeast cells, which are an excellent yeast nutrient. Subsequent fermentations using dunder must be carefully controlled to prevent stress on the yeast which will cause a greater amount of mutations. Also if planning to store dunder before use it is advised to refrigerate the dunder to suppress cell division as to prevent mutations. These mutations change flavor, alcohol content, and overall affect consistency of the finished product.
Dunder, if not used to re-pitch the yeast colony, can also be applied as fertilizer.
Traditionally, 20% to 35% of a new wash is dunder from one or more previous washes. This lowers pH, conserves liquid, provides yeast nutrient, and concentrates critical flavoring
esters
In chemistry, an ester is a chemical compound, compound derived from an acid (either organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group () of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (R). These compounds c ...
("rum oils") such as
ethyl formate
Ethyl formate is an ester formed when ethanol (an alcohol) reacts with formic acid (a carboxylic acid). Ethyl formate has the characteristic smell of rum and is partially responsible for the flavor of raspberries, occurring naturally in some plan ...
or
propyl isobutyrate
In organic chemistry, a propyl group is a three-carbon alkyl substituent with chemical formula for the linear form. This substituent form is obtained by removing one hydrogen atom attached to the terminal carbon of propane. A propyl substituent ...
to ensure good rum flavor. Also traditionally, after a run, the spent liquid from the still (dunder) was tossed in "the dunder pit", where it would settle, and where bacterial action would develop the rum oils. It was then removed to make wash as needed.
References
Yeasts
{{distilled-drink-stub