Day twentythree.

The mixture has not changed much in the past few days. The smell has not changed either.

Day eighteen.

There was no crust today. We are ready for destilation.

Day seventeen.

After stirring most of the crust sank down. Almost there.

Day sixteen.

Still some bubling on top of the crust. The crust looks darker and darker everyday.

Day fifteen.

The plums in the crust are all squashed but fermentation is still going on.

Day fourteen.

Day thirteen.

Wow! After stirring, it became apparent that most of the plums have sunk to the bottom.

Day twelve.

Smell is now at a constant level. Hopefully it does not bother anybody. The flies have disappeared. Fermentation is still going on.

Day eleven.

There is still a pretty thick crust. Not all of the plums have started fermenting. Still some time to go.

San Francisco Chronicle

I found an interesting and very well written article on home distilling. It is somewhat informative about the legal aspects of this activity in certain countries.

Day ten.

It seems like the mixture is getting clearer. Some of the plums have fallen to the bottom. Still not ready, but it seems to be getting closer. The picture is after stirring the mixture.

Day nine.

There is still lots of fluff at the top of the barrel. I guess it might be because I have been adding few plums now and then. No flies today, that is good. Still some time to go.

Day eight.

Not much change today. More plums have disintegrated, the smell gets stronger and there are less bubbling.

Day seven.

The crust seems to thin out, but there is still more material on top than at the bottom of the barrel. The smell is strong.

Day six.

The number of flies has increased. The crust is still thick. The fermentation has slowed down. After stirring, however, you can see that it is still going down there. I put some more plums, just because they keep falling from the tree. That is not part of my recipe.

Day five.

Fermentation still going on under the crust, there is still some bubbling. I have been mashing and stirring the plums regularly. The smell is getting stronger too.

Day four.

The process has definitely slowed down. There is a thick brown crust on top, and lots of smashed, disintegrated plums. The mixture needs to be stirred at least once a day, so that the fermentation process continues.

Day three.

It seems like the fermentation has slowed down. On closer look, you can notice that fermentation is still going strong under the top level plum funk. There are plenty of bubbling under the top level brown crust. The specific smell is getting stronger.

Day two.

The fermentation is very apparent. The mixture looks like it is practically boiling, with bubbles bursting on top of the plums. It is essential not to fully close the barrels, so that the excessive gas can escape easily. There are not too many flies around the barrels.

Day one.

The fermentation process starts almost right away. It is expected to take 2 to 3 weeks. Initially most of the plums are on top of the container. Some of them look in pretty bad shape. That is to be expected. Here is how my plums look after one day sitting in water and a little sugar. It is very important that you stir the mixture at least once a day. The container should also be kept loosely closed.

Start up the process.

You are now about to do one of the key parts in the making Rakia the Bulgarian style. You will have to add water and perhaps some sugar to start the fermentation. Now it will be a good time to call you uncle in Bulgaria to get the family recipe. The recipe I got is the following. Add one kilogram sugar for each 4 liters of water, at the end of the process this will produce about 400ml of good Rakia. Use your judgment how much liquid you are going to add, but you should have all your plums covered. Put the top on the container. Now you have to wait.

Collect the goods.

Pickup all plums into the carefully washed container. Make sure you collect all plums, including the ones that are all smashed, rotten, or covered with fungus. Make sure you place the container on a shady place, preferably away from the neighbors.

Get down to business.

Once you have the barrels, you are ready to pick the crop. This is best done by shaking the plum tree violently, and then collecting the plums from the ground. You can also use a long stick to get the hard to reach plums. Remember, "There should be lots of material!". Do not worry about ruining the fruit ... this is just the beginning for it.

Barrel(s).

The next item you will need is barrel to store the plum mash. Plastic barrel with a cover is perfectly fine and it is much more affordable than wooden one. The barrel on the picture is a 130 liter garbage bucket that costs about 15 US dollars. People in Bulgaria usually need more than one barrel.

Rakia fans across the web.

I found this somewhat informative and very colorful blog about Bulgarian rakia traditions and customs. It is a pretty good read. http://www.therakiasite.com/

First thing first.

If you are in the business of making Rakia, you'll need to first produce a reasonable quantity of well riped plums. My recipe does not exactly specify neither the quantity nor the quality of the plums. One of my sources, though, claims that "there should be lots of material" (б.а. преведено от: "Трябва да има материал!"). Preferably, you are going to have a plum tree in your backyard. If not, you can buy plums from the local supermarket; most stores in the US sell them for about 4 dollars per kilogram.