A possible way to rapidly make Perique without pressure
In an attempt to "age" brandy using ultrasound, researchers continuously flowed new brandy over a bed of oak chips that were immersed in an ultrasound bath. [Ultrasound is simply high-frequency vibrations (e.g. 40,000 cycles per second).] Ultrasound disrupts the cell structure of the oak chips, rapidly releasing the chemicals from within the wood. They were able to achieve the equivalent of two years of brandy aging in a matter of days.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2017/02/03/ultrasound-waves-wine-brandy/#.WKCPy_krLDc
Although the Perique process may or may not utilize pressure to exclude oxygen from the leaf, the pressure is definitely required to disrupt the cellular structure of the leaf, in order to release the contained chemicals.
If a brave soul is interested in attempting this using ultrasound, this could be tried using a small ultrasonic cleaning bath, such as the one sold by Home Depot, below.
About $35 at Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/SPT-Ultr...Small+Appliances|_pkw__pmt__product_202498189
This item is rather small, with outside dimensions in the range of 4"x 5"x 7". But my own Perique press container is 4" in diameter.
Ultrasound vibrations are blocked by air, so the leaf would need to be thoroughly soaked and immersed in water. IF the primary process in making Perique is the release of cell enzymes and other chemicals, followed by oxidation (rather than by microbial fermentation), then it is possible that using an ultrasound bath might shorten the process from several months to several days.
I'm not planning to try this, since I am content with my present method. If you should decide to give this a try, be sure to post your results.
Bob
In an attempt to "age" brandy using ultrasound, researchers continuously flowed new brandy over a bed of oak chips that were immersed in an ultrasound bath. [Ultrasound is simply high-frequency vibrations (e.g. 40,000 cycles per second).] Ultrasound disrupts the cell structure of the oak chips, rapidly releasing the chemicals from within the wood. They were able to achieve the equivalent of two years of brandy aging in a matter of days.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2017/02/03/ultrasound-waves-wine-brandy/#.WKCPy_krLDc
Although the Perique process may or may not utilize pressure to exclude oxygen from the leaf, the pressure is definitely required to disrupt the cellular structure of the leaf, in order to release the contained chemicals.
If a brave soul is interested in attempting this using ultrasound, this could be tried using a small ultrasonic cleaning bath, such as the one sold by Home Depot, below.
About $35 at Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/SPT-Ultr...Small+Appliances|_pkw__pmt__product_202498189
This item is rather small, with outside dimensions in the range of 4"x 5"x 7". But my own Perique press container is 4" in diameter.
Ultrasound vibrations are blocked by air, so the leaf would need to be thoroughly soaked and immersed in water. IF the primary process in making Perique is the release of cell enzymes and other chemicals, followed by oxidation (rather than by microbial fermentation), then it is possible that using an ultrasound bath might shorten the process from several months to several days.
I'm not planning to try this, since I am content with my present method. If you should decide to give this a try, be sure to post your results.
Bob