Mold on Cider is it unsafe after boil
Mold on Cider is it unsafe? It tasted good strained the mold (blueish) and boiled the cider for 20 min. I plan to put the yeast and fruit in tommorrow. Will the boil and yeast take out the mold bacteria?
Toxins produced by fungi (mycotoxins) will often not be broken down by heat.
If you have had a funky mould growing on your cider before fermentation, then I would probably ditch the whole lot and start again.
Mycotoxins can be exceedingly dangerous. This paper is relating to beer toxins but similar applies to cider: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23832360
It's difficult to know for sure. There are many, many kinds of mold out there, some are harmless, and some are toxic. I'm hoping someone can chime in who knows more about mold than I do, but here are my thoughts:
A 20-minute boil definitely killed the mold organisms. Assuming it's in a sanitary container now, I wouldn't be concerned about the mold coming back. (Note: mold is not the same as bacteria, and the yeast doesn't kill other organisms, just out-compete for food.)
To me, the concern is whatever toxins the mold might have produced in the time before boiling. I'm guessing the chance of toxicity is low, and it's possible that a long boil might have even denatured any toxins that are present.
All told, chances are good that it's fine. It's a good sign that it tasted okay (and that you're not sick!) ...but I did say "chances are good" and it's up to you whether to take the chance. If it were me, I'd probably dump it, but I'm sometimes over-cautious.
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