# Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar



## larry_stewart (Oct 10, 2021)

A few weeks back I went apple picking.  It has become an annual tradition to go apple picking and make homemade apple cider ( I have a hand cranked apple cider press).

We are always left with a significant amount of apple scraps as a result of the process.  Initially, I would feed the scraps to the chickens, some in the compost and last year I made homemade apple wine ( which I wouldn't say was great, maybe not even good, but the process was fun.

This year, I decided to make apple cider vinegar.  The process couldn't have been any simpler.   
- Load a jar 3/4 with apple scraps ( peels, cores ...)
- Fill the jar up with sugar water ( 1 tbs sugar / cup of water)
- Make sure the apple scraps are completely submerged 
- Cover with coffee filter / rubber band so it an breath.
- Let it sit in a warm/ dark place for 2 weeks ( I placed mine in the boiler room)
- Filter out the liquid in 2 weeks
- Cover with coffee filter/ rubber band and let the liquid sit another 2 - 4 weeks until desired taste.

Well, today was just shy of the 2 weeks the liquid sat, and it tasted great.  not as concentrated as store bought vinegar, but really good and fresh tasting.

This is the site I used to make the vinegar

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2015/02/how-to-make-apple-cider-vinegar.html


----------



## karadekoolaid (Oct 10, 2021)

Wow - there´s something else I didn´t know. good tip - I´m going to give that a go.
I always thought vinegar had to have a vinegar "mother" - but is that just wine vinegar?


----------



## larry_stewart (Oct 10, 2021)

Just before the recipe starts it says:

 " If a gelatinous blob develops on the top of your vinegar, congratulations! You have created a vinegar “mother”. This mother can be use to jump-start future vinegar batches. You can remove it and store it separately, but I usually just allow mine to float around in the vinegar as I store it."

Sure enough, when I checked it today, a vinegar mother has formed.  I honestly thought it was going to be more complicated.

Only issue is it did attract fruit flies, but I got that under control.


----------



## skilletlicker (Oct 11, 2021)

Thanks Larry! What I love about that is even us single folk who only cook for one can easily save up enough peels and cores to nearly fill a quart jar. No need to buy Bragg's anymore.

Here's a link to Larry's post in CopyMeThat


----------



## larry_stewart (Oct 11, 2021)

skilletlicker said:


> Thanks Larry! What I love about that is even us single folk who only cook for one can easily save up enough peels and cores to nearly fill a quart jar. No need to buy Bragg's anymore.
> 
> Here's a link to Larry's post in CopyMeThat



Yeah, in the article I says if you dont have enough =, you can save the scraps in a container or bag in the freezer until you do have enough.

Im still going to let it go another week or so, since stye gave the 2 - 4 week range and im a about 2 weeks now, I has couldn't wait to taste it, so I cheated a few days early.

So far, as of now, I hit no problems ( other than the fruit flies, which I was able to control)

I did taste it after the first 2 weeks, was I drained he liquid from the solids, and it resembled more of a wine flavor.

My boiler room stays at about a constant 80 degrees F ( same room I usually start my garden seeds in), so I figured this would work with the vinegar, and it did.

I remember many years ago, when I was still living at my parents, one of my dads old Italian clients gave him a home made bottle of wine.  MY dad put it in the basemen and forgot about it.  By he time he opened it, it had basically turned into vinegar.  Fast forward to a few years ago, I had made aa bunch of home made kiwi wine ( due o the abundance of kiwis from he garden).   It didnt taste great ( which is being kind), so I figured, let me take  one from my dads play book, and toss a few bottles downstairs ( in he boiler room) and hopefully it willl turn into vinegar.   Like my dad, I totally forgot about i.   A few months later  we were having issues with the boiler and needed to have it serviced.  After they had lef I went down to check it ou and saw all he stashed botles of wine.  the only thing I could think was that the boiler repair man probably bought I was a closet drunk who snuck downstairs when my wife wasn't looking to sip from a bottle of homemade hooch. 

Getting back to the vinegar,
- Manage fruit flies
- It can and likely will look a little funky as the apple parts ferment, dont panic
- Definitely %100 keep the apple fragments submerged in the liquid
- the coffee filter/ rubber band cover keep fruit flies from getting into he jar
* Once years ago, I was making something else and used cheesecloth, and the flies were able to navigate through the cloth into the jar, even when multilayered*
- Patience.

We actually went picking a few weeks later so I started aa second batch.   Ill see if its picture worthy so I can have pictures of the different stages.


----------



## skilletlicker (Oct 11, 2021)

About the flies and cheesecloth holes. The kind of cheesecloth I buy in the grocery store won't keep out fruit flies. I bought some grade 90 cheesecloth for kefir cheese that does keep them out. Or I use the mason jar lids with a small square of paper towel instead of the sealing disc.

But I wanted to ask about wine to vinegar. You're not adding yeast, the ferment comes from whatever yeasts and bacteria are living on the apple, right. 
I wonder what the alcohol content was after two weeks.
In vinegar production, do the same little critters turning the sugar into alcohol then drink the alcohol and turn it into acid?
If you added yeast to the peels, cores, and sugar water would you get apple wine?
Even if that wine sucked, if you froze it and saved the alcohol, would the applejack suck?


----------



## larry_stewart (Oct 11, 2021)

Can only answer some of those questions.

When I did make apple wine, I did add yeast , and the byproduct was definitely alcohol.
Although I was curious to test the alcohol content, but I was focussed on vinegar, so never did.  Knowing me, being an experimental kinda person, If I confirmed I had alcohol content, I likely would have started splitting the project into wine and vinegar, so Im kinda glad I never checked.

- Also, the wine making process required a significant more amount of sugar ( to feed thee yeast).  I remember using a whole 5 pound bag of sugar.  I read that the kind of yeast used for making wine inhibits the bacteria that produces vinegar .  Also, I know I added other things that also prevents the final product of wine from turning into vinegar..

When I tasted the  ' vinegar in progress' after two weeks, did taste like its had some alcohol, so must have fed off of natural yeast.  Not last strong as when I used the yeast.

I'm definitely not an expert in wine or vinegar making, so everything I'm posting is based on limited experimental experience and whatever I've read during the process.

 I can say that vinegar was much easier, quicker and less technique sensitive that the wine making ( at least was for now).  And the end product , in my limited experience, must much more positive with the vinegar than the wine.   the vinegar tastes exactly as I expected ( maybe even better), and the wine was what it was.   

Its also a biased opinion cause I love vinegar, and am not really fond of wine in general.  So Im not sure any wine would have tasted all that good to me.  

So some may be thinking, then what make wine if you don't like it ?
I do cook with it often ( sauces, gravies, onion soup ... I know your supposed to use wine that tastes good to you when you cook also.  Since no wine taste good to me, this is good and the end product of whatever I out it in is good too.   
Also, gives me something to use the excessive amounts of scraps during the cider making process.  And the year I had over 800 kiwi's, I did everything you can possibly do with kiwis , and still had hundreds left over.

***All this is based off my first attempt at vinegar.  For all I know it may be a fluke and the next batch wont work out as well.  I usually wont consider a recipe a success until having made it a few times, but I was so excited that it actually worked out.***


----------



## blissful (Oct 11, 2021)

Sounds like you know what you are doing Larry and I'm so glad it turned out.


I've been making large amounts of vinegar for at least 5 years. I don't take a lot of time to manage it. The first two weeks I stir daily, strain, then stir much less often, and let it go 2 to 3 months, strain and bottle it. If you don't use it in cooking or making salads it can be used for cleaning purposes. I use the especially older stuff for cleaning because all of the sugars are fermented to alcohol then to vinegar making it taste more acidic and not sweet. 



Out of maybe 10 batches I've also had 3 fail by getting mold, so I just dump them and get on making another batch the next time I have extra fruit scraps.


I think your instructions are great.


----------



## larry_stewart (Oct 11, 2021)

blissful said:


> Sounds like you know what you are doing Larry and I'm so glad it turned out.
> 
> 
> I've been making large amounts of vinegar for at least 5 years. I don't take a lot of time to manage it. The first two weeks I stir daily, strain, then stir much less often, and let it go 2 to 3 months, strain and bottle it. If you don't use it in cooking or making salads it can be used for cleaning purposes. I use the especially older stuff for cleaning because all of the sugars are fermented to alcohol then to vinegar making it taste more acidic and not sweet.
> ...



Thanks, always glad to get confirmation from someone who has done it successfully in the past.

Once complete should it be stored in the fridge?


----------



## blissful (Oct 11, 2021)

larry_stewart said:


> Thanks, always glad to get confirmation from someone who has done it successfully in the past.
> 
> Once complete should it be stored in the fridge?




I keep it in glass canning jars or old vinegar gallon containers in the downstairs pantry. No refrigeration necessary. Over 3-5 years, the vinegar will eat through a metal cap so check them yearly if you have any that old. Plastic under the metal lids usually protect it enough. When I need some for cooking, I put it in squeeze bottles with a cap in the kitchen or glass jars with a cap.


----------



## mR.vINEGAR (Oct 14, 2021)

skilletlicker said:


> About the flies and cheesecloth holes. The kind of cheesecloth I buy in the grocery store won't keep out fruit flies. I bought some grade 90 cheesecloth for kefir cheese that does keep them out. Or I use the mason jar lids with a small square of paper towel instead of the sealing disc.
> 
> But I wanted to ask about wine to vinegar. You're not adding yeast, the ferment comes from whatever yeasts and bacteria are living on the apple, right.
> I wonder what the alcohol content was after two weeks.
> ...



I have been fermenting vinegar for more than 30 years and was able to get 19 International awards. (Google; Meet Mr. Vinegar) to give you a better perspective of where I'm coming from.

The home vinegar fermenter almost always has their batch go into "over oxidation".  The yeast produces the alcohol for the acetobacter (Vinegar producing bacteria) to consume. When the acetobacter has consumed all of the available alcohol it will then consume the vinegar it has already produced.  The batch is then converted back to plain water.  Many do not have the equipment to titrate for this, so the old tasting method always works.  Once you have a working batch and a mother has developed, it should only be approximately 6-10 days for completion.  Before starting another batch, remove the mother and discard.  There will be enough viable acetobacter within the liquid to start.  The mother interferes with the O2 absorption at the surface.  A good indicator of when your batch has fermented all of the available alcohol, is the formation of "excess" mother.


----------



## pepperhead212 (Oct 14, 2021)

Welcome to the forum!

Question for you *mR.vINEGAR*  - if the acetobacter eventually start consuming the acetic acid, once they have converted all of the alcohol, how would a bottle of unpasteurized vinegar stay acidic?  I can see that there would be little oxygen, at first, but once the air space increases in a bottle, does that mean the acidity starts decreasing?


----------



## taxlady (Oct 14, 2021)

Interesting question Dave. Now, I'm curious too.


----------



## mR.vINEGAR (Oct 14, 2021)

pepperhead212 said:


> Welcome to the forum!
> 
> Question for you - if the acetobacter eventually start consuming the acetic acid, once they have converted all of the alcohol, how would a bottle of unpasteurized vinegar stay acidic?  I can see that there would be little oxygen, at first, but once the air space increases in a bottle, does that mean the acidity starts decreasing?



Hi Dave.  When "active" vinegar is bottled, there will be a bit more fermentation action, but very little.  It would probably use up the available O2 within an hour or so.  Commercial vinegar does not contain active culture.

Unpasteurized vinegar should remain sealed, air tight for at least a month to ensure there is no more activity.  If left open to the air, it may eventually start fermenting further due to the ever present, air born acetobacter.  Home fermenters know how difficult it is getting a batch "started' so I don't think there would be a problem.

If you go to your nearest pub, they may have malt vinegar sitting on the tables in "open to the air" dispensers.  Check the bottle to see if there is any floating material (mother).  I have seen many of these because these dispenser usually sit, open, for many months (Or years).  Ask the owner if you can have a small bit to take home, if you want to start a batch going.  You wont need a lot, about a tbls.  I hope this answers your question. Cheers


----------



## mR.vINEGAR (Oct 14, 2021)

mR.vINEGAR said:


> Hi Dave.  When "active" vinegar is bottled, there will be a bit more fermentation action, but very little.  It would probably use up the available O2 within an hour or so.  Commercial vinegar does not contain active culture.
> 
> Unpasteurized vinegar should remain sealed, air tight for at least a month to ensure there is no more activity.  If left open to the air, it may eventually start fermenting further due to the ever present, air born acetobacter.  Home fermenters know how difficult it is getting a batch "started' so I don't think there would be a problem.
> 
> If you go to your nearest pub, they may have malt vinegar sitting on the tables in "open to the air" dispensers.  Check the bottle to see if there is any floating material (mother).  I have seen many of these because these dispenser usually sit, open, for many months (Or years).  Ask the owner if you can have a small bit to take home, if you want to start a batch going.  You wont need a lot, about a tbls.  I hope this answers your question. Cheers


I forgot to add; Acetobacter is a "Strict Aerobe"  Without free O2, it quickly dies off.


----------



## taxlady (Oct 14, 2021)

mR.vINEGAR said:


> I have been fermenting vinegar for more than 30 years and was able to get 19 International awards. (Google; Meet Mr. Vinegar) to give you a better perspective of where I'm coming from.
> 
> The home vinegar fermenter almost always has their batch go into "over oxidation".  The yeast produces the alcohol for the acetobacter (Vinegar producing bacteria) to consume. When the acetobacter has consumed all of the available alcohol it will then consume the vinegar it has already produced.  The batch is then converted back to plain water.  Many do not have the equipment to titrate for this, so the old tasting method always works.  Once you have a working batch and a mother has developed, it should only be approximately 6-10 days for completion.  *Before starting another batch, remove the mother and discard.  There will be enough viable acetobacter within the liquid to start.*  The mother interferes with the O2 absorption at the surface.  A good indicator of when your batch has fermented all of the available alcohol, is the formation of "excess" mother.


I don't understand. How will there be any acetobacter, if there isn't any mother? Do you start the next batch with some of the old batch, but minus the mother?


----------



## larry_stewart (Oct 14, 2021)

thanks for chiming in Mr Vinegar.  I just got home from work and cant focus, but I look forward to reading this thread tomorrow when I can concentrate.


----------



## pepperhead212 (Oct 14, 2021)

Thanks for the info, *mR.vINEGAR*.  I know the first vinegar I made was some pineapple vinegar, and supposedly, the scraps from the pineapple seems to help trigger both the conversion to alcohol, plus the conversion of alcohol to acetic acid, so I have put some scraps in when making other vinegars, as well.  I never had to find a "mother".


----------



## Vinylhanger (Oct 15, 2021)

pepperhead212 said:


> Thanks for the info, *mR.vINEGAR*.  I know the first vinegar I made was some pineapple vinegar, and supposedly, the scraps from the pineapple seems to help trigger both the conversion to alcohol, plus the conversion of alcohol to acetic acid, so I have put some scraps in when making other vinegars, as well.  I never had to find a "mother".


How did it turn out?  This intrigues me.


----------



## mR.vINEGAR (Oct 15, 2021)

taxlady said:


> I don't understand. How will there be any acetobacter, if there isn't any mother? Do you start the next batch with some of the old batch, but minus the mother?



Its the same as; "Which came first, the chicken or the egg".  You must acquire a viable working culture before you can get a "mother".  However, the mother is not conducive to good "static" fermentation as it hinders the absorption of the O2 at the surface of the batch.

Once you have a batch that is "finished", remove the mother with a slotted spoon and discard.  There will be enough culture within the liquid to ensure another batch.


----------



## taxlady (Oct 15, 2021)

mR.vINEGAR said:


> Its the same as; "Which came first, the chicken or the egg".  You must acquire a viable working culture before you can get a "mother".  However, the mother is not conducive to good "static" fermentation as it hinders the absorption of the O2 at the surface of the batch.
> 
> Once you have a batch that is "finished", remove the mother with a slotted spoon and discard.  There will be enough culture within the liquid to ensure another batch.



So, one takes some of the vinegar from which the mother was removed to make another batch. Have I got that right?


----------



## mR.vINEGAR (Oct 15, 2021)

taxlady said:


> So, one takes some of the vinegar from which the mother was removed to make another batch. Have I got that right?



When your batch is assumed "finished", remove and discard the mother. Remove approximately 50% of the batch.  Add more food (alcohol), being careful not to exceed 7-8% alcohol to the total volume.  If your batch was active, the new addition of food should be finished in approximately 7-10 days.  You should monitor the mother production during this phase.  When the mother becomes too thick, your batch is finished.  Repeat the process.  NOTE: Removing 50% of the finished vinegar will keep the process going.  However, after a few months, you may notice the mother becoming very thick and very soon.  Like al other biological processes, that indicates that YOU HAVE TOO MUCH VIABLE CULTURE.  This will result in the mother being produced at a greater rate than the conversion of alcohol to acetic acid (vinegar).  Some culture must be removed.  To do this, remove 75% of the finished batch.


----------



## taxlady (Oct 15, 2021)

mR.vINEGAR said:


> When your batch is assumed "finished", remove and discard the mother. Remove approximately 50% of the batch.  Add more food (alcohol), being careful not to exceed 7-8% alcohol to the total volume.  If your batch was active, the new addition of food should be finished in approximately 7-10 days.  You should monitor the mother production during this phase.  When the mother becomes too thick, your batch is finished.  Repeat the process.  NOTE: Removing 50% of the finished vinegar will keep the process going.  However, after a few months, you may notice the mother becoming very thick and very soon.  Like al other biological processes, that indicates that YOU HAVE TOO MUCH VIABLE CULTURE.  This will result in the mother being produced at a greater rate than the conversion of alcohol to acetic acid (vinegar).  Some culture must be removed.  To do this, remove 75% of the finished batch.



Add more alcohol? Like vodka? Or more apple peels? Do you throw away the 50% that you remove or do you use it to start the next batch?


----------



## mR.vINEGAR (Oct 16, 2021)

taxlady said:


> Add more alcohol? Like vodka? Or more apple peels? Do you throw away the 50% that you remove or do you use it to start the next batch?



That 50% is finished vinegar.  Bottle it and seal it tightly so that no air can get into it.  The culture will continue to work in the bottle for about 1-2 hours before it runs out of free dissolved O2.  Keep it sealed for a month to ensure there is no live culture remaining.

The 50% left behind is loaded with live culture.  Add your food source to that which should be an alcohol solution such as wine or beer.  You don't want too much alcohol.  You do not want to add more fruit pieces to that.  It should only be approximately 6-10 days for that food source to be finished vinegar.


----------



## taxlady (Oct 16, 2021)

mR.vINEGAR said:


> That 50% is finished vinegar.  Bottle it and seal it tightly so that no air can get into it.  The culture will continue to work in the bottle for about 1-2 hours before it runs out of free dissolved O2.  Keep it sealed for a month to ensure there is no live culture remaining.
> 
> The 50% left behind is loaded with live culture.  Add your food source to that which should be an alcohol solution such as wine or beer.  You don't want too much alcohol.  You do not want to add more fruit pieces to that.  It should only be approximately 6-10 days for that food source to be finished vinegar.



Thank you. Does one do the same thing again, with this new batch of vinegar?


----------



## mR.vINEGAR (Oct 16, 2021)

taxlady said:


> Thank you. Does one do the same thing again, with this new batch of vinegar?



You continue with this method for as long as you wish.  It will continue to produce vinegar.  However, you must be sure that the alcohol value is not too high.  Use wine which is approximately 11% -12% alcohol/vol.  You must dilute it to about 7% alcohol. I am including this calculation for you.  All you need to do is enter your own values.  let me know if you need assistance with it.
Diluting an Alcohol Base with a Liquid Containing No Alcohol 
To Obtain an Exact Desired Volume

Desired: 8.0% alcohol/volume
Base(Wine): 11.2%/volume
Desired volume: 750ml
Dilution Liquid is water


750ml / [Base 0.112 / 0.08] = 535.7ml water
750ml – 535.7ml = 214.3ml base (wine)

Base Liquid = 535.7ml
Dilution Water = 214.3ml


Therefore, add 214.3ml of dilution liquid (water) to 535.7ml base (Wine).
Total volume 535.7ml + 214.29ml = 750ml

Check:
(535.7ml Base)(0.112) = 60ml of alcohol

60ml alcohol / 750ml TV = 8% alcohol/volume.


----------



## blissful (Oct 16, 2021)

Mr Vinegar, thank you for gracing this thread. I appreciate your experience and you talking math in your last post.



I've made vinegar from fruit with a small amount of sugar added to fruit scrap/water.
A. with a small amount of active vinegar
Is the active vinegar to lower the PH or is it to introduce some active culture? Or both?
B. without active vinegar.
Do you think it is a necessary ingredient in fruit scrap/sugar/water with my sights on vinegar?
I've had success both ways.


When I made red wine vinegar, it took much longer (than fruit scrap/sugar/water) to get to vinegar, is there a reason for that? I did not add anything but air for it to turn to vinegar.


I've made vinegar from fruit scrap/water/sugar/(active vinegar or not).
The recipes that used more sugar/gallon with the fruit scrap moved so much faster, foamed more, formed a thicker mother, than the one's with less sugar.

I'm going by approximate amounts and smell and taste to measure.

As long as I don't go over the 11% or 12% of alcohol, is it actually moving faster toward vinegar than a future vinegar that doesn't seem to have the smell of much alcohol?
If you have time, thank you for all the information provided, it is very helpful.


----------



## larry_stewart (Oct 17, 2021)

So my vinegar made from apple scarps, sugar and water seems to be coming along fine.  Ive already let the scraps sit for 2 weeks, strained it and let it sit another 2 weeks.  During this time a mother formed.  Now its in its 3rd week after straining and it seems the mother  stank to the bottom and another one is forming at the surface.  I tasted it earlier in the week and I was happy with the results.  So my questions are:

1) is its normal for a second mother to form ?
2) Is this a good time for me to take out the vinegar I want to use/ store , and add wine to the remaining to start another process going ?

***I have some crappy apple wine that I made , and I think this would be a good way to use some of it up.  In addition, I also made some cranberry wine, so why not make some cranberry vinegar, especially this time of year***


----------



## mR.vINEGAR (Oct 17, 2021)

larry_stewart said:


> So my vinegar made from apple scarps, sugar and water seems to be coming along fine.  Ive already let the scraps sit for 2 weeks, strained it and let it sit another 2 weeks.  During this time a mother formed.  Now its in its 3rd week after straining and it seems the mother  stank to the bottom and another one is forming at the surface.  I tasted it earlier in the week and I was happy with the results.  So my questions are:
> 
> 1) is its normal for a second mother to form ?
> 2) Is this a good time for me to take out the vinegar I want to use/ store , and add wine to the remaining to start another process going ?
> ...



I sounds to me like your vinegar ferments are approaching the Kombucha method.   If you have a working culture going, there is no need to ad more fruit scraps etc.  All that will do is prolong an alcohol fermentation which you don't want.  The "bubbling" you see is the alcohol being produced.  Vinegar fermentation will not produce "bubbles".  What you want to do is feed your batch "alcohol" and not fruit scraps.

I'm assisting another person with this.  I will attach a simple calculation for you to follow that I offered her.  When you feel you have a batch that resembles vinegar, remove the mother and discard it.  The mother serves no purpose other than to protect the culture in ways that can be explained later.  Your method should be "static" and it should not be disturbed in any way once you feed it.  Because it is a static process, the mother interferes with the O2 absorption at the surface.  The "Aceto Bacter" (vinegar making bacteria) is a strict aerobe.  It requires free O2 to survive.  Without it, it dies.

Back to your batch; Remove the mother and discard.  There will be enough culture in the liquid to keep it going.  Measure the volume you remove "As Finished Vinegar" and seal it tightly in a bottle so as to prevent air from getting in.  Be sure to leave a slight head space.  If you know the volume you removed, it must be replaced with alcohol that should not be too strong.  You want to keep it at approximately 6%-7% alcohol/vol.  You can use whiskey, Rum Wine or a strong beer.  If you know the alcohol values, the calculation I'm attaching will help you "dilute" these.  Wine would be the best choice because the whiskey and Rum are usually 40% alcohol/vol. and your dilution will not see a very large volume.  Wine is your best option but be sure to know the alcohol value.  To water down the wine, you can use a fruit juice of your choice, preferably grape juice, in keeping with the wine scenario.

Here is the calculation and please contact me if you have any difficulties with it.  All you need to do is insert your values.

  Diluting an Alcohol Base with a Liquid Containing No Alcohol 
To Obtain an Exact Desired Volume

Desired: 8.0% alcohol/volume
Base(Wine): 11.2%/volume
Desired volume: 750ml
Dilution Liquid is water


750ml / [Base 0.112 / 0.08] = 535.7ml water
750ml – 535.7ml = 214.3ml base (wine)

Base Liquid = 535.7ml
Dilution Water = 214.3ml


Therefore, add 214.3ml of dilution liquid (water) to 535.7ml base (Wine).
Total volume 535.7ml + 214.29ml = 750ml

Check:
(535.7ml Base)(0.112) = 60ml of alcohol

60ml alcohol / 750ml TV = 8% alcohol/volume.


----------



## larry_stewart (Oct 18, 2021)

So I removed about 1/2 gallons worth of my new, freshly made Apple vinegar.  I must say, it really does taste significantly better than store bought stuff.  I know everyone always says " homemade is better than store bought". Sometimes its true, other times not,  In this case, I can truly taste the difference.  that being said, I usually dont buy high quality brand name vinegars, which Im sure has something to do with it.

I had 2 large jars going.  Both had produced mothers.  I removed the mother from one, left the mother in the other ( more as an experiment than anything else).  I added homemade apple wine too one, and homemade cranberry wine to the other.  Looking forward too the results.


----------



## mR.vINEGAR (Oct 18, 2021)

larry_stewart said:


> So I removed about 1/2 gallons worth of my new, freshly made Apple vinegar.  I must say, it really does taste significantly better than store bought stuff.  I know everyone always says " homemade is better than store bought". Sometimes its true, other times not,  In this case, I can truly taste the difference.  that being said, I usually dont buy high quality brand name vinegars, which Im sure has something to do with it.
> 
> I had 2 large jars going.  Both had produced mothers.  I removed the mother from one, left the mother in the other ( more as an experiment than anything else).  I added homemade apple wine too one, and homemade cranberry wine to the other.  Looking forward too the results.



The one with the mother will probably not ferment as "efficiently" as the other.  However, if it offers a vinegar that you like, go for it.  I think you're on your way to producing vinegar "ongoing".  You will eventually have more vinegar that you can use.  Keep family & friends in mind.  When you bottle it, be sure that it is a very tight seal so that air cannot get into it.  I usually wrap a bit of plastic cling wrap over the opening and then seal.  The culture will still be active when you bottle it.  It will consume the air that was trapped inside for a couple of hours.  This means there will be a vacuum inside the bottle.  Never underestimate the power of a vacuum.  If your bottle is not properly sealed, that vacuum will start to draw in air and that will keep the culture alive.  If that happens, you'll end up with a bottle of water.


----------



## GotGarlic (Oct 18, 2021)

Cool beans, Larry! I wish I could taste it! [emoji39]


----------



## pepperhead212 (Oct 18, 2021)

mR.vINEGAR said:


> The one with the mother will probably not ferment as "efficiently" as the other.  However, if it offers a vinegar that you like, go for it.  I think you're on your way to producing vinegar "ongoing".  You will eventually have more vinegar that you can use.  Keep family & friends in mind.  When you bottle it, be sure that it is a very tight seal so that air cannot get into it.  I usually wrap a bit of plastic cling wrap over the opening and then seal.  The culture will still be active when you bottle it.  It will consume the air that was trapped inside for a couple of hours.  This means there will be a vacuum inside the bottle.  Never underestimate the power of a vacuum.  If your bottle is not properly sealed, that vacuum will start to draw in air and that will keep the culture alive.  If that happens, you'll end up with a bottle of water.



Good to know about the vacuum, and that gives me an idea, for something that I use for a lot of things - _Vacu Vin_.  It's just a rubber top for wine, but I use it for a lot of things that I don't use very often, and after sucking almost all of the air out, they keep very well.  I'll try that next time I make vinegar.  Plus, I have some similar lids for mason jars, to form a vacuum while making kimchi, and the like - should help store the vinegar.


----------



## taxlady (Oct 18, 2021)

pepperhead212 said:


> Good to know about the vacuum, and that gives me an idea, for something that I use for a lot of things - _Vacu Vin_.  It's just a rubber top for wine, but I use it for a lot of things that I don't use very often, and after sucking almost all of the air out, they keep very well.  I'll try that next time I make vinegar.  Plus, I have some similar lids for mason jars, to form a vacuum while making kimchi, and the like - should help store the vinegar.



Using the Vacu Vin to seal the bottle of vinegar sounds like a great idea to me, but I'm no expert. I do have a Vacu Vin.


----------



## larry_stewart (Oct 18, 2021)

Would corking it like a wine bottle be of any benefit if im storing it for awhile ?


----------



## pepperhead212 (Oct 18, 2021)

I think the cork would cause a problem, since it breathes - not enough for the beginning, when you need the oxygen, but with the finished vinegar, you don't want it to breath, from what I gather.  That's why I thought of that vacu vin.


----------



## mR.vINEGAR (Oct 19, 2021)

pepperhead212 said:


> I think the cork would cause a problem, since it breathes - not enough for the beginning, when you need the oxygen, but with the finished vinegar, you don't want it to breath, from what I gather.  That's why I thought of that vacu vin.



A cork would absolutely cause a problem.  It will allow air into the bottle.  I think a simple tight screw on cap would suffice.  Adding a small bit of cling wrap over the top first would act as a gasket and ensure no air getting inside.


----------



## pepperhead212 (Oct 23, 2021)

Today I started a batch of that pineapple vinegar,  that I mentioned before.  I hadn't looked at that recipe for years, but it was basically the same as Larry's with the apple scraps - this has a quart of water and 1/4 c brown sugar, added to trimmings from a half of a pineapple.  I also had some pineapple pieces in the fridge, that had started fermenting - something they often do - so I put those in.  I crushed everything, getting some juice with the scraps, and put everything in a gallon jar, with a cheesecloth cover.  Now, time  to wait!


----------



## larry_stewart (Oct 23, 2021)

pepperhead212 said:


> Today I started a batch of that pineapple vinegar,  that I mentioned before.  I hadn't looked at that recipe for years, but it was basically the same as Larry's with the apple scraps - this has a quart of water and 1/4 c brown sugar, added to trimmings from a half of a pineapple.  I also had some pineapple pieces in the fridge, that had started fermenting - something they often do - so I put those in.  I crushed everything, getting some juice with the scraps, and put everything in a gallon jar, with a cheesecloth cover.  Now, time  to wait!



good luck, keep us posted.   I cant wait to try other vinegars.


----------



## pepperhead212 (Nov 3, 2022)

Bumped this thread up, since I thought those making vinegar would find some good information, not just on apple cider vinegar.  .


----------



## dragnlaw (Nov 3, 2022)

Never made and really, in the foreseeable future will not be....  but that being said, thanks *pepperhead,* it was a very interesting read!


----------



## larry_stewart (Nov 3, 2022)

I just finished up a bottle of Balsamic Vinegar to find that a relatively large mother formed .  Can I make use of this ?


----------

