Sunday, August 7, 2011

Making Vinegar


We're following along with another blogger's vinegar making instructions! This is exciting, I've never made vinegar before.

First, we cut up some older apples. Then added 1/4 cup of sugar to a quart of water, stirring until dissolved.


We added the apples to the sugar water.


Now we cover it and let it sit at room temperature (between 73-82 degrees) for about a week. After that we will strain it and put that liquid back into the container, covering it again and allowing it to sit a few weeks, stirring daily. At the end we'll strain and bottle it.

If you have suggestions, let me know and wish us luck!

19 comments:

TLW said...

"If you have suggestions, let me know and wish us luck!"

Luck I can wish you, but I wouldn't know where to begin with advice. So good luck!

Catawissa Gazetteer said...

"This is exciting...".

So this is what it's come to, eh? And your mother had such high hopes, too.

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

Thanks, Little Way.

LOL, Tom (Catawissa). Yeah, she was pretty confused when I told her on the phone today. She doesn't quite know what to think.

Farmgirl Heidi said...

Last night I sat wondering how vinegar is made (while reading a book about making pickles) and today here it is, the recipe. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I am going to make this tomorrow.

Manny said...

Only a week? I didn't realize it was that quick. Good luck. I was thinking of red wine vinegar. How do they make that?

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

Manny, it ferments after a week but you need to let it sit for about a month before it is ready to use.

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

I am wondering how to make this if you don't have regular white sugar, in case there is a time you can't get it imported.

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

Heidi, Great! I hope this works. I am following what another blogger did and compared it against a few other vinegar posts. They are all pretty much the same although one starts with the fruit juice rather than the actual fruit. Then I need to read up on the Mother of Vinegar that this will create. It will be part of what you strain out but I think you can save it and it becomes something similar to a sourdough starter, not that it makes bread, but a vinegar starter. It should be interesting.

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

The recipe I am using is from this link

http://watchingovertheheartandhome.blogspot.com/2011/06/homemade-vinegar-success.html

Lace up and Walk said...

I'm glad that my post encouraged you to give this a try. The book "Wild Fermentation" by Sandor Katz was very helpful for understanding the whole process of fermenting.
Good luck Kathy!I'll be waiting to see how this experiment turns out for you.

Kathy Felsted Usher said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kathy Felsted Usher said...

Amended post- Thank you. We marked the book on Amazon and will probably purchase it. My husband is very interested in learning fermentation processes.

Catawissa Gazetteer said...

So what - you mean you can ferment food, too?

Farmgirl Heidi said...

Hello again Kathy. I wanted to let you know (belatedly) that I am so grateful for this post. I made the vinegar last August and it worked great. I am making some again now. It tastes so good. Thank you for the DIY.

KatB said...

Definitely want to try this! I've got some mature apples hanging around that would be perfect. :)

KatB said...

Oh. Last year. lol

Jennifer @ Town and Country Living said...

I think I have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing!

Angie said...

Hi, Kathy! Thanks for these simple instructions. I can't wait to start my vinegar! I have a question, first, though. I see that you did nnot use a lid on the jar, but what looks like cheesecloth tied with twine. Is there a reason for this? I'm assuming it has something to do with the fermentation process needing oxygen. Thanks in advance for clearing this up!

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

Here is an explantion from one source. The first fermentation process, while it bubbles, is technically making alcohol, like when you make wine. You could use an airlock for that step. But after the bubbles stop, it needs oxygen to make the vinegar and the cheesecloth keeps the bugs and dust out. http://www.indepthinfo.com/vinegar/make-your-own.htm