making vinegar

[chicky momma]

Does anyone know how to make cider vinegar? I have some raw cider which is going hard. Don't want to drink it but also don't want to waste it. Any ideas? thanks, Lisa

[wolfwalkerpa]

This is the way my dad make vinegar he had a wooden barrel that was just used to make vinegar. all i remember them doing is just letting nature take its course some time in the early summer they drained the vinegar away from the mother.( mother ) you will know it when you see it. lol,,,, google making vinegar lots of modern ways to do it.

[suitcase_sally]

Google is your friend. Take advantage:

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5346.html

[BrianK]

A bacteria called Acetobacter lives by consuming ethanol and outputing acetic acid. The bacteria occurs naturally everywhere (in the air, on your counter, and in raw apple juice).

Your cider probably started a natural fermentation from the ambient yeasts in the juice. I would guess there is also a community of acetobacter waiting to take off once the yeasts produce any alcohol.

The acetobacter requires the presence of air to live. When your cider is done fermenting, cover the mouth of the container with a paper towel attached with a rubber band. Set aside in a warm place (ideally betwen 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit).

In a couple of weeks you should smell a sharp, pleasant, acidic aroma as well as see a thin, slimy film grow on top of the cider. That film is the "mother of vinegar". It is a great indicator that the bacteria is doing its job. The vinegar will be completely converted in 6-8 weeks.

If you don't want to rely on nature to infect your cider, you can add an exisiting mother of vinegar to your hard cider to get things going. If you have ever purchased an unpasteurized, unfiltered cider vinegar, the goopy stuff floating in the cider is the mother.

Brian K

[chicky momma]

Thanks everybody I will give it a try! Lisa

[oberhaslikid]

I make vinegar in a crock. I peel apples and pears will work too.Place peelings in the crock and cover with water and cover the crock with a cloth and let set for 8 weeks and then pour off the vinegar in to glass jars and cap them. I keep in a cool dark place.I do not use this for canning .I put this in my animals water.