Vinegar season

[blissful]

The two buckets are foaming and delicious smelling, going from fruit to alcohol right now. These are like kombucha. (https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/how-to-make-bubbly-fruit-flavored-kombucha/)
I took a glass of the peach/pear one and it was delicious, sparkling, fruity. It wasn't clear, I didn't strain it. It's too sweet for me, but that sugar is the fuel that the bacteria/yeast are using to create the alcohol. The full alcohol amount will be done when the foaming is done. This will be like a wine (that is not aged) or a hard cider.

I won't strain it until the fermenting of the fruit is done, probably next week some time. My good friend calls it the prison wine stage.

Then from there on I'll only need to stir it once a week as the alcohol turns to acetic acid, or vinegar. That will take another month or so. Then I'll strain it again and bottle it.

 

[blissful]

Report on these last two buckets of future vinegar. I stir them everyday. The apple and pear cores kept their shape but the bananas are almost nothing. The banana bits are less than dime sized, mostly nothing. The pear slices only have a little fiber and the peels left. All that carbohydrate is fermented and changed to alcohol. Then I taste tested the liquid. It was not sweet anymore. It tasted like wine. If I was going to drink it (which I won't) then I'd add a little sugar for taste and I'm more of a fan of dry wines over sweet wines. There isn't much foaming going on anymore.

I'm going to try to corner mr bliss and see if he can help me strain it through cheese cloth tomorrow and into a clean bucket. He's in the middle of trapping season (muskrats) and gets home near 1 pm. Also more importantly, the banana aroma and taste, there isn't any reminder of it at this point. I'll check it again for the smell and taste in a few months when it is vinegar to see if I can detect it.

 

[blissful]

We strained the two buckets of future vinegar into clean buckets and then I covered with towels. The liquid is cloudy. I'll keep them covered and stir once a week, watching for mothers forming.

 

[larry_stewart]

I got two jars going down stairs that I forgot about , thanks for the reminder. Ill have to check on them.

 

[blissful]

The vinegar for 2023 is done, 4 gallons plus a little. Two buckets. The first was the banana apple vinegar and it had 2 mothers in it. There was no smell of or taste of banana in it. The color is a light yellow. The second was the peach pear vinegar and it had 1 mother (probably less natural sugar) and it had more must in it. We strained them through cheese cloth and put them in vinegar bottles and labeled them. Yay, we are good to go for winter and spring, maybe longer.
I would use bananas in making vinegar again, they have so much sugar in them and they were so inexpensive compared to many other fruits. The fruit broke down quite fast.
@larry_stewart how's your vinegar doing?

 

[larry_stewart]

I had 2 jars, a half gallon and a gallon. The half gallon was good and ready, so I brought it up from the basement. Until reading this, I forgot about the other ones so thanks for reminding me . I'll check on it tomorrow, but I'm sure it's just about ready. Mine are both apple, byproducts from when I made apple cider. The first one has a mild apple flavor, which I love. A slight yellow/ orange color, slightly cloudy.

 

[larry_stewart]

The vinegar for 2023 is done, 4 gallons plus a little. Two buckets. The first was the banana apple vinegar and it had 2 mothers in it. There was no smell of or taste of banana in it. The color is a light yellow. The second was the peach pear vinegar and it had 1 mother (probably less natural sugar) and it had more must in it. We strained them through cheese cloth and put them in vinegar bottles and labeled them. Yay, we are good to go for winter and spring, maybe longer.
I would use bananas in making vinegar again, they have so much sugar in them and they were so inexpensive compared to many other fruits. The fruit broke down quite fast.
@larry_stewart how's your vinegar doing?

How ripe did you let the bananas get before you used them for vinegar ?

 

[blissful]

How ripe did you let the bananas get before you used them for vinegar ?

Some were getting brown skin, some were medium ripe, some were very starchy. I mashed them with my hands as I put them in.

 

[Kathleen]

I have apple peels in the freezer for attempting vinegar. Y'all just reminded me that I meant to do that!

 

[blissful]

Mr bliss told me 'this is the last gallon of our vinegar'. No way. There has to be more. I checked and there are 5 of the 1/2-gallon jars of it in the pantry. The peach vinegar.
We set up a different place in the basement for the vinegars, so he'll move those over to it to consolidate them. There's probably enough to get through winter but I like the fresh stuff the best. We'll be making more soon most likely from apples and pears from the trees.
It's vinegar season! Use whatever fruits you have.

(edit: I saw a video about Bragg's vinegar. Bragg's has been the most popular natural vinegar for years and years. The company sold out to a big company and now people are saying it is thinner and doesn't taste the same. So now, you may or may not want to depend on it. And remember that the cost of apple cider vinegar is up because there isn't enough profit in it for companies. Besides, it's easy to make your own.)

 

[larry_stewart]

And remember that the cost of apple cider vinegar is up because there isn't enough profit in it for companies. Besides, it's easy to make your own.)

Went apples picking a few weeks ago. Made homemade apple cider, and with no more chickens to feed the scraps to, made a few gallons of apple cider vinegar ( or at least started the process).

 

[larry_stewart]

Today I drained the liquid from the apple solids. Has a mixture of wine and vinegar aroma. Now just have to let it sit a few more weeks til the vinegar flavor an qualities set in.

 

[blissful]

Today I drained the liquid from the apple solids. Has a mixture of wine and vinegar aroma. Now just have to let it sit a few more weeks til the vinegar flavor an qualities set in.

Prison wine (joke).

 

[larry_stewart]

Prison wine (joke).

A funny story about making vinegar years ago. ( I may have posted this story in the past so sorry if repeating).

It was my first attempt to make vinegar, and probably pre- mainstream internet. I had a bunch of wine that I had made ( tasted like crap). I figured , let me turn into vinegar. I did a little research ( probably wrong info), and it said to leave he bottles open in a warm area of the house, and in time it will turn to vinegar. The warmest place in the house with a consistent temp is the boiler room. I put a few un open wine bottles in there, but kind of hid them to the side so no one would knock into them accidentally . Went down every few weeks to check ,and it still tasted like crappy wine, so in time, I kinda forgot about them.

Fast forward a few months ( winter time), and we started having issues with the boiler and had to call for service. They came, did what they had to do, and got it running again. After they left, I went down to check things out and noticed the slightly hidden bottles of wine. I started laughing, cause they probably thought I was a closet drunk, and was sneaking into the boiler room to get my fix so my wife wouldn't find out lol. They never said anything. I wonder if they took a sip?

Anyway, I'm a littler better at making vinegar now ( only one time did it fail, and I dint really know what I did wrong) . My wine making skills are better too ( couldn't have gotten any worse). And by better, meaning I can use it to cook with.

 

[taxlady]

I tried a new to me rosé. It's not bad, but it's on the sweet side. I had it with supper a couple of times and it doesn't appeal to me that way. It could be nice to drink while chatting with a friend. But, I figure it will go off before I would get around to having a glass.

How would I go about turning that wine into vinegar?

 

[blissful]

I tried a new to me rosé. It's not bad, but it's on the sweet side. I had it with supper a couple of times and it doesn't appeal to me that way. It could be nice to drink while chatting with a friend. But, I figure it will go off before I would get around to having a glass.

How would I go about turning that wine into vinegar?

I had a bottle of some kind of red wine that I wanted to turn into vinegar. I let it sit in my dining room cover off, for 4-6 months (I don't know exactly how long). It seemed to take longer than the bigger batches of vinegar. Put it somewhere it can sit without workers coming into you home thinking you might be secretly drinking day and night. (funny story @larry_stewart )

 

[blissful]

New batch for '24.
Last year at this time of year, it took 2 weeks before the foaming and strong fermentation took place. Another 4 weeks to turn to vinegar, with fruits/water/sugar.
I started a batch, almost a full 5 gallon bucket with water, sugar, pear pieces, a splash of AC vinegar from last year. Covered it. I'll stir it once a day for the first two weeks. Strain it, then 4 more weeks and it'll be done, around thanksgiving time (for the US).

 

[larry_stewart]

Im an idiot. I made the apple cider vinegar with all the bits and pieces left over from the apples when making cider. But, when canning the pears, it didnt even cross my mind to save the peels and cores to make pear vinegar until after I dumped everything In the compost pile. There's always next year.

 

[taxlady]

Larry, you are not an idiot. You just acted like one.

 

[blissful]

Oh I don't know. I had 20 lbs of peaches I cut up to freeze for our oatmeal or whatever, over the course of 2 weeks and it didn't occur to me to keep the scrap for vinegar. If I can get to make vinegar once a year, that'll be enough.
We keep finding reduced produce fruits, 10-20 in a bag for $1, we could use in vinegar, so if I forget to make it, that's always an option. Bananas are inexpensive, that made good vinegar too.

@taxlady, did you set that wine in a closet or behind a cabinet to check to see if it went to vinegar in the future?