make your own vinegar

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pickles7, Oct 7, 9:10pm
cute, new way love it.
pickles7, Oct 7, 9:23pm
david, buzzy, I bumped up why I am making my own vinegar. When others try and make there pickles this year this will all make sence.
pickles7, Oct 7, 10:19pm
This is the pic of the original mother now. A mother developing . This is what all wine makersdo not want to see in there wine, must.
http://images. trademe.co.nz/photoserver/50/107743650_full. jp
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buzzy110, Oct 8, 12:37am
pickles I appreciate you efforts to help but I need dummies type help. Instructing me to make alcohol is as clear as mud. I started a sour dough thread and in that I give clear and precise information with links for anyone else wanting to make sourdough as well. So I will step out of this thread and go on a hunt by myself. When I have mastered the technique I may pass that information on to other who may also want to make vinegar. Pity, because I was hoping to get ongoing help from an 'expert'.
pickles7, Oct 8, 5:33am
that is the way, I never rely on information on here without my own research. It scares me how some are prepared to offer advise, without the research. I am just giving an account of what is happening for anyone wishing to make vinegar. not just try and make. Like making wine , the time, ingredients and effort put in should be rewarded, with what you set out to produce. If you are wanting to use your vinegar for pickles, then it must have the right acidity. If the alcohol does not come up to what I need to turn my cider into vinegar with the right acidity, I will distill some of my cider.
ellymat, Oct 8, 8:06am
I have just been reading your posts and they are better than the book that I am present making. Your descriptions of turbo yeast, killing your original mother off, etc. makes for a good read. I am absolutely hopeless with all these technical bits. Years ago I made home made wine out of Aunt Daisy's cook book and that turned to vinegar. Please don't ask me how I made it? It was a complete mystery. My grandmother syphoned off for me and said it was the potheen I made and she was very very sick.
Ellymat
pickles7, Oct 8, 8:33am
Hi ellymat,
What was . potheen? . Were you able to use the vinegar. Wild yeasts I avoid, turbo yeast is a relitively new yeast, can tolerate a higher alcohol. Most wine yeasts die off at round 12/14% alcohol. turbo was developed for brewing for using with a still, fast high alcohol, over in a week, sugar, water, yeast .
pickles7, Oct 8, 8:59am
o my,
ellymatt , just could have been, found it in my brewing book. That is why I won't open my brewing vessel until It is time to rack it off. By then most of the sugar has been turned into alcohol.
pickles7, Oct 8, 8:01pm
OK then, all is well in the brewing vessel. Still brewing way faster than I would have expected, the "must" had everything it needed, given that it came from a tin of concentrated apple cider, home brew , from Meadowbrook, Australia. I live in Hawkes Bay. I will try and find some propper cider apples, for next season.
pickles7, Oct 8, 8:04pm
ellymat, found this site , re, your probable potheen,

http://www3. interscience. wiley.com/journal/117869194/abstrac
t? CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
pickles7, Oct 9, 3:02am
ellycat puttin it up for you.
pickles7, Oct 9, 8:37am
My Vinegar eels, pity the picture from the side of the jar wasn't any good. http://www.vinegarman.com/zoo_vinegar_eel. shtml
pickles7, Oct 9, 9:13pm
A new pic of the jar that had the vinegar eels in. It has a thick cloud of something that looks like a tiny bit of cotton wool, teased out, with a solid mass under. It smells devine, just like the raw cider vinegar, before I added the 4 Tablspoons, to the 50/50 , wine, water mix. I will add this brew to my large lot in the airing cupboard today, along with another bottle of water. The alcohol level is too high. It has lots of air, can breath, its warm and the cupboard is dark. Everythinghas been provided for the vinegar eels to come on to do there work . http://images. trademe.co.nz/photoserver/40/107895740_full. jp
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pickles7, Oct 10, 6:24pm
The 23 liters of apple cider is nearing the final stage of brewing. I put it down on the 29th of September, it has been left undisturbed on a heat pad the entire time. It will remain undisturbed, a little longer. I took a pic of the larger vessel with the new mother after it was put in with the brew out of the airing cupboard. It was a little unclear, if I can get a better pic I will post it. There is 3 bottles of wine and three bottles of water in the vessel and it is only half full. Husband would rather have the wine, over vinegar, but as I make it, it is mine to do with, as I please. lol. I have to refrain from adding more. Keep us both happy. pirated my wine.
grinnbareit, Oct 11, 12:06am
I have been making my own red wine vinegar for years. I keep feeding it and drawing some vinegar off asand when I need it. You shouldn't feed white wine, to a red wine mother. good on you for trying. You can always drink it. cider vinegar is very good for you. I may go with itI got real sick on kombucha tea. Cider vinegar is way safer.
pickles7, Oct 11, 7:04pm
higrinnbareit, I am into cider vinegar at the moment. must say I feel heaps better for it. I wouldn't even try kombucha tea. You should feel the benefits within 4 days, if you decide to drink cider vinegar. some put honey and water in it. I just swig on my bottle. Hubby has his bottle. Have you got one of those nice vinegar jars with the tap near the base? . I am going to get a hole cut into a thick 6 liter jar and have a tap put in. lol. may work , hubby thinks not.
pickles7, Oct 12, 8:31pm
This morning I tested the cider, the specific gravity is down to 1000yaaa. Took 14 days. The cider, it is where I needed it to be. I will transfer it to the black barrel, pour 1 liter of raw cider vinegar in, tie a double muslin over the top, and watch closely, as I do not want a wild yeast to enter, via fruit flies. I am looking for the same taste as the vinegar from the culture I will introduce. Wild yeast will not always give the best tasting vinegar, too risky for me.
pickles7, Oct 14, 9:33pm
boo hoo, My jar smashed, I am pppppped off. I put plaster on the jar and prepped it well I thought. Husband wouldn't do it for me. lol tooooo risky, he said. I cleaned out an old fish bowl , ran janola in and over it. Should be OK to use now. But , no tap. I will post a pic later.
pickles7, Oct 17, 6:32pm
A pic of the fish bowl, I am brewing white wine vinegar in. 3 bottles of wine 3 bottles of water and raw cider vinegar. I would not brew vinegar using wild yeast. Some will make good vinegar but, it can go very wrong. Use raw vinegar, , that way you will be giving yourself the best chance. Vinegar mother like to be living in a warm dark spot. I have the bowl on a shelf, and keep her covered.

http://images. trademe.co.nz/photoserver/80/108457080_full. jp
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buzzy110, Oct 17, 9:12pm
So pickles what sort of device you you need to measure gravity? Would I just get one from a brewing shop maybe?
uli, Oct 17, 9:26pm
Yes buzzy - it is called a hydrometer and you can buy them from a brew shop or from Trademe.

Just make sure you know how to make the cider, the rest is just air - you do NOT need a mother of vinegar - and you certainly do NOT want vinegar "eels" in the stuff either.

Some people seem not to realise that they are actually nematodes - and I personally wouldn't like to ingest millions of them ...

It is a bit like sourdough and turbo bread - you can do it slow or fast. I do the slow method and the mother actually forms itself and covers the top of the container.

Some fruit flies are ok too, they can be filtered out. As to the "interesting" theory that they bring in "new" yeasts which are unwelcome - welcome to realty where yeasts abound on the apples you are using and in the air in such quantities that you can use them to even make a sourdough from scratch LOL
pickles7, Oct 18, 6:54am
buzzy... you can buy most everything you need from bin inn. I would also buy something to sterilise your apple juice with, prior to making the cider, you intend to turn into vinegar. I sterilise all my juices before making wine. Maybe the reason I have never had a brew turn into vinegar. Turbo gold, is a high alcohol fast working yeast , given the right conditions. May be ... . uli... . is on another mission. This site should help in the understanding of the work vinegar eels do in the production of a good vinegar. Cheers
pickles7, Oct 18, 7:51am
Go look in here. . easy to understand... ... well, for some, lol.
http://www.vinegarman.com/zoo_vinegar_eel. shtml
uli, Oct 18, 9:08am
Pickles - Vinegar "eels" are not permitted in vinegar to be sold - according to health regulations. Why do you insist on promoting such a stupid website?

I am not sure what your scientific background is, but it seems not very well researched at all what you bring into this thread.

To "buy something" to sterilize the juice with ... is utter crap. I am making wine and vinegar since decades and have yet to sterilize anything. Why would you? Before commercial yeasts one used the yeasts present on the fruit - I still do it this way every year - I just apples and nothing else - and it works very well.
pickles7, Oct 18, 6:57pm
uli... . you need to slow down a little, Who said anything about selling vinegar eels? ... . . That site is the best I have found to explain the work vinegar eels, do... ... ... ... ... ... ... . You are consumed with , "make your own vinegar" and " make your own salami" threads... ... ... You are invited to share your wealth of knowledge and experiences.