Making Vinegar

[walnuthollow]

I want to thank everyone for their replies. I'm going to give it a try with the braggs vinegar... anyone know how long it takes?

 

[bornthrifty]

haven't made much vinegar, but since I brought the subject up yesterday, I feel I should let you know what I have found out

vinegar can be made from juice, yes,
but it sounds like our ancestors used the sraps of fruit (peels and cores of apples for example)added some water (maybe some sugar?) covered it with a towel and let it sit for several months in a dark place, and when they found it again it had a slimy layer on top and the water had turned to vinegar, the mother was used again and again to make vinegar faster from then on...

I learned to make vinegar from my mexican neighbor, she used pineapple scraps, brown sugar (half cup or so) and covered it all with water in a 2 quart container, added the mother to the top and covered with cloth, or left the lid on crooked for air, now in about two days we had a foamy pineppple drink that tasted like beer, that is what she wanted and drank that for her health, she would often freeze the drink at that stage so she could have it on hand when ever she wanted it, because it quickly changed, (I learned, to vinegar) length of time depends on the size of the mother, could take a few days, or it could take a week or even two, (I think length of time also effects the acidity)

now my friend would claim that juice, and then use the same pineapple scraps , and mother and added more sugar, and more water to make a second batch out of the same scraps


it sounds like some people just take some vinegar out and add water in here and there (like you do for sour doughs ) and have a perpetual vinegar growing on the counter (not in direct light, back by the rifrigerator, or some where warmish, and darkish, but doesn't have to be totally dark)


hths good luck,

(now, what is really fun, I didn't use my vinegar fast enough, and my vinegar in the closet has grown another small mother on top of it!!!!which is just so cool !as it really drives home the fact that this vinegar is alive and has many healthful benefits over the dead stuff we often use)

this will taste so good(you will be amazed) you can drink it or mix it, and of course clean with it, or use it in cooking...
but watch out as the acid is hard on your teeth, I was drinking it 1T or so a day for my arthritis, and my teeth became very sore and sensative, so now I make sure I brush it off my teeth and use an enamal repairing mouth rinse

 

[walnuthollow]

Wow, that's alot of great information. Thank you so much for taking the time to post this....