Someone gave me ALOT of ACV. What do I do with it?

[urban dreamer]

So I have two giant jugs of the stuff. What would you do with it? The chickens get a teaspoon of it when I change thier water, but that's as far as I've gotten.

 

[ORChick]

Nice gift! IF its the real stuff

There are 3 kinds of ACV out there, that I know of.

#1 - Real apple cider vinegar, made from apples, and unpastuerized - and expensive. If you have this you have a prize.

#2 - Real apple cider vinegar, made from apples, but pastuerized. This is still OK, but lacks the live aceto-bacteria that are so good for us, and our animals. If this is what you have I would use it in cooking, where the good beasties would be killed off anyway, or to rinse my hair.

#3 - The "supermarket imposter", AKA "apple flavored vinegar", which is just distilled white vinegar with apple flavoring in it. If this is what you have I would use it for cleaning purposes.

 

[freemotion]

#3 - The "supermarket imposter", AKA "apple flavored vinegar", which is just distilled white vinegar with apple flavoring in it. If this is what you have I would use it for cleaning purposes.

Really? I did not know this existed!!!! I can hardly wait to get to the grocery store to check it out!

 

[ORChick]

Free, last I looked (which was awhile ago, as I make my own ACV now) all the gallon jugs were "apple flavored"; real, though pastuerized, ACV didn't come in anything larger than a quart.

While you are checking the labels check out the distilled vinegar too. Some of it is distilled from grain alcohol, but some is apparently made from petroleum . I don't use white vinegar at all in my cooking, but I have some for cleaning, and as a rinse for my laundry. When I first read about the petroleum angle I looked at the jug that I had - it did not specify what the source of alcohol was. The next one I got I made sure that it stated that it was made from grain.

http://tinychoices.com/2008/05/07/is-vinegar-made-from-petroleum/

 

[Dace]

Geeze. Is there no end to the clever marketing tactics?

 

[pioneergirl]

I have super hard water, so I add a dash to the water I boil my canning lids in, and about a tablespoon to the pressure canner water...keeps those ugly water rings off the jars. Also keeps the minerals from making a nearly impossible to clean ring in the canner.

 

[urban dreamer]

I had to go and look at it. It's the cheap flavored stuff. I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth, heck it was free and there's tons of the stuff! So how do I clean with it? What can I make of this?

 

[freemotion]

It will keep forever and will be just fine for cleaning. Put a half cup or so in a gallon of water and use it for most anything....floors especially, and for wiping down surfaces. You can use it in the rinse dispenser in your washing machine, too. It won't make things smell like pickles unless you use too much. It will smell like vinegar while you are cleaning, but the smell will fade quickly once you dump the bucket.

 

[ORChick]

Absolutely correct - never look a gifthorse in the mouth! That's a sure way to never get another gift.

This is one of many sites about cleaning with vinegar:

http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/vinegar

Remember to use common sense with these ideas. White distilled vinegar is the one most often used for cleaning; your faux ACV will work just fine, but it isn't clear. Make sure you test for staining if using on anything light colored.

 

[ORChick]

I have super hard water, so I add a dash to the water I boil my canning lids in, and about a tablespoon to the pressure canner water...keeps those ugly water rings off the jars. Also keeps the minerals from making a nearly impossible to clean ring in the canner.

Pioneergirl, thanks for this tip. I just make a point of wiping everything down, after canning, with a damp cloth. I like your idea much better