A couple of months ago I started a batch of vinegar. The sugar water had fermented. I had racked it into a bucket and added the starter (I used Bragg's apple cider vinegar). It was moving along perfectly. It made the water tower smell like vinegar - not the greatest smell in the world, but it meant it was working. The mother created a nice film on the top and everything looked good. And then the towel that was covering it fell into the vinegar. That was just the beginning of a series of mishaps that finally resulted in the vinegar gnats getting into it, laying eggs and leaving their lifeless corpses floating in the liquid. The vinegar smell started to dissapate. Yesterday I finally dumped it.
I will try it again. This time I'll find a better way to keep the gnats out.
It's all about not giving up and taking the easy route I think! Last weekend i made a big batch of laundry detergent...the funnel slipped...and most of it went on my kitchen floor. What a MESS! I didn't even tell a soul because if one more person asks if I've completely lost my mind and why aren't I just buying Tide I might conk them over the head with a detergent bottle. Do you have the recipe for making vinegar? I'd like to try as I use a lot of it.
ReplyDeleteYou can find the link to my recipe above (just click on the vinegar link in the first sentence). The only thing I didn't include was that once the fermentation is complete rack the liquid into a food grade bucket and add 1 cup of unpastuerized vinegar that contains the mother, such as Bragg's apple cider. Cover with cloth and let sit for several months. You will need to buy a titration kit to test acidity though if you plan to can with it.
ReplyDeleteRachel,
ReplyDeleteIf you have a large piece of window screen or some cheese cloth, try that.
I use window screen over my crocks of kraut or pickles.
Oh man, what a disappointment! Inspired by you among others, I just started a batch of apple scrap vinegar (http://twocatpots.com/?p=1652) and am crossing my fingers that everything turns out ok. As you can see in my latest blog post, I've had my share of long-term-project disappointments lately and I sympathize!
ReplyDeleteRachel, my store carries red- and white- wine vinegar mothers that I would gladly trade for a rabbit-harvesting lesson. What do you say? - Nicole
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a faire trade :)
ReplyDeleteBut isn't this all part of the fun? Heck, it's the "failures" that lead to the "ahas!" Looking forward to reading about your next adventures. xo Christine
ReplyDeleteThis isn't very old school in that these two repurposed items are made out of plastic but it's low tech; 1) plastic clothes pins the ones that have the spring work great to secure a cover over a container like a dishtowel on a bread dough raising, 2) bungee cords or the elastic off of a fitted sheet. Sorta like a giant rubber band. I'm famous for forgetting start dates on projects & the projects themselves so I either write on the cloth cover or slip a piece of paper under the "rubber band".
ReplyDeleteBungee cords! Of course! I kept thinking where am I going to find a rubber band that big. LOL
ReplyDelete