It's that time of year when the apples are beginning to ripen. Inevitably there will be fallers, but if we collect them early early they can be used in lots of different ways. On the orchard we have many! Anyone passing is encouraged to collect them, and we collect the best every week. Often, a box can be found by our allotment site pavillion for plotholders to help themselves to. Last year, which was a bumper harvest we had more than usual, so sought out new ways to use them. One of these was making cider vinegar. Orchard volunteers experimented with two recipes which we'll share here.
From Homestead and Chill if you follow this link there is information about the benefits of cider vinegat and photos of the process.
Instructions
HOMEMADE APPLE CIDER VINEGAR RECIPE
When you’re making apple cider vinegar, the goal is to fill your chosen container about halfway full of chopped apples or apple scraps. Then, the rest of the container is filled with a combination of water and dissolved sugar.
Sugar to water ratio: 1 tablespoon of sugar per one cup of water, or scaled up to 1 cup of sugar per one gallon of water.
Yes, the use of sugar is essential in this process. There are several types of beneficial bacteria naturally present on fruit, including our friends lactobacillus and acetobacter. The addition of sugar provides food for those bacteria to rapidly grow and thrive. They will change the environment in the crock through a series of chemical reactions, first changing the sugar to alcohol, and then further transforming that alcohol into acetic acid over time. Therefore, the final apple cider vinegar is very, very low in sugar, and the alcohol content is virtually non-existent!
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1) Gather & Prepare Apples
When making apple cider vinegar with whole apples, the prep is pretty dang easy too. Simply wash the fruit well with water (no soap!) and chop them up into smallish chunks. You can leave the skins, cores, seeds, and even stems in there!
Add the apples to your glass container of choice, filling it about halfway full with apples. Ensure the container is nice and clean, but doesn’t have any soap residue present – which can cause off-flavours. We clean all of our fermentation supplies with plain white vinegar and hot water.
2) Add Water & Sugar
Next, it is time to get wet and feed the bacteria! Pour room-temperature to lukewarm filtered water over the apples until the container is completely full. Keep track of how much water you add as you go! To do this, I suggest adding water with a measuring cup, or a jar that you can note the volume of. We need to know the water volume to determine how much sugar to add.
Unfortunately, it isn’t as simple as half of your container. For example, when we fill a 2-gallon crock “half full” of apples, that doesn’t mean it is taking up a true half of the volume – because of the air space between the cut fruit. We can generally still fit 1.5 gallons of water inside.
Now, scaling up or down as needed, add 1 tablespoon of sugar per one cup of water used, or 1 cup of sugar per one gallon of water. Stir thoroughly until all of the sugar appears to have dissolved into the water. Here is where the “lukewarm” water helps out!
To inoculate and kick start our batch, we usually add a few glugs of finished apple cider vinegar. This step isn’t necessary, but may help prevent the formation of mould – especially if you are attempting to do this during a cold time of year.
3) Let Sit to Ferment – and Stir!
Once the apples, water, and sugar are all combined, cover your container with a breathable material, such as a lint-free tea towel, old pillow case, or coffee filter. I do not suggest using cheesecloth or any looser-knit material – it may allow fruit flies in!
Set this container in a location that is around 70 to 75°F, if possible. This is the ideal temperature range for fermentation. The container should also be kept in a dark location. Because we need to see and access it daily for the first two weeks (described below), we keep ours out on the kitchen counter, but wrap the crock in a dark towel or pillowcase to block the light.
For the first two weeks, your fermenting apples should be stirred every day. The purpose is to ensure the sugar doesn’t settle on the bottom, and also rotate which pieces are floating on top. If the same apples are left to float, exposed to the air, there is a chance of mold developing on them. Stirring prevents mould. If you miss a day here or there, it isn’t the end of the world! However, I suggest making a concerted effort stirring daily during the first week especially.
During this time, you’ll notice the apples will turn more brown, and the liquid becomes cloudy. Small bubbles should also appear, and it will start to smell a bit like hard apple cider. A layer of yellowish-white sediment may also collect on the bottom. This is all normal and good! Any obvious, fuzzy, green or white raised mould on the surface is not. In all the years making ACV, we have never had ours mould!
Step 4) Strain Apples
After two weeks of daily stirring, it is time to strain the apples to separate them from the liquid. To accomplish this, we set a fine-mesh strainer on top of a large bowl and slowly pour the contents of the crock through it. You can also use cheesecloth, or whatever else works! The collected fruit can now be composted. Return the captured liquid to a clean glass container of the appropriate size, and cover in the same manner it was before.
Step 5) Continue to Ferment
This is where the waiting game begins… Store your covered crock in a temperate, dark location for at least one month, or longer! The bacteria will keep working to convert more and more of the sugar or alcohol to acetic acid, creating vinegar. The rate at which your partially fermented apple cider turns into full-blown vinegar will vary, depending on the storage conditions and apples used. Our apple cider vinegar usually sits for about 2 to 3 more months before we bottle it.
After a month has passed, you can give your vinegar a taste-test. If it tastes plenty vinegary for your liking, move on to the next step. If not, allow it to ferment longer. When it doubt, you can check the pH of your apple cider with these simple pH test strips! Finished apple cider vinegar should have a pH in the range of 2-3.
Note: During this time, sometimes the vinegar develops a layer of SCOBY on the top – sort of like kombucha does! It is a thin, smooth, off-white membrane made up of accumulated beneficial bacteria and yeast. It is normal and harmless. We discard it once we are ready to bottle the vinegar. Our chickens love to eat SCOBY, but make sure to chop it up well for them!
Step 6) Bottle & Enjoy
Once it reaches that perfect fermentation level, transfer the apple cider vinegar into bottles with tight-fitting lids for storage. We re-use old ACV bottles, or store it in our swing-top kombucha bottles. As an acidic concoction, homemade apple cider vinegar does not have to be refrigerated for safety-sake! It is best to store it in a relatively cool, dark place.
If we have the space, we typically refrigerate at least some of our bottles at this point. Why? Well, once they’re refrigerated, the bacteria activity will slow way down and prevent the vinegar from fermenting beyond the point we enjoy it. Plus, most people like to enjoy their ACV cold anyways! I know we do.
Even stored at room temperature, homemade apple cider vinegar will stay good for up to five years! However, the quality and flavor will likely be best within the first two years.
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