This Autumn's batch of apple cider vinegar is coming along nicely. The mother, or at least I think that's what it is, appears to be floating on top. The last bottle from last year's batch is in use, so when this fresh batch is ready, is something that needs to be worked out.
I was a little hesitant to pick most of the reachable apples from the one of the better roadside apple trees last autumn, but I did it in small amounts, and no-one else seemed to want them. Most of the roadside apples I gathered from that tree, as well as all the others were juiced and put into containers under the hot water cylinder.
There the most attention they saw, was the mice climbing on top and leaving droppings. Yum!
I bottled one too soon, and it turned into rather undrinkable apple cider. Not acidic in any way, just a bit musty in flavour. The other, I left in there ignoring it, hoping it wouldn't get moldy.
Here it is:
And bottled up, turning out to be around 3.5 litres:
A huge success. I reused the Bragg's bottles I bought, and they are still accurate. They would indeed be organic raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar. And the liquid inside looks pretty much the same as the original Bragg's vinegar. Next year, I'm going to double the amount I make. I just have to find a use for it.
I gathered road side apples and juiced them this year, then put the juice in two containers in the hot water cupboard.
The first batch I added the remnants of a Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother bottle to it. It went straight to alcohol, and seems to still be alcohol. I guess it is probably apple cider now.
The second batch (pictured below) was just apple juice. Unfortunately, I didn't keep an eye on it, and while it quickly turned to vinegar, the mother went moldy. As I understand it, as long as you remove the mold while it's still white on fermented products, it's supposed to be safe.
What to do with this? It looks quite good, and similar to the Bragg's vinegar.
