So last year i tried to make some home made ACV. We press fresh cider in huge volumes every fall (FIL has a cider press) and we freeze it so we can drink it all year round. so i took several gallons of it out of the freezer, thawed it, put it in gallon glass jars, added a couple Tbsps of Bragg's ACV w/mother, covered with cheese cloth and a rubber band, and let it sit. it sat for several months (i think 4?), and while it looked like the pictures you see online of ACV, it did not taste like vinegar - in fact one of the jars had such a horrid taste that i spit it out the second it hit my tongue and had to go brush my teeth to get rid of the taste. So clearly the wrong kind of bacteria got in there.... or something.
could this be because i culture other things in my kitchen? mainly water and dairy kefir. but i actually keep lids on those, and they were on the opposite side of the room - yards away. could it have been the variant temperatures in my house? it does vary dramatically, especially in the winter, since we heat with wood - when the fire's going gangbusters it's 75 degrees in here, but the middle of the night when the fire dies it can be like 55 in the house.
i thought about using some wine-making yeast to kick-start the fermentation process and introduce the right bacteria...
any ideas? anyone do it successfully? i really want to try again, we use a lot of ACV for ourselves and our chickens, it gets pricey buying it and it's absurd not to with such an abundant and free source of cider, but i was really bummed about wasting 3 gallons of apple cider, and i don't want to waste anymore. help!
could this be because i culture other things in my kitchen? mainly water and dairy kefir. but i actually keep lids on those, and they were on the opposite side of the room - yards away. could it have been the variant temperatures in my house? it does vary dramatically, especially in the winter, since we heat with wood - when the fire's going gangbusters it's 75 degrees in here, but the middle of the night when the fire dies it can be like 55 in the house.
i thought about using some wine-making yeast to kick-start the fermentation process and introduce the right bacteria...
any ideas? anyone do it successfully? i really want to try again, we use a lot of ACV for ourselves and our chickens, it gets pricey buying it and it's absurd not to with such an abundant and free source of cider, but i was really bummed about wasting 3 gallons of apple cider, and i don't want to waste anymore. help!
