The apple vinegar, made simply with apple peels and cores, sugar, and water plus three weeks of aerated fermenting, is sweeter and more fruity tasting than store bought apple cider vinegar. I don't think it is quite as acidic so I definitely wouldn't attempt to use it in canning recipes where acidity is critical for preventing botulism. However, it will yield a delicious salad dressing and may even tempt me to try switchel.
The peach-plum vinegar made from peach and plum peels is equally tasty but is distinctly more tart than the apple vinegar. I can already taste it dressing pasta and grain salads. It would also go well with stir-fried vegetables.
The peach vinegar and another batch of apple should be ready in another week. I just strained the fruit from the batch of Asian pear vinegar I'm making for my CSA and it smells like it has definite potential. The prickly pear batches, however, may not turn out so good. They don't have any vinegar smell yet and actually smell a little bit bad. One of the cooked pulp batches also thickened up quite a bit, maybe from the natural pectin in prickly pear fruit? I'll give them a couple of weeks to see if they turn into a marvelous vinegar but I'm not going to sweat it if I have to just feed them to the compost pile. Not all experiments are successful.
However, the apple and peach-plum experiments were definitely successful and I look forward to adding locally-made vinegar to my diet.
6 comments:
My sister has pear trees that are loaded so I can't wait to try some pear vinegar. This is totally off post but important enough that I need to comment. I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma and a couple of months ago two people riding their bikes were killed by a drunk driver at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Yesterday morning a 74 year old woman who is an avid bike rider was hit and killed. Both incidents happened on bike routes. Tulsa isn't a very bike friendly city but in the last few years more and more people are riding bikes as I'm sure is happening everywhere. I just want everyone to be more aware of bicyclist so we can be safe. Thanks.
I love this! I am making some vinegar from a bottle of wine I had.It is an elderberry that I made this spring with some vinegar with the mother in it that I added. I have no idea what is going to happen with it. I hope it doesn't feed the compost.
Chile, I'm really enjoying your vinegar posts and the switchel link was fascinating. I just learned about oxymels through my herbal studies and right now I'm infusing egg shells in ACV and nettles into honey to make an oxymel that is chock full of calcium. I have no idea how it will turn out, if at all, but I do like the idea of experimenting with infused honeys mixed with infused vinegars, especially if the vinegar is one that I can make!
We like switchel a lot here, though I go for less ginger than the recipes call for. You can up other things, like solar mint tea, or basil leaves, whatever, to try different flavors until you hit on a switchel you like, and it doesn't require a whole lot of vinegar since the idea is to drink it up before anything bad can happen to it. So I feel ok about boosting sweetness with a little honey or agave. Goes a lo-o-o-ong way.
I haven't made home vinegar in AGES, you've just reminded me to get crackin'.
About that bike safety, a friend of ours, a bike activist and garden activist among other passions, was killed on her bike while visiting Virginia in July ... ride with care, everyone!!! <3
DiElla - I try to be careful riding. A lot of drivers scare me, even when I'm driving. People just don't get that they need to be paying attention every single minute when they're driving - no texting, no huge arguments, no eating that burger, no putting on make-up while driving!
Kathy - how did your elberberry wine vinegar come out?
Amber - infused honey? Never heard of it. Sounds interesting.
Risa - I haven't tried the switchel yet. In fact, I kind of forgot about it until rereading the comments...
The several accounts of cyclists getting killed are makin' me nervous, folks!
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