How to make vinegar
Vinegar is an essential item that if SHTF you will want to know how it is made. It is relatively easy, but takes a lot of time. The real issue is with the second ferment, if you bottle it too early, it will continue to ferment, and then it will explode. You also want to make sure that the vinegar can be kept at 55 – 75 during this process. The final fermenting can take months, so be prepared.
Items needed;
- Jar
- Hand mixer or hand blender
- Cheesecloth
- Colander
The following steps are how to make vinegar;
- You can make vinegar from a variety of bases, such as apples, grapes, or even vegetables with a high sugar content. The base you choose will determine the flavor of the vinegar.
- Fill a glass jar ¾ of the way with fruit, you can use any fruit, and also add in some herbs and spices, just make sure there is no mold.
- Cover the fruit with unchlorinated water.
- Let the fruit ferment for one to two weeks. During this time, the water will go from clear to cloudy, and once it goes back to clear, it is ready.
- Strain out the fruit, clean the jar, put the water back in the jar, and cover it again.
- This is the second fermenting stage and will take, potentially many months. However, to test when fermenting is done, and when you can bottle and seal it, you can place the batch into a container and leave it for several hours. If there is no pressure built up in the container, then you can leave it sealed at room temperature, otherwise, as it continues to ferment, pressure will build, and your vessel will explode.