Today I strained the peach, pear and raspberry vinegars and started 2 jars of mango and 1 jar of cranberry (so far). To the mango I added sugar water and to the cranberry I added the last of my vodka. The mothers were from the freshly emptied jars.
The peach and the pear made a pint of vinegar each, but the raspberry made almost 3 cups. (It's mother was far thinner, so I'm guessing had a far less voracious appetite.) With the extra cup I'm making a full batch of sekanjabin with sugar and mint.
A side note: My kombucha failed; I found it day before yesterday. I'm guessing I let the mother dry out as it grew green mold on it. I fully expected the drink beneath to be putrid, but surprisingly it wasn't.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Time to Make the Vinegars
Some of my vinegars are finally moving on to the next step. The mother from the peach vinegar went into the batch of honey 'vinegar' that is still where it started and the peach went back into the closet until I can get a plastic strainer.
The mother from the chocolate vinegar went into a new batch of soon-to-be-kombucha I made today. The chocolate vinegar went back into the closet to re-settle the chocolate out of the vinegar so it can be poured into another jar.
The pie cherry vinegar has 2 mothers in it. 1 will be going into 3 cups of Arbor Mist Blackberry wine once it warms up enough, but I think I'll leave the thinner mother in with the cherries until I get the plastic strainer.
To stabilize their acid levels once the 3 are strained and in new jars I'll be waterbathing them until the reach and sustain 140 degrees for 10 minutes.
The mother from the chocolate vinegar went into a new batch of soon-to-be-kombucha I made today. The chocolate vinegar went back into the closet to re-settle the chocolate out of the vinegar so it can be poured into another jar.
The pie cherry vinegar has 2 mothers in it. 1 will be going into 3 cups of Arbor Mist Blackberry wine once it warms up enough, but I think I'll leave the thinner mother in with the cherries until I get the plastic strainer.
To stabilize their acid levels once the 3 are strained and in new jars I'll be waterbathing them until the reach and sustain 140 degrees for 10 minutes.
Friday, March 28, 2014
More Supplies for My Tent
Now that I have all the walls and corners made for my 10'x10' frame the work begins on the 2 additional panels each for the wall and corners, plus the 2 gable sections needed by my 10'x20' carport frame.
I've decided to put windows in the 2 new wall panels and in the 2 gable sections which means the 1/4 roll of twill tape I have left won't be enough. So I placed another order with Wm Booth, Draper, for another 100' roll of tape. While that will be far too much for the remaining sections it was $1/ft cheaper to order 100' and it won't hurt to have it it on hand for whatever. (Door ties immediately come to mind.)
I also picked up 3 more rolls of upholstery thread at JoAnn's.
$28 - 100' roll of 1" wide cotton twill tape
$8 - Shipping
$8.37 - Upholstery Thread x 3
$0.69 - Tax
$45.06 - Total
I've decided to put windows in the 2 new wall panels and in the 2 gable sections which means the 1/4 roll of twill tape I have left won't be enough. So I placed another order with Wm Booth, Draper, for another 100' roll of tape. While that will be far too much for the remaining sections it was $1/ft cheaper to order 100' and it won't hurt to have it it on hand for whatever. (Door ties immediately come to mind.)
I also picked up 3 more rolls of upholstery thread at JoAnn's.
$28 - 100' roll of 1" wide cotton twill tape
$8 - Shipping
$8.37 - Upholstery Thread x 3
$0.69 - Tax
$45.06 - Total
Monday, March 24, 2014
My February Vinegars
Gulf Wars came and went, but my 'vinegars' stayed at home. Lesson learned. Apparently months are needed to brew vinegars in winter.
Good news came this afternoon when I was in my big closet getting supplies and I saw mothers formed on at least 5 of the solutions. The thickest are on the peach (below), pie cherry and chocolate.
The maraschino cherry and pear each have a thin layer; the raspberry and honey appear to have none. The raspberry is in a regular neck mason jar and filled almost to the top so I have to wonder if it's getting enough air. I can't remember if I added any vodka to the honey mixture (another lesson learned - NOTES!), but I can't believe I didn't. I wonder if the anti-bacterial properties of the honey are at play......
Tomorrow I'll check the pH in the 3 with the thickest mother to see if they're ready to stabilize. Fingers crossed!
Good news came this afternoon when I was in my big closet getting supplies and I saw mothers formed on at least 5 of the solutions. The thickest are on the peach (below), pie cherry and chocolate.
Tomorrow I'll check the pH in the 3 with the thickest mother to see if they're ready to stabilize. Fingers crossed!
Friday, February 28, 2014
Cool Weather and Vinegar Brewing
We've been hit with an extended patch of unseasonably cold weather and with my side board being against the north wall of my house it just isn't staying warm enough for my vinegars to brew, even with me stirring them nightly in an effort to keep the oxygen levels high. Tonight I've moved all the jars into my big hall closet close to the water heater hoping that it will keep the ambient air temperature warm enough to get the vinegar bacteria growing.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Making Vinegars to Use in Sekanjabin
A few weeks ago I started soaking fruits in vodka in order to make cordials so I can use them to make vinegar to use in making Sekanjabin.
A few days ago I strained the raspberries, pie cherries, peaches and pears out of the vodka. The vodka had sugar-laden water mixed into it to make cordials; I put the fruit into another jar, added sugar-ladened water, a couple teaspoons of vinegar containing mother, as well as a piece of mother I had in the side board. Today the maraschino cherries and the 80% chocolate have been taken out of the vodka, given the same treatment and into the side board they've gone with the others.
In an effort to speed up my other mixtures I've added some of their cordials to each of them. Good thing I didn't do it as I originally thought I should. I had used pure 80% alcohol vodka and, come to find out, the highest alcohol content you can have without slowing down fermentation is 10%.
A few days ago I strained the raspberries, pie cherries, peaches and pears out of the vodka. The vodka had sugar-laden water mixed into it to make cordials; I put the fruit into another jar, added sugar-ladened water, a couple teaspoons of vinegar containing mother, as well as a piece of mother I had in the side board. Today the maraschino cherries and the 80% chocolate have been taken out of the vodka, given the same treatment and into the side board they've gone with the others.
In an effort to speed up my other mixtures I've added some of their cordials to each of them. Good thing I didn't do it as I originally thought I should. I had used pure 80% alcohol vodka and, come to find out, the highest alcohol content you can have without slowing down fermentation is 10%.
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