#GrapeSaga #GrapesOfWrath #VinegarSaga

I have been religiously stirring the vinegar-in-the-making each day, and there is still some time to go before it is shelf-stable vinegar.

I tested the PH this morning, and it is 3 on a litmus paper test - quite early for it to be that low but the weather has been quite warm. i will give it a taste next time I stir.

It has a slight film over the top, so I am watching carefully for kham*. It is not developing in the way kham does, nor does it stir into the ferment like kham does. And, being a PH of 3 should mean that yeast won't develop (?). I am hoping instead that it is a vinegar mother forming. So will keep watching.

(Any ideas? Pls let me know.)

At least 3 more weeks of daily stirring, perhaps longer

* Kham is a harmless yeast, but it does impact flavour.

#GrapeSaga #GrapesOfWrath #VinegarSaga

I also managed to strain the vinegar today - it looks good without all the must in it. It tastes like sweet vinegar, quite nice. And has lost all the alcoholic aromas. 1.5L which is what I predicted.

Fingers crossed that all goes well. Another 1-2 weeks of stirring each day.

Plus.... You know I sometimes lose things, right? (eg dehydrator trays). When I started the vinegar ferment I cut up an old but still wearable tshirt top to cover the jar, as this ferment needs to have access to oxygen. I cut out 2 pieces. Last time I changed them over I washed the first and put it away carefully in a spot I'd remember.

Famous last words.... I can't find it for love or money.

In somewhat related news, I decided to get some bottles ready for the eventual vinegar.

I found some nice bottles in the cupboard like these (pic) which I think will do the trick.

But the labels, sigh. One brand was good, the label came right off after a brief soak. Another brand - I will be scrubbing for a month of Sundays to get that sucker off.

Why do they make it so hard????

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Ditto jars. I collected a couple of dozen jars from friends when I began #fermenting. Now I have 5 years worth of scrubbing to remove labels. I am not sure it is worth it.

#GrapesofWrath

Things have definitely quietened down in the grape vinegar fermentation department. Previously, altho the bubbling was easing, once it was stirred there would be a renewed oxygenated effort. But today, very little fermentation.

As I understand it, this is as it should be, and we are heading towards straining time.

It's about at this point in the video I am using (in conjunction with a couple of articles, but the video is a good guide),

Click on the link for a description of where it is at: https://youtu.be/y0wqy0acxeA?t=48

2/2 #GrapeSaga #GrapesOfPlenty #GrapesOfWrath

There is 1 kg grapes in the freezer, and the rest (from the first grape picking) is busy making vinegar. I can't recall how many I used without looking it up. Perhaps 1 kg.

We are into Week 2 of fermenting the vinegar. It has been strongly smelling of alcohol, but that is diminishing now. Also the strong bubbling is calming (as expected). The next milestone will be the formation of the mother, I suspect.

The view from the top looks like olives, but they are def grapes. You can see from the side that mostly the grapes are collapsing.

Not sure if the #GrapeSaga has been #GrapesOfPlenty or #GrapesOfWrath

First, here is the 1.6Kg of dried grapes over 2 sessions of picking, slicing and dehydrating grapes, about a week apart. 600g resulting from the first one, and 1kg from the 6.5Kg of bunches. (They are super dehydrated, more than the first lot, so would have a heavier yield if I'd not miscalculated.)

There is no condensation, so I can label and store.