8 hours ago, jedovaty said:Thanks for the information! As I mentioned in both my above posts, perhaps not clearly enough, I am not interested in making a vinegar this way. I'm trying to create the mother without a starter culture, similar to the way people makes a starter sourdough culture, or a ginger bug, etc. If you search for "how to make vinegar", nearly all results provide similar instruction to simply purchase Bragg's or some other vinegar with active cultures and go from there. Again, this is not what I want to do. My inner mad-scientist wants to do things the hard way
Sadly, I haven't found any instructions or details/info on this yet. Thanks again for trying to help out, though, it's appreciated!
Unfortunately, unless you are in an area where there are orchards or vineyards, where "friendly" organisms are in the air - and this means well away from any pollution from vehicles because fumes from burning fossil fuels destroy the beneficial organisms, you will not have any success.
You have to be in a rural or semi-rural area.
I experimented with various wines decades ago that "turned to vinegar" but a viable "mother" never developed and the vinegar effect that was a chemical reaction, deteriorated over time.
You need whole, unwashed fruit that has not been treated with wax or washed so commercial fruits are not acceptable.
You can try health food stores that carry Certified organic, unwashed fruits. Or if you live in an area where there are table grapes or wine grapes growers, you can buy from roadside stands.
I have a friend who grows several varieties of grapes and I buy from him and juice my own grapes.
For starting a mother, you need to juice the grapes and include both the juice and the skins in the jar.
It has to be kept away from light because light will inhibit the fermentation.
Be patient and avoid disturbing the jar for at least 6 weeks.
Get a Ph test kit to monitor the progress. It may take several tries to get a viable mother to develop.
And, not all the bacteria on fruits are beneficial!
Some of the bacteria that cause fermentation, the "wild bugs" can invade a culture and make people ill.
A hundred years ago there were no huge feed lots where thousands of cattle were fattened for slaughter, in the same area as table grapes are grown, as in the San Joaquin valley. Dust collected in the area contaminated with E.Coli.
I personally wash table grapes from that area thoroughly and would never consider using them to develop a mother.
The same with fruits that are grown near the huge egg production places where dust is floating around that contains salmonella.
You have to educate yourself about the source areas where fruits are grown.
This is why people who are serious about developing their own vinegar BUY commercial mothers so they don't inadvertently make themselves or their guests ill.
