Remember before I went to MO and I canned the pears that I got from the folks who weren’t harvesting their pears?
Pears
Because I was leaving to go to MO and knew Vince didn’t want to mess with my vinegar brewing operations, I stuck the peelings and cores in a bag and froze them. This week I got them out and started my vinegar.
Once the vinegar is completely made, I’ll give directions on how to do it . . start to finish. You don’t have to have large amounts of fruit to make homemade scrap vinegar. If you’re wanting to make apple scrap vinegar, and you aren’t peeling massive amounts of apples, you can freeze the peelings, bad stuff you cut out and cores, til you get enough to make a batch of vinegar, or you can simply put the peelings from a few apples or pears or any tart fruit, into a jar and add the sugar/water to get the brew started.
I had hoped to be able to use my big plastic bucket but ended up needing to use the crock because the plastic bucket wasn’t big enough to have the head space needed. The crock is a bit hard for me to handle, especially when full, and I don’t want to break it but I’ll get Vince to help me when it’s time to dump it.
This was started Wednesday so here it is two days into the brew process.
Pear Scrap Vinegar
Here’s a closeup so you can hopefully see the bubbles being produced by the fermentation.
Pear Scrap Vinegar
It is progressing nicely and my house smells like fruit vinegar. I suppose it could be worse but I miss my basement when it comes time for doing things like this.
Lynne in Hawaii says
Speaking of Vince….what was in the ‘Lizards for Peace” box? Inquiring minds just gotta know!
JudyL says
Answer is in the comments in last night’s post.
Susan says
I’m curious as to what you use a fruit vinegar for. I just might have to try it if I know what I could do with it after making it.
JudyL says
You would use homemade fruit vinegar just as you would any storebought fruit or flavored vinegar. We use a lot of Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar, balsamic vinegar, wine vinegar, etc. If you don’t already use a good bit of these type vinegars, you probably wouldn’t use much of the homemade fruit vinegars.
glen in louisiana says
I just finished the fermenting stage and am now in the maturing stage of some pear vinegar and pineapple vinegar. I experimented with several bases, including rapadura sugar, local honey and a cheap balsamic.
they smelled wonderfully and as I was straining into the jars i tasted each one. The pineapple needed more sweet, so I reboiled and added more sugar. Now it is a perfect sweet tart.
JudyL says
I only use the sugar or honey for giving the fruit “food” for fermenting. I don’t worry about the sweetness taste because I use it mostly in drinks or salad dressings and add honey to both. I think pineapple and raspberry are my favorite fruit vinegars.
Susan says
Oddly enough, just this morning, 40 pounds of Cameo apples were delivered to my doorstep! I’ll be looking for your recipe.
AngieG9 says
That is so interesting. I have never thought of makng fruit vinegar. Kraut, yes, but vineger, no. I use a lot of flavored vinegars, so can’t wait for you to post the recipe.
I’m planning on making some pear honey next week, so now I’ll know what to do with the peelings and cores. Hate to waste anything like that.
patti says
my pear vinegar is 3 weeks into sitting/stirring every day. it’s cloudy which i’m not sure if that’s how it’s supposed to look. am wondering about straining it again as it should be ready to use at this point. smells wonderful and was so easy!
patti says
today i bit the bullet and strained my pear vinegar thru 3 layers of cheesecloth. tasted it and oh wow, it is wonderful! more vinegar-y than it smells and the taste of the pears comes thru too. once i’ve had a few teaspoons over a period of time (to make sure it’s OK), i want to put it into some artisan bread that i make. thanx judy for your help and guidance thru the process, not to mention the original mention of pear vinegar several weeks ago that got me started.