How To Make Apple Vinegar At Home

[netfree]

Vinegar, believed to be in existence since thousands of years, is put to a wide range of culinary uses, the most prominent ones being pickling processes, vinaigrettes and other salad dressings. Apart from that, one can also find its usage in sauces, such as mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise, for making chutneys and as a condiment. Of the different types of vinegar available today, fruit vinegar and apple cinder vinegar are the ones more commonly made use of. In case you use the latter on a frequent basis, the following recipe would prove handy to you. Go through it and know how to make apple vinegar at home.

Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar Recipe

Supplies Needed

* Apples
* Strainer or Press
* Cheesecloth
* Nonmetallic Pots or Containers (one large and several small)
* Knife
* 1 cake Wine-making Yeast
* Plastic or Wooden Spoon
* Cooking Pot
* Cooking thermometer
* Funnel
* Plastic or Glass Bottles, with lids

Instructions

* As the first step in making apple vinegar, you will have to choose the perfect apples. In this context, you need to go for the ones that are full ripe and promise to be full of sugar. You will find Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Fuji and Jonagold apples to serve your needs perfectly. While picking the apples, make sure that they have no blemishes at all and are completely worm-free.

* After you have selected the right apples, it is the time to make use of a knife, for cutting them into small pieces. Thereafter, crush them firmly and filter the resultant juice, through a piece of cheesecloth, inside a strainer. The option would be to press them in a fruit and vegetable press. By the time you finish, you should have 5 gallons and 1 qt. of juice. While the 5 gallons will go into a nonmetallic container, the 1 qt will be set aside.

* Get the qt. of juice that you have set aside and crush one cake of yeast (used for the purpose of making wine) in it. With the help of a large spoon, keep on stirring the juice, until the yeast dissolves completely. After you are sure that the yeast and juice have been mixed thoroughly, it is the time to put the mixture into the rest of the apple juice (5 gallons).

* Once you have mixed the yeast into the 5 gallons of apple juice, it is the time to fill the nonmetallic pots with the same. However, make sure that the pots are not more than about two-thirds full with the juice. Cover the pots with cheesecloth and set them aside, in a dark place where they will not be disturbed. The temperature of the place should be around 60 to 80 degrees at all times.

* For the next three weeks, make sure to stir the apple juice in the containers, once in a day. After the third week, taste it. If you feel that the juice has attained the flavor of vinegar, it is the time to filter it again, through cheesecloth, in order to remove the mother. As you do this, the fermentation process will come to an end.

* Take a large cooking pot and pour the vinegar in it. Place the pot over low heat and let the vinegar cook. Make sure to stir the vinegar on a constant basis. Once the temperature reaches 140 degrees, where pasteurization takes place, you can remove the put from flame. Set it aside for sometime, to let the vinegar cool down.

* By now, the vinegar is ready. With the help of a funnel, pour it into clean plastic or glass bottles. Do make sure to put the lids on the bottles, after they have been filled. Fill a tub with hot water and let the bottles sit in it, for a few minutes, to ensure complete sterilization. Now, let the vinegar cool down once again and store it in a cool, dark, dry place.

[Elie JAMES]

Spice Mix:
2 tablespoons paprika
3/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Stew:
5 pounds venison chuck or leg meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup vegetable oil, divided
3/4 pound dried apricots
1/2 pound dried prunes
1 cup dry red wine
6 cups beef broth
3 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
3/4 pound onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Stir together ingredients for Spice Mix and set aside. In a large bowl, place venison and toss with entire spice mixture. Cover withplastic wrap, set in the refrigerator and leave overnight.
On cooking day, combine dried fruit and red wine in bowl, and set aside. Heat a large saute pan until very hot, add a little oil. Add meat in batches and replenish oil as needed to brown meat well on all sides. Remove meat to 8-quart stock pot as it browns. Deglaze
saute pan with a bit of stock to melt drippings. Transfer drippingsto stock pot along with the rest of beef and chicken stock.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook 2 hours or until meat is tender. When meat is done, strain off and save the cooking liquid. Set meat aside temporarily.
In same stock pot, which you have now emptied, melt butter and cook until it bubbles, but doesn’t burn. Stir or whisk in flour. Brownit lightly to make a roux. Slowly add strained-off cooking liquid to make a sauce. Add enough liquid for desired thickness. Let simmer
5 minutes. Add meat, dried fruit and wine. Meanwhile, saute onions

E-Cookbooks Fish & Game Recipe Sampler in a small amount of oil. Add to stew with parsley, salt and pepper to taste.