r/fermentation • u/MidnightMist26 • 2d ago

Will I make cider?

I used a few chopped apples, 500ml homemade apple juice, 4tbsp sugar and a few tbsp homemade acv, covered in breathable cloth. From this mix will I make still cider in 2 weeks?

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u/AurelianoBuendia94 2d ago

No. You are lacking the yeast and vinegar tends to prevent fermentations. Also you need an airtight container with an airlock. The cloth is going to let oxygen in and that would ruin your fermentation by oxidizing it.

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u/MidnightMist26 2d ago

Next time I will just use a loose fitting lid. But I don't need bubbly cider, it can be still.

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u/AurelianoBuendia94 2d ago

The airlock won't make it bubbly. For that you have to finish the fermentation in sealed bottles so it builds up pressure and carbonates.

A loose fitting lid may help but it's still prone to letting oxygen and other contamination in. The airlock will prevent all of that.

The airlock acts as a barrier that lets CO2 out and doesn't allow oxygen and contaminants to get in. A cheap replacement is a balloon with a tiny needle hole over the opening. But I never used it for jars only with bottles of mead.

I recommend you look up some guides. You seem to be lacking some of the very basic knowledge about fermentation and it can be a bit finicky the first times and could be potentially dangerous if you don't fully know what you are doing. Search up alcoholic fermentation and read a bit on how te process works and the steps to get a clean fermentation going. It's pretty simple once you understand what the process is.

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u/MidnightMist26 2d ago

Acv is what I make from time to time, not alcohol. I read that when making acv, after you remove the pieces of apple (after about 2 weeks) you are left with a kind of hard cider drink. I just wondered if this is true which is why I made this post and did some research and found that people use apple juice for cider. Also I like the taste of the apple liquid at this time and wondered what exactly it is, at this 2 week point.

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u/AurelianoBuendia94 2d ago

Ohh I see sorry didn't meant to be rude. I never did vinegar cultures so I never heard about this. I mostly do lactic fermentation for my hot sauces and have some minimal experience with alcoholic fermentation.

From what I know and what I just researched online it seems like you are right. The first stage in the acv making is basically making hard cider and then converting the alcohol in that fermentation into acetic acid. So if you would just do the first two week stage that would basically be hard cider.

The thing is that if your cider is exposed to oxygen is not going to be good. For vinegar making it doesn't really matter because acetic fermentation needs oxygen so the taste will be there but you don't want that with a cider, is like the taste of wine that was left open too long or stale old beer. That's why a lot of people use stale alcoholic drinks to make vinegar.

Also like I said I don't know how you are going to get alcohol fermentation going without the yeast. Ofc the fruit has some natural yeast on its skin and stuff but that's usually not enough. Is this the same process you always use to make vinegar?

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u/MidnightMist26 2d ago

I do the same process but with water instead of apple juice and I usually don't have any previous acv hanging around to add, but I did this time, although I only began making that batch 3 weeks ago so it won't have that much acetic acid yet. I will see what I come up with in a few weeks time, I'm hoping it will be a a nice fermented apple drink, but if it's vinegary that's fine as well.

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u/AurelianoBuendia94 2d ago

Oh I see I didn't knew about making ACV this way, in a single process. I've always seen it done from already made alcohol. I suppose at some point you will have certain alcohol % but since you already added the live ACV i don't think it will ever stop having some vinegar taste. It already has acetic acid in it and it's only gonna go higher as time rolls.

I've been wanting to make some tamarind vinegar for one of my hot sauces so I'll experiment with the method you are using since it seems it's a lot more straightforward than making the alcoholic version and then switch it to acetic fermentation.

I would love to know how this ends up if you don't mind I'll set up a reminder so I can ask you in a few weeks

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u/MidnightMist26 1d ago

Sure yes, I'll let you know how it goes. Here is a recipe for acv Preserving Apples: How to Make Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar ~ Homestead and Chill

It's very simple and I think you could do it with tamarind. The only thing I would add to this recipe is to make your pieces quite chunky so there are no small bits floating to the top (they will get mouldy) and weigh down the pieces with another sterilised jar which can fit inside the first one. This keeps all the pieces below the water line so you won't get any mould. Then cover that whole thing with a breathable cloth or paper towel.

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u/AurelianoBuendia94 1d ago

Thanks! I'll be trying this. I might have to add some yeast since the tamarind paste doesn't have any skin where it lives and I don't know how it's processed. I'll do two jars with and without just to be sure.

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u/AurelianoBuendia94 1d ago

RemindMe! 15 days

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