Will this Kill Me (Apple Cider Vinegar Edition)?

March 16, 2018 2:56 PM

I'm making apple cider vinegar for only the second time. My ratios of stuff may have been off. Link to pic and questions after the jump.

I wasn't too precise when I put in the apples sugar and water. After two weeks I noticed everything had foamed up and some sticky stuff had escaped from the coffee filter covering. The bubbles had brought some apple bits to the surface even though I weighed everything down with a glass weight. The Apple bits had greenish-grey mold on top (I didn't think to take a pic of the mold-woops!). I scooped off the moldy bits and threw them out. The liquid smells strongly of vinegar. According to recipe I used, I still have 5 days or so before I take out the rest of the apple pieces. Can I/should I go on with this batch do you think, or throw it out and start again? Imgr pic of the batch (not the mold unfortunately).

posted by WalkerWestridge to Food & Drink (3 answers total)

I think as fermentation goes, vinegar is pretty safe. Could you share the recipe you went off of? The bubbles are totally normal and just mean you have a healthy brew. The fact that it smells like vinegar is also a good sign. Mold isn't great and you did the right thing removing it, but it is kind of part of the process. It's entirely possible though that if you didn't start with a mother that it will take longer than you think, especially if you live in a place that's cooler this time of year. I mention this because a healthy cider vinegar will have a gross sludge (aka SCOBY) at the top which your jar doesn't appear to have yet.
posted by Bistyfrass at 4:23 PM on March 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

Personally? Hard pass on green mold. I've pitched lacto-fermented foods when this happened to me
posted by O9scar at 4:28 PM on March 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The longer you wait the more clear this will become. If It continues to look and smell like vinegar, possibly forming a visible scoby pellicle, then I’d say it’s fine and I would use it f it were mine.

If, on the other hand, it starts to smell funkier, I’d ditch it and start over. A little yeast smell is ok but strong cheesy/rotten smells mean you don’t want it.

So let it ride for another week, is my advice. Vinegar is rather anti-microbial and fairly fault tolerant, fwiw.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:03 PM on March 16, 2018 [1 favorite]