Been making Kefir and Sauerkraut for quite some time now - successfully todate. Now trying my hand at Apple Cider Vinegar.
Very little about it in Sandor's book "Art of Fermentation" so hit the Web. Bought a 1 gallon (3 ltr) jar, after washing and rinsing thoroughly carefully half filled with boiling water. Cooled boiled tap water is considered safe for sauerkraut, and it also sterilised the bottle. When cool, added a cup of raw sugar, washed and chopped up half a dozen largish green apples, which I added. Pushed down into the liquid, and covered with cloth secured by elastic band, giving it a good stir every day.
Some sites seem to feel that oxygen is necessary for the initial stages so apple above the liquid is beneficial (aerobic bacteria). Whilst others insist to treat it like sauerkraut with everything below the water level (anaerobic bacteria). Left mine above the liquid.
After 9 days with lots of fizzing on top, and the liquid at the bottom getting quite thick and opaque, tasted the liquid. It smelt good and tasted like fizzy apple juice. But it didn't taste like hard cider, a prerequisite for ACV.
My question to those who frequent this site is: how long should it take to turn into cider? And is my current process acceptable?
Alison