Hi Heidi, God is good all the time 🙌🏻 Thank you for all your insight! This is my 1st year of making fruit vinegars and oh my! The success has been overwhelmingly great!! All 7 gallons of apple and the others - blackberry, peach, grape and even raisin have all got mothers and scoby's. I'm in awe! Your videos have been a huge help in my success.
@@RainCountryHomestead your so welcome, it's been a blessing to be part of your community, I'm so grateful for all that I've learned from you and Mr Rain. May your channel continue to grow and bring tons of new subscribers, please share your plaque when you receive it, I'm your number one cheerleader 🙏❤️🙏
I appreciate you talking about your fails as well as success. It can help when I have failures to know there may be different reasons and don't give up.Thank you for sharing your own experiences and knowledge.
Congratulations my dear friend on reaching your 100,000 subscribers, you are so deserving and I know you and Mr Rain have worked so hard to reach this goal and I’m so proud for y’all. Thank you for all you have taught us over the years, many blessings 🎉🎊🎉🎊
I used to work at wineries. They would not use chlorinated water. It kills the fermentation process. I know of a small family winery, where someone accidentally used their water after they had to chlorinate their water tank per a county regulation. It ruined a whole batch of wine! When I was on city water, I would only use bottled water for my fermentations.
This is why it surprised me some one felt the need to come in and bash me for talking about how the chlorine in city water can kill or prevent ferments. Likely just a troll looking to start a fight
Again you ,are amazing ,I love this ,pass it on to next generations ,my heart goes out to you and yours .Teaching this has so much to offer ppl that have been lied to ,all my family ,and kids and grandchildren have stomach hurts ,because we were lied to . Love you sister ,keep um coming !!!
There’s some places around here where the water smells like bleach and there’s constant problems with the county water system in my county. That’s part of the reason I never went on county water and kept my well.
After a heavy rain they dump more chlorine in the city water here, that you smell just turning on the faucet, but what else is in it we can't smell.....
Hello Heidi. Yeah I've tried using frozen pineapple peels to make vinegar which turned out to be lovely and tasty. Those fruits are grown in my country and come out sweet during summer. Ty. Tc. God bless you always.
I agree with you on chlorine making a difference but I also wonder how much the flouride plays into things too. I use to water my plants with my normal tap water and my hydrangas would always get black spots on the leaves. I was told it was because I was watering from the top and hydrangas did not like water from above but that made no logical sense to me since they loved rain water and when it rained they did not get the black spots. I now catch rain water in my rain barrels and water all my plants from that water, no more black spots. I won't even give my dogs tap water, they get bottled spring water. I discovered by switching them to bottled spring water we no longer get the yellow urine spots on our lawn.
Yes, that thing about not watering from the top of any plant, especially those that are outdoor plants, made no sense to me either but it would make sense when talking about watering from the top with city water.
By the way; don't know if I mentioned this before but I make Kombucha using the SCOBY from the apple vinegar I made following your method! Works great and I really enjoy it. So again: Thank you Heidi!
I have a juniper vinegar going that smells so good!I never would have thought to do that if you hadn’t talked about it. My husband thinks I’m pretty amazing 😉
I learn so much from your videos 😀 I made my own apple cider vinegar last year for the first time ..I made several batches from various local apple orchards ..the flavors are all a bit different ..very interesting
Oh gosh, I agree with watching over and over and taking notes. These videos are really long and full of new info for a newbie like me, but the information is absolutely invaluable!!! Thank you, again, Heidi!!
Thank you, Heidi, for sending me over here! It’s so nice that you respond to questions; even on your old videos!!! That’s one of the many reasons that I recommend you to so many of my friends!! It looks like all of my bases were covered regarding my stunted citrus vinegar, so I have just added more sugar and I’ll see if I can get it going again. Thank you again!
Hi Heidi. Blessings from South Africa my dear. I use fresh apples on a daily basis to combat digestive and hearburn problems. Had 3/4 stomach removal in 1982then gallbladder removal 8 years ago. So have found apples fix me daily. Then i came across the ACV making game on utube. And started keeping all the apple scraps. I freeze them until i have sufficient to start off a good amount of vinegar 5 to 10kilos. Using rain water of course. But have not had any problems with the fermenting process. Also i wash apples very well before using them and will only use scraps due to apples being very expensive here in SA. I dooubt freezing is the problem at all... But the pesticide could be.. I wash my apples with a good strong vinegar before eating. Hope this helps you... GOD BLESS.
Hi Heidi! I use the non-organic orange/citrus peels for cleaning vinegars and into my laundry rinse cycle---it works awesome! :) I have learned so much from you, dear! And...thankful for the knowledge! Thank you for all you do...and I have picked up a few books BTW and am increasing knowledge and...passing it on as well...as well as what I've learned from your videos! Thank you! Blessings! From Dawn @ Rich & Dawn in MN :)
Just wanted to say I have used frozen green tomatoes and peppers to make a fermented green tomato salsa. This included garlic, salt, a tiny amount of lemon juice and a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar and onions too, but they weren't frozen in the latter. Though it doesn't usually last in our home for more than a couple weeks. It tastes too good.
Hello Heidi. I actually have done strawberry vinegar going. I've used frozen berries in it. The first batch made really good soda. Then I strained it and added a little more fruit. This batch is weaker in color and flavor but bubbling very nicely.
Thank you! I have tried fermenting several things, and have failed, or possibly failed. Your videos make me want to try again, and this one helped even more!
One thing I did not mention is different yeasts are in the air of different locations. Especially when it comes to sourdough, some wild yeasts can yield great results while others do not. I plan on making a new sourdough starter soon and doing a video on it just for the sake of showing how easy it is but realize it may not be so easy for some people depending on their location
@@RainCountryHomestead there is a slight learning curve with sourdough ( and I had to get used to actually taking some of the previous day out, frugal as I am I did not want to discard any, bad move! though I still do not waste it, but put it in a separate bowl, keep adding to it, feeding it and use it in waffles etc and just use the little part for the real starter. NEVER have I had such a fluffy starter, my own tightwadiness LOL)
You are totally right about the time frames. They can be so variable - temperature, humidity - etc..... not only that, you can vary it to your personal taste. I love my Komubucha VERY tart - so I let it go much longer than most people. I let it sit on the counter for a second ferment way longer than most people too.
It was not until recent years I learned that some people stop the kombucha process so early to have it be sweet. When we made it many years ago, we allowed it to turn to vinegar for the health benefits. It was not something we drank for enjoyment but had a shot in the morning for its health benefits
I am having less trouble this year with kahm yeast.. the biggest difference for us is we do not have as many dogs, I think beacause last year when they were living with us, they were in and out so often and fairly active that they keep dust stirred up inside , this year we only have occasional visits from the grand dogs. Last year i had Kahm yeast in every ferment that did not go in the fridge within 24 -48 hours.. this year I have only had it show up on a couple longer ferments..
Then it is not the splenda that is fermenting. If you are making vinegar, sugar is better as it will give it proper acidity, splenda is not sugar so it cannot do this. It is also not healthy. When vinegar is finished, there is no sugar left and same with wine. If you want these to be strong, you still need sugar and this can also be in the form of honey. No sugar is needed for vegetable ferments
I made lemon vinegar and mixed it 1:1 with water to clean my mirrors. It caused a film on the mirrors. I stopped using it. I also made apple cider vinegar. It turned out great. My water kefir got very syrupy after placing egg shells in it for the first ferments. I think maybe I over mineralized it. I’m buying new grains to try again without using the egg shells. My sugar is raw cane sugar, so maybe there are enough minerals in the sugar alone. I appreciate your tips and tricks. God bless.
Heidi, maybe some of those fruit processing plants are using plain old city tap water with its additives. Perhaps, some fruits absorbed some of those chemicals and later-on that became your fermenting problem and why the process eventually stopped. Also, there are Chlorine test strips if anyone wanted to test their fruit first - when you know its not Organic, but don't want to waste time trying to Ferment a batch of fruit that will never complete (assuming that is the reason).
Thanks so much for the info. I’ll try making orange vinegar again. I use organic oranges but never even got one bubble.Maybe I didn’t leave enough air flow. I really enjoy all your gray step by step explaination
Good afternoon! Was wondering if you could do a video on how you clean those darn s shaped tops for making wine as I have bought the tiniest thinnest bottle brushes but those don't get the inside entirely clean and also when I rinse them I can't seem to shake all the water out of them so that they can dry. Sooooo frustrating. Also if you could do a video on how you've managed to clean and keep your glass stove top so beautiful for over 25 years. I bought mine new and its only 4 years old and looks terrible. Water marks and discolored and I have tried cleaning it with baking soda and vinegar and dishwashing liquid and still no improvement. One more thing.... I was told not to ever use an oven cleaner inside self cleaning ovens but even when I click on its clean OR steam clean button those never seem to get it totally clean either and I have never tried any kind of cleaner as I was told your not suppose to use anything. You always have the answers and I love ALL your and Patrick's videos and press the like button on every single one I watch and I do share them alot and I order quite abit using your Amazon link and have ordered 2 of your high quality aprons and lotsa seeds from your Etsy store which have ALL germinated within a few days. Your seeds are the best!!! I am a partially disabled senior in my sixties but learn sooooo much from you... thank you for everything! I even bought 2 of those awesome lanterns just like yours from your Amazon link. I totally love them so thank you for referencing great products too! Bought some books also that you suggested. You and your hubby amaze me with all your numerous skills and intelligence and motivation and just darn good people . You have both helped me put the "Able" into "Disabled" and God Bless you both and your sons and dog and whole family.
I just rinse the airlocks out well after taking the top off and I can shake all the water out no problem and it dries just fine like that. I may do a video on glass top care when I get a chance. The self clean on mine works pretty good but yes, there will always be something left after wiping out the ashes. Thank you for the kind words and support!
I was reading about making alcohol kombucha, and there was a suggestion to use a refractometer to measure alcohol instead of a hydrometer. That the yeast eats sugar to make alcohol, but then the bacteria eat the alcohol to make healthy acids... and those acids can measure similar to alcohol with a hydrometer, giving falsely elevated readings. How do you measure your alcohol when using natural ferments ?(which would naturally have bacteria and yeast) I have recently bought my 1 gallon jugs, with airlock, and I have a few pint jars of ferments starting. I've put off learning to make wine for years, becaue until I found your videos I thought I had to buy lab yeast. THANK YOU for these encouraging videos. Have you found any particular starter culture to make better wine than another? Obviously different yeasts give different results.
I use a hydrometer but only for wines, not for anything else. I just use whatever starter I have ready and have good results, The differences I have found have been based on the fruit or honey used
Yes, that is possible and also depends on the type of ferment you are doing. Vinegar needs a low pH so a high pH water could make it take longer, but this is just an assumption on my part
Well you just saved my wine! I just ran downstairs and changed the airlock. I was wondering if I might be doing something incorrectly, with the no show of bubbles coming through my airlock. Thank you! 😓 I hope I wasn't too late. There was so much activity in the jug today. If my wine did get too much air today and does turn to vinegar, I guess I just have myself a big old jug of vinegar, huh?!? 🤗 Thank you, ma'am!
@@RainCountryHomestead It had been brewing all day. She is still brewing and going strong here in the next morning. It looks beautiful. 🙏 I used cranberry, raisin, and lime. It was just what I had on hand at the moment. ☺️ Thanks, and Have a wonderful, blessed day, Heidi!
This would be a huge answer to my WTHeck! Alright, one thing at a time. Let me see if I can backtrack and check. I use almost exclusively frozen scraps saved!Hmm. Heidi, now can you come stir everyday? I suck at this simple task! 😒 I need an intervention. Milk kefir, yea! Water kefir, wah wah wah... nevermind vinegar whoas. Let me ask Mary as well.
When the fruit ferment starts to be 3 days is that when it's pop becomes like a soda? Great video I'll refer to it often, iam an apple 🍎 vinegar fan and like to use the fermentation products in my own kitchen methods for healthy eating and nutritional purposes. Share with others.
Yes, generally speaking, but as mentioned in the video, many things can affect this time frame so it may be as long as 6 days before you see any real action
Very informative. Thank you for pointing in the right direction. My peach wine made from steamed juice is not doing too much. I believe it could have been the airlock. Ordered new ones but I am afraid it may be too late fir this batch. When i smelled it i seemed kind of vinegary too. Will try this again since i gave so many peaches. One thing i discovered that the airlock because if the pressure inside the bottle keeps pushing the rubber stopper up. Maybe that was the issue. I added a paper towel around it to keep it from doing that. Maybe that was it too. Do you have any solutions for that? I did buy the book at a great used price. Thank you :). I will not give up. I have a lot of fruit still ripening and plan to use it to make wine. Worked great last year and i am sure i will figure it out with your wonderful help.
If the peach "wine" is too far into vinegar, then you can always just put a cloth over it and allow it to fully become vinegar so it won't go to waste. I have had that happen with some of my stoppers so making sure the stopper and inside of the jug opening are clean and dry should help. A paper towel may allow air into the jug and this would both prevent the air from going through the airlock as well as allowing the wine to become vinegar
When you use rosemary to make vinegar do you use just the leaves or put the stems in also? I want to make some rosemary vinegar to give as gifts but wasn't sure which part to use. Thank you for the great information.
Thank you for this informative post. One question that I haven't heard you mention in any of your videos. What do I do when my wine stops after just 2-3 weeks. My home is at about 70° and I added my 3rd cup of sugar after a week, then it stopped after another week. I tried adding a little more sugar with extra fermentation starter and...nothing after 2 days. So I racked it. It is bitter. (I used frozen oranges from my tree for the juice)
If it completely stops bubbling through the airlock, it means it is finished. The warmer the house the faster the process can be sometimes but it also various with the fruit or batch to batch. Each on will be unique. Adding more sugar that late in the game will do nothing but make it sweeter
@@RainCountryHomestead thank you. I was concerned because it was done at just under 3 weeks. I'm going to bottle it after racking it a few more times then let it age. Maybe it will mellow. First time so I'll keep learning. I'm keeping a log on what I've done and what happens, temperature included 👍😁
@raincountry Can you please help me with this? I'm in the process of making apple vinegar. But from the very beginning, a big slime formed in me. It goes all the way through the whole jar, I can barely stir and it is very thick and very slimy. Can anyone tell me what this is about? Is it a problem and how do I solve it? That happened to me in two jars. These are apple peels and cores. And thank you on everything you do. I'm learning so much from you.
@@RainCountryHomestead Thank you very much for quick answer. I looked video, and it does not look like scoby. At least for now.. It is slimy and was like that from day two.. Not much liquid beside that is all slimy and transparent. It did get very fizzy and bubbly and was going over jar.. but today it is far less bubbly and still not liquidy but slimy. Sould I leave it just like that and wait or should I do something? and sorry for english it is not my native :)
@@RainCountryHomestead I think I added a glob of mother from an empty vinegar, but I cannot really be sure... the brain.... if I don't write it down...
Hey Heidi! So I started a vinegar almost a week ago with dried sour cherries in a quart jar. I only put 2.5 tablespoons of sugar in and not really noticing much action yet and it doesn't smell like anything. Should I start it over or just sit an wait? Thank you!
It may need just a bit more sugar, maybe a couple more Tablespoons since they are sour cherries. Try that and then give it another week but just keep in mind, as noted in the video (and if you have not listened to the whole thing yet, I recommend you do) the water you are using and temperature of your house may be slowing or preventing it from fermenting
@@RainCountryHomestead Thanks Heidi! I will try adding a couple more tablespoons of sugar. Yes I listened to that as well and didn't use my tap water and used bought spring water that I had on hand.
Hi Heidi, thank you so much for all your videos as they have helped me so much. I am really excited about the banana peel and mint vinegar. But first I need to figure out what is happening to my ferments. Lately everything starts Out good for aboutb3 days and then it begins to smell like VOMIT! It use to just happen to my saurkraut so I stopped trying that. Then my ginger beer did the same. Then I tried the pineapple peels and they began to smell like vomit. Now I can't even make my ginger bug anymore as it does the same. Can you help me figure this out? I have a water filter system attached to my water line and this has always worked for me without any problems. I always rinse my jars and utensils in the filtered water before using them to make sure there are no detergent or tap water left on them.
I cannot think of anything else to say with such limited information that I did not already cover in the video so you may want to consider watching or just listening to the whole video again. It is long and in depth so easy to miss some things on a first run through
I have been fermenting kimchi and more for many years but since I do not use exact measurements in weight or percentage, you need to ask someone who finds such precision to be important.
Be careful because like our city water it has pool cleaner in it not bleach and it's so bad it gets worst after boiling. I have to filter with Berkey or not drink
I have an alligator juniper vinegar going. It's been 40 days and it's still bubbling. The liquid is is little murky and it doesn't smell bad but it doesn't smell great. I'm unfamiliar with juniper vinegars, is it normal to be not clear and not smell amazing? It doesn't smell bad or rotten. It just doesn't smell like juniper or vinegar.
Most vinegars will be murky looking, that should actually be expected, no matter what you are making it from. Truly clear vinegars are those that have been distilled. If it still tastes sweet, it needs more time. As mentioned in the video, ferments are living things and different variables can cause some things to take longer to ferment than others so it may still need more time, especially if you added a lot of sugar
@@RainCountryHomestead Thanks Heidi. I've just never made one that started so clear and smelled quite so off. It's finished fermenting now and is smelling and looking awesome!
This does happen from time to time. Are you keeping the air lock cleaned out? If the air lock is clogged up with pulp, it will not stay in place. Also, when it comes off, clean the stopper and the inside of the jug top as often the fermenting process leaves these slick so it is even harder to keep the stopper in place. This should only go on for a day or two, maybe three tops then it will slow down enough to not need to worry about it
@@RainCountryHomestead it is a brand new air lock. In fact I had trouble even getting it to fit in the first place. (Gallon jug. ) The first time I actually got it in I had pushed it quite a ways in so I was surprised to hear it plop out on the counter. So thereafter I didn't push it in as far and it still would not stay . That's when I got the Bungie out and won that battle .
@@RainCountryHomestead ok I have discovered what the problem is. The extra air locks I ordered are #7. The one that fits from my gallon kit is #6.5 Thank you for you help Heidi
I am not sure but it really does not matter, the airlock is only for keeping oxygen out of the wine while allowing the gasses to escape, it does not come in contact with the wine
I have a video coming out about that in the near future but here is the one where I show how to do it in part four of the wine making series: ua-cam.com/video/v3K1QHcrtUs/v-deo.html
I have made apple butter from the expended apples from making cider. Was not super happy with it and I have a lot of jams and fruit butters, we just do not them that much but we do use a lot of vinegar for various things
I do not recall mine ever tasting like sour milk but just give it more time. It may still need a week or two. If it still tastes and smells like that AFTER straining, it may have gone bad before turning to vinegar
It depends on which type of ferment you are doing. Each kind will be different in the amount of time they take and some is dependent on a person's taste
@@RainCountryHomestead 1/4 C to start, added 1/4 C. It appeared to have stopped. Filtered it 2xs and put in 1/2 gal and capped. Now have to release cap about 1xs week.
It is odd, I do not know why sometimes frozen fruits do not ferment as good. We have always been told that freezing does nto kill the bacteria and yeast on the fruit but then it seems many have an issue when going to use them in a ferment. I would not give up on the concept but would add a starter to it next time
Hi Heidi, God is good all the time 🙌🏻 Thank you for all your insight! This is my 1st year of making fruit vinegars and oh my! The success has been overwhelmingly great!! All 7 gallons of apple and the others - blackberry, peach, grape and even raisin have all got mothers and scoby's. I'm in awe! Your videos have been a huge help in my success.
You're such a good teacher Heidi. Lots of good info...and really love seeing all the examples you are talking about...History lessons too.
Thank you!
@@RainCountryHomestead your so welcome, it's been a blessing to be part of your community, I'm so grateful for all that I've learned from you and Mr Rain. May your channel continue to grow and bring tons of new subscribers, please share your plaque when you receive it, I'm your number one cheerleader 🙏❤️🙏
I appreciate you talking about your fails as well as success. It can help when I have failures to know there may be different reasons and don't give up.Thank you for sharing your own experiences and knowledge.
Failures are often even more important than successes because that is where we learn the most :D
Gooood morning from central Florida! Hope everyone has a great day!
Congratulations my dear friend on reaching your 100,000 subscribers, you are so deserving and I know you and Mr Rain have worked so hard to reach this goal and I’m so proud for y’all. Thank you for all you have taught us over the years, many blessings 🎉🎊🎉🎊
Thank you so much for always being so kind and supportive of us over the years! 😀🎈🎉
👍 Danke fürs Hochladen!
👍 Thanks for uploading!
👍 Very good and beautiful, thank you!
👍 Sehr gut und schön, danke!
Heidi, ur photos are just beautiful! It's obvious that u take time and care with your presentation, very lovely ❤ ty for sharing!
Heidi, I will watch this, easily 5 times. My 11 and 9yo grandsons can quote you and Mary from Mary's nest!
Thank you for explaining things so thoroughly for us and for being so patient with our questions!
I used to work at wineries. They would not use chlorinated water. It kills the fermentation process. I know of a small family winery, where someone accidentally used their water after they had to chlorinate their water tank per a county regulation. It ruined a whole batch of wine! When I was on city water, I would only use bottled water for my fermentations.
This is why it surprised me some one felt the need to come in and bash me for talking about how the chlorine in city water can kill or prevent ferments. Likely just a troll looking to start a fight
Again you ,are amazing ,I love this ,pass it on to next generations ,my heart goes out to you and yours .Teaching this has so much to offer ppl that have been lied to ,all my family ,and kids and grandchildren have stomach hurts ,because we were lied to . Love you sister ,keep um coming !!!
There’s some places around here where the water smells like bleach and there’s constant problems with the county water system in my county. That’s part of the reason I never went on county water and kept my well.
After a heavy rain they dump more chlorine in the city water here, that you smell just turning on the faucet, but what else is in it we can't smell.....
Hello Heidi. Yeah I've tried using frozen pineapple peels to make vinegar which turned out to be lovely and tasty. Those fruits are grown in my country and come out sweet during summer. Ty. Tc. God bless you always.
I agree with you on chlorine making a difference but I also wonder how much the flouride plays into things too. I use to water my plants with my normal tap water and my hydrangas would always get black spots on the leaves. I was told it was because I was watering from the top and hydrangas did not like water from above but that made no logical sense to me since they loved rain water and when it rained they did not get the black spots. I now catch rain water in my rain barrels and water all my plants from that water, no more black spots. I won't even give my dogs tap water, they get bottled spring water. I discovered by switching them to bottled spring water we no longer get the yellow urine spots on our lawn.
Yes, that thing about not watering from the top of any plant, especially those that are outdoor plants, made no sense to me either but it would make sense when talking about watering from the top with city water.
By the way; don't know if I mentioned this before but I make Kombucha using the SCOBY from the apple vinegar I made following your method! Works great and I really enjoy it.
So again: Thank you Heidi!
I have a juniper vinegar going that smells so good!I never would have thought to do that if you hadn’t talked about it. My husband thinks I’m pretty amazing 😉
@Night_Owl Now I know what to do with my juniper clippings. 💚
I learn so much from your videos 😀 I made my own apple cider vinegar last year for the first time ..I made several batches from various local apple orchards ..the flavors are all a bit different ..very interesting
Heidi, what good information again for us.
Oh gosh, I agree with watching over and over and taking notes. These videos are really long and full of new info for a newbie like me, but the information is absolutely invaluable!!! Thank you, again, Heidi!!
Thank you for explaining the good the bad and the ugly. I treasure you! Thank you for sharing your wisdom!
Thank you, Heidi, for sending me over here! It’s so nice that you respond to questions; even on your old videos!!! That’s one of the many reasons that I recommend you to so many of my friends!!
It looks like all of my bases were covered regarding my stunted citrus vinegar, so I have just added more sugar and I’ll see if I can get it going again.
Thank you again!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge Heidi, It has really made a difference in my fermenting!
Hi Heidi. Blessings from South Africa my dear. I use fresh apples on a daily basis to combat digestive and hearburn problems. Had 3/4 stomach removal in 1982then gallbladder removal 8 years ago. So have found apples fix me daily. Then i came across the ACV making game on utube. And started keeping all the apple scraps. I freeze them until i have sufficient to start off a good amount of vinegar 5 to 10kilos. Using rain water of course. But have not had any problems with the fermenting process. Also i wash apples very well before using them and will only use scraps due to apples being very expensive here in SA. I dooubt freezing is the problem at all... But the pesticide could be.. I wash my apples with a good strong vinegar before eating. Hope this helps you... GOD BLESS.
Hi Heidi! I use the non-organic orange/citrus peels for cleaning vinegars and into my laundry rinse cycle---it works awesome! :) I have learned so much from you, dear! And...thankful for the knowledge! Thank you for all you do...and I have picked up a few books BTW and am increasing knowledge and...passing it on as well...as well as what I've learned from your videos! Thank you! Blessings! From Dawn @ Rich & Dawn in MN :)
Thank you for this Dawn and for your kind words through the years
Thank you, Heidi! I ALWAYS look forward to your insightful videos!
Just wanted to say I have used frozen green tomatoes and peppers to make a fermented green tomato salsa. This included garlic, salt, a tiny amount of lemon juice and a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar and onions too, but they weren't frozen in the latter. Though it doesn't usually last in our home for more than a couple weeks. It tastes too good.
I love all your information. Have written a book if not you should all your experiences would be invaluable.
Please see this recent post: ua-cam.com/users/postUgw-1_iyKdLjqHyXvHx4AaABCQ
Hello Heidi. I actually have done strawberry vinegar going. I've used frozen berries in it. The first batch made really good soda. Then I strained it and added a little more fruit. This batch is weaker in color and flavor but bubbling very nicely.
Thank you! I have tried fermenting several things, and have failed, or possibly failed. Your videos make me want to try again, and this one helped even more!
I recently did my sourdough starter again, number ??? But this one is a SUCCESS, so don't give up, just take a break😊
One thing I did not mention is different yeasts are in the air of different locations. Especially when it comes to sourdough, some wild yeasts can yield great results while others do not. I plan on making a new sourdough starter soon and doing a video on it just for the sake of showing how easy it is but realize it may not be so easy for some people depending on their location
@@RainCountryHomestead there is a slight learning curve with sourdough ( and I had to get used to actually taking some of the previous day out, frugal as I am I did not want to discard any, bad move! though I still do not waste it, but put it in a separate bowl, keep adding to it, feeding it and use it in waffles etc and just use the little part for the real starter. NEVER have I had such a fluffy starter, my own tightwadiness LOL)
You are totally right about the time frames. They can be so variable - temperature, humidity - etc..... not only that, you can vary it to your personal taste. I love my Komubucha VERY tart - so I let it go much longer than most people. I let it sit on the counter for a second ferment way longer than most people too.
It was not until recent years I learned that some people stop the kombucha process so early to have it be sweet. When we made it many years ago, we allowed it to turn to vinegar for the health benefits. It was not something we drank for enjoyment but had a shot in the morning for its health benefits
Thank you for sharing so much knowledge! I haven’t ventured much into mead, wine and vinegar but I hope to before too long
Thank you for detailing things. It helps to know the stories of errors/failed process.
I am having less trouble this year with kahm yeast.. the biggest difference for us is we do not have as many dogs, I think beacause last year when they were living with us, they were in and out so often and fairly active that they keep dust stirred up inside , this year we only have occasional visits from the grand dogs. Last year i had Kahm yeast in every ferment that did not go in the fridge within 24 -48 hours.. this year I have only had it show up on a couple longer ferments..
I use splenda for years and my ferments are great!
Then it is not the splenda that is fermenting. If you are making vinegar, sugar is better as it will give it proper acidity, splenda is not sugar so it cannot do this. It is also not healthy. When vinegar is finished, there is no sugar left and same with wine. If you want these to be strong, you still need sugar and this can also be in the form of honey. No sugar is needed for vegetable ferments
I made lemon vinegar and mixed it 1:1 with water to clean my mirrors. It caused a film on the mirrors. I stopped using it. I also made apple cider vinegar. It turned out great. My water kefir got very syrupy after placing egg shells in it for the first ferments. I think maybe I over mineralized it. I’m buying new grains to try again without using the egg shells. My sugar is raw cane sugar, so maybe there are enough minerals in the sugar alone. I appreciate your tips and tricks. God bless.
Yes, if the vinegar still has sugar left it in when you go to use it, it will leave a film, I have had that happen too
@@RainCountryHomestead thank you.
I used tap water once and ended up throwing away the ferments. It was awful! I get water from my country friends now.👍💕
Heidi, maybe some of those fruit processing plants are using plain old city tap water with its additives. Perhaps, some fruits absorbed some of those chemicals and later-on that became your fermenting problem and why the process eventually stopped. Also, there are Chlorine test strips if anyone wanted to test their fruit first - when you know its not Organic, but don't want to waste time trying to Ferment a batch of fruit that will never complete (assuming that is the reason).
Thank you so much! I really needed this.
Thanks so much for the info. I’ll try making orange vinegar again. I use organic oranges but never even got one bubble.Maybe I didn’t leave enough air flow. I really enjoy all your gray step by step explaination
Is it sour?
100K hurray!!!
🎈🎉😀
Thank you Rain Country for the video very informative 👍
Congrats! You hit 100,000 subscribers!
Thank you Juana :)
Ty
Hello Heidi! U gave lots of helpful advice, I appreciate u a great deal! Thank u
Thank you
Needed this. I'm working on my first generation starters and learned that I need to cap my vinegar better! 💚🌞
Congratulations on the 100k
Thanks Butch!
Good afternoon! Was wondering if you could do a video on how you clean those darn s shaped tops for making wine as I have bought the tiniest thinnest bottle brushes but those don't get the inside entirely clean and also when I rinse them I can't seem to shake all the water out of them so that they can dry. Sooooo frustrating. Also if you could do a video on how you've managed to clean and keep your glass stove top so beautiful for over 25 years. I bought mine new and its only 4 years old and looks terrible. Water marks and discolored and I have tried cleaning it with baking soda and vinegar and dishwashing liquid and still no improvement. One more thing.... I was told not to ever use an oven cleaner inside self cleaning ovens but even when I click on its clean OR steam clean button those never seem to get it totally clean either and I have never tried any kind of cleaner as I was told your not suppose to use anything. You always have the answers and I love ALL your and Patrick's videos and press the like button on every single one I watch and I do share them alot and I order quite abit using your Amazon link and have ordered 2 of your high quality aprons and lotsa seeds from your Etsy store which have ALL germinated within a few days. Your seeds are the best!!! I am a partially disabled senior in my sixties but learn sooooo much from you... thank you for everything! I even bought 2 of those awesome lanterns just like yours from your Amazon link. I totally love them so thank you for referencing great products too! Bought some books also that you suggested. You and your hubby amaze me with all your numerous skills and intelligence and motivation and just darn good people . You have both helped me put the "Able" into "Disabled" and God Bless you both and your sons and dog and whole family.
I just rinse the airlocks out well after taking the top off and I can shake all the water out no problem and it dries just fine like that. I may do a video on glass top care when I get a chance. The self clean on mine works pretty good but yes, there will always be something left after wiping out the ashes. Thank you for the kind words and support!
Ty.
Another great video 👍🏻
Very informative and good advice
I was reading about making alcohol kombucha, and there was a suggestion to use a refractometer to measure alcohol instead of a hydrometer. That the yeast eats sugar to make alcohol, but then the bacteria eat the alcohol to make healthy acids... and those acids can measure similar to alcohol with a hydrometer, giving falsely elevated readings. How do you measure your alcohol when using natural ferments ?(which would naturally have bacteria and yeast)
I have recently bought my 1 gallon jugs, with airlock, and I have a few pint jars of ferments starting. I've put off learning to make wine for years, becaue until I found your videos I thought I had to buy lab yeast. THANK YOU for these encouraging videos. Have you found any particular starter culture to make better wine than another? Obviously different yeasts give different results.
I use a hydrometer but only for wines, not for anything else. I just use whatever starter I have ready and have good results, The differences I have found have been based on the fruit or honey used
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us! I wonder how much water alkalinity can affect your fermentation? Could this be a factor?
Yes, that is possible and also depends on the type of ferment you are doing. Vinegar needs a low pH so a high pH water could make it take longer, but this is just an assumption on my part
Well you just saved my wine! I just ran downstairs and changed the airlock. I was wondering if I might be doing something incorrectly, with the no show of bubbles coming through my airlock. Thank you! 😓 I hope I wasn't too late. There was so much activity in the jug today. If my wine did get too much air today and does turn to vinegar, I guess I just have myself a big old jug of vinegar, huh?!? 🤗 Thank you, ma'am!
How long was it brewing? I would not turn to vinegar in one day.
@@RainCountryHomestead It had been brewing all day. She is still brewing and going strong here in the next morning. It looks beautiful. 🙏 I used cranberry, raisin, and lime. It was just what I had on hand at the moment. ☺️ Thanks, and Have a wonderful, blessed day, Heidi!
@@ml3110 So you only started it a day ago?
@@RainCountryHomestead Yes ma'am.
also - MEGA congrats on that 100k number up there :) :)
Thank you Traci!
This would be a huge answer to my WTHeck! Alright, one thing at a time. Let me see if I can backtrack and check. I use almost exclusively frozen scraps saved!Hmm. Heidi, now can you come stir everyday? I suck at this simple task! 😒 I need an intervention. Milk kefir, yea! Water kefir, wah wah wah... nevermind vinegar whoas. Let me ask Mary as well.
When the fruit ferment starts to be 3 days is that when it's pop becomes like a soda? Great video I'll refer to it often, iam an apple 🍎 vinegar fan and like to use the fermentation products in my own kitchen methods for healthy eating and nutritional purposes. Share with others.
Yes, generally speaking, but as mentioned in the video, many things can affect this time frame so it may be as long as 6 days before you see any real action
Very informative. Thank you for pointing in the right direction. My peach wine made from steamed juice is not doing too much. I believe it could have been the airlock. Ordered new ones but I am afraid it may be too late fir this batch. When i smelled it i seemed kind of vinegary too. Will try this again since i gave so many peaches. One thing i discovered that the airlock because if the pressure inside the bottle keeps pushing the rubber stopper up. Maybe that was the issue. I added a paper towel around it to keep it from doing that. Maybe that was it too. Do you have any solutions for that? I did buy the book at a great used price. Thank you :). I will not give up. I have a lot of fruit still ripening and plan to use it to make wine. Worked great last year and i am sure i will figure it out with your wonderful help.
If the peach "wine" is too far into vinegar, then you can always just put a cloth over it and allow it to fully become vinegar so it won't go to waste. I have had that happen with some of my stoppers so making sure the stopper and inside of the jug opening are clean and dry should help. A paper towel may allow air into the jug and this would both prevent the air from going through the airlock as well as allowing the wine to become vinegar
WOW ! I HAD A SCOBBIE ON MY LEMON VINEGAR O TOP, BUT I THREW IT AWAY. I THOUGHT THEY ONLY FORMED ON BOTTOM🤣🤣🤣
What happens is the form on top but then sink to the bottom when they get heavy or get moved
When you use rosemary to make vinegar do you use just the leaves or put the stems in also? I want to make some rosemary vinegar to give as gifts but wasn't sure which part to use. Thank you for the great information.
Since you strain it out anyway, just put in all parts so as to not have to hassle with pulling off the leaves
@@RainCountryHomestead thank you
Thank you for this informative post. One question that I haven't heard you mention in any of your videos. What do I do when my wine stops after just 2-3 weeks. My home is at about 70° and I added my 3rd cup of sugar after a week, then it stopped after another week. I tried adding a little more sugar with extra fermentation starter and...nothing after 2 days. So I racked it. It is bitter. (I used frozen oranges from my tree for the juice)
If it completely stops bubbling through the airlock, it means it is finished. The warmer the house the faster the process can be sometimes but it also various with the fruit or batch to batch. Each on will be unique. Adding more sugar that late in the game will do nothing but make it sweeter
@@RainCountryHomestead thank you. I was concerned because it was done at just under 3 weeks. I'm going to bottle it after racking it a few more times then let it age. Maybe it will mellow. First time so I'll keep learning. I'm keeping a log on what I've done and what happens, temperature included 👍😁
@raincountry Can you please help me with this? I'm in the process of making apple vinegar. But from the very beginning, a big slime formed in me. It goes all the way through the whole jar, I can barely stir and it is very thick and very slimy. Can anyone tell me what this is about? Is it a problem and how do I solve it? That happened to me in two jars. These are apple peels and cores. And thank you on everything you do. I'm learning so much from you.
It may be the SCOBY. Check out this video to see if it looks like what I show in here: ua-cam.com/video/JGbolygJoKY/v-deo.html
@@RainCountryHomestead Thank you very much for quick answer. I looked video, and it does not look like scoby. At least for now.. It is slimy and was like that from day two.. Not much liquid beside that is all slimy and transparent. It did get very fizzy and bubbly and was going over jar.. but today it is far less bubbly and still not liquidy but slimy. Sould I leave it just like that and wait or should I do something?
and sorry for english it is not my native :)
Awesome content love this channel 👏🙌thank u
😀
Do you have a book recommendation for ferments and vinegars?
My last apple scrap vinegar read 2 on the pH strip.
Nice
@@RainCountryHomestead I think I added a glob of mother from an empty vinegar, but I cannot really be sure... the brain.... if I don't write it down...
@@kleineroteHex I understand that! I sometimes have to go back and watch my own videos to see how I did some things, haha
Hey Heidi! So I started a vinegar almost a week ago with dried sour cherries in a quart jar. I only put 2.5 tablespoons of sugar in and not really noticing much action yet and it doesn't smell like anything. Should I start it over or just sit an wait? Thank you!
It may need just a bit more sugar, maybe a couple more Tablespoons since they are sour cherries. Try that and then give it another week but just keep in mind, as noted in the video (and if you have not listened to the whole thing yet, I recommend you do) the water you are using and temperature of your house may be slowing or preventing it from fermenting
@@RainCountryHomestead Thanks Heidi! I will try adding a couple more tablespoons of sugar. Yes I listened to that as well and didn't use my tap water and used bought spring water that I had on hand.
My fridge may be warmest part of my house. High was 31 today.
Hi Heidi, thank you so much for all your videos as they have helped me so much. I am really excited about the banana peel and mint vinegar. But first I need to figure out what is happening to my ferments. Lately everything starts Out good for aboutb3 days and then it begins to smell like VOMIT! It use to just happen to my saurkraut so I stopped trying that. Then my ginger beer did the same. Then I tried the pineapple peels and they began to smell like vomit. Now I can't even make my ginger bug anymore as it does the same. Can you help me figure this out? I have a water filter system attached to my water line and this has always worked for me without any problems. I always rinse my jars and utensils in the filtered water before using them to make sure there are no detergent or tap water left on them.
I cannot think of anything else to say with such limited information that I did not already cover in the video so you may want to consider watching or just listening to the whole video again. It is long and in depth so easy to miss some things on a first run through
Also, honeydew wine? Good idea, yes? Or no?
I keep my house cool, will vegetables and kombucha ferment at 65-67°F
Yes, they may just take longer but they will ferment
Should the 2.5% brine be related to the weight of: only the food, only the water or both of them?
I have been fermenting kimchi and more for many years but since I do not use exact measurements in weight or percentage, you need to ask someone who finds such precision to be important.
😮🤦♀️, my first vinegar I am making. I had some halos that were not very nice and thought I would try them. It’s not doing well.
How do you get the 'eels' in your scoby?
I am not sure where they come from, one would have to look more in depth into that
Be careful because like our city water it has pool cleaner in it not bleach and it's so bad it gets worst after boiling. I have to filter with Berkey or not drink
Yikes!
I have an alligator juniper vinegar going. It's been 40 days and it's still bubbling. The liquid is is little murky and it doesn't smell bad but it doesn't smell great. I'm unfamiliar with juniper vinegars, is it normal to be not clear and not smell amazing? It doesn't smell bad or rotten. It just doesn't smell like juniper or vinegar.
Most vinegars will be murky looking, that should actually be expected, no matter what you are making it from. Truly clear vinegars are those that have been distilled. If it still tastes sweet, it needs more time. As mentioned in the video, ferments are living things and different variables can cause some things to take longer to ferment than others so it may still need more time, especially if you added a lot of sugar
@@RainCountryHomestead Thanks Heidi. I've just never made one that started so clear and smelled quite so off. It's finished fermenting now and is smelling and looking awesome!
✝️🙂💜👍
I'm having trouble keeping my air lock on. The pressure works the stopper out . I ended up using a Bungie cord to keep it in. Any suggestions?
This does happen from time to time. Are you keeping the air lock cleaned out? If the air lock is clogged up with pulp, it will not stay in place. Also, when it comes off, clean the stopper and the inside of the jug top as often the fermenting process leaves these slick so it is even harder to keep the stopper in place. This should only go on for a day or two, maybe three tops then it will slow down enough to not need to worry about it
@@RainCountryHomestead it is a brand new air lock. In fact I had trouble even getting it to fit in the first place. (Gallon jug. ) The first time I actually got it in I had pushed it quite a ways in so I was surprised to hear it plop out on the counter. So thereafter I didn't push it in as far and it still would not stay . That's when I got the Bungie out and won that battle .
@@RainCountryHomestead ok I have discovered what the problem is. The extra air locks I ordered are #7. The one that fits from my gallon kit is #6.5
Thank you for you help Heidi
@@thelmaallen6385 I had wondered if it may have been too big
Do they make glass air locks?
I am not sure but it really does not matter, the airlock is only for keeping oxygen out of the wine while allowing the gasses to escape, it does not come in contact with the wine
What is racking wine?
I have a video coming out about that in the near future but here is the one where I show how to do it in part four of the wine making series: ua-cam.com/video/v3K1QHcrtUs/v-deo.html
You could make what I call junk jelly from your frozen apple peels and cores.
I have made apple butter from the expended apples from making cider. Was not super happy with it and I have a lot of jams and fruit butters, we just do not them that much but we do use a lot of vinegar for various things
Why does my vinegar smell & taste like sore milk? Is it just not finished? It's not bubbling now. it's apple vinager.
I do not recall mine ever tasting like sour milk but just give it more time. It may still need a week or two. If it still tastes and smells like that AFTER straining, it may have gone bad before turning to vinegar
🌺🌹🌻🌸
I used o city water mine still was like fingernail polish
But how do I know it's done? I'm not squeamish in any way. But it's so cold here, how do I know when done?
It depends on which type of ferment you are doing. Each kind will be different in the amount of time they take and some is dependent on a person's taste
My apple vinegar won't stop fermenting. HELP
How long has it been fermenting?
@@RainCountryHomestead about 12 weeks.
@G-man ty I'll do that.
@@susankarnes2100 So about three months? How bubbly is it and how much sugar did you use?
@@RainCountryHomestead 1/4 C to start, added 1/4 C. It appeared to have stopped. Filtered it 2xs and put in 1/2 gal and capped. Now have to release cap about 1xs week.
I had a problem with frozen apple peels. Smelled like old feet then molded on me. I thought I did something wrong.
It is odd, I do not know why sometimes frozen fruits do not ferment as good. We have always been told that freezing does nto kill the bacteria and yeast on the fruit but then it seems many have an issue when going to use them in a ferment. I would not give up on the concept but would add a starter to it next time
My apple vinegar tasted and smelled like fingernail polish
I personally do not think most vinegars taste great straight anyway. Some do but apple can be pretty strong