What you are looking at is the sludge at the bottom of a gallon of cider I found in the back of my fridge. Tasted great while it lasted, but we weren’t quite quick enough to enjoy it. It turned the corner from fizzy to hard to ornery some time ago. Jilly tells me, however, that I should embrace the disgusting gunk. Apparently it even has a name—it’s a “mother”—and is chock full of good bacteria that will turn my cider into vinegar, if I let it. She advises me to just cover it up with some cheesecloth and wait anywhere between two weeks and two months. When it smells like vinegar, it’s done. Updates next week.
[...] 19, 2009 by dorisgoat Loyal readers may recall that one of our earliest posts dealt with making your own vinegar. I have been remiss in posting the promised update. As you can see, the gallon jug on the left [...]