Apple cider vinegar

I have seen several posts where apple cider vinegar is used with sugar for feeding, some in pretty large amounts. I have just completed a cider press and was trying to determine how to preserve or what to do with the quantities that I have been squishing out. Does anybody make their own Cider or Vinegar? My search reveals that it is just allowing air to hit the hard cider but tips would be nice because the apples are done and the last 100 lbs of mine are sitting in the garage.
I don’t know if this is brewing, more like squishing, fermenting and rotting…
:lpf:

I make sparkling French styled cider. Or at least I try to... I "keeve" the juice.
I set up my keeve Saturday evening and I will be racking the keeved juice into the carboys tonight. The process removes nutrients from the juice, and it depends entirely on the natural yeasts.

I have never made vinegar, accidentally or intentionally but I downloaded instructions some time back.

I use store bought apple juice to combine with honey to make cyser. Making /drinking cyser is one of the more worthwhile things I've come across ...

you need a bacterial culture to ferment the hard cider. it is called "mother-of-vinegar" and is in the acetobacter family. you can purchase it here - http://www.leeners.com/vinegar/how-t...r-mother.shtml or you can grow your own if there are enough naturally occuring spores in the air in your area. you can also use RAW apple cider vinegar as a starter.

I make and sell honey vinegar. It is a two step fermentation process. First you must take, in your case cider, and ferment, using yeast, the sugars in it into alcohol. Then you do a secondary fermentation using acetibacters to convert the alcohol into acid.
This link is to an old extension bulletin on how to make honey vinegar…in your case, you should be able to use your cider in pretty much the same fashion.
http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/Ag.%2...e/PDF/e149.pdf
good luck

Look in the health food section of your grocery store for Bragg vinegar, it has the mother in it so you can use it for a starter.