Pressing Apples

We have never given Dieter juice from the store. So last year we started pressing our own apples. Kimball made the press- we bought the hopper (if that is what it is called? The thing that grinds the apples) We spent Saturday pressing apples. I saved same of the juice to make apple cider vinegar. It should be ready in 3 weeks! I got the recipe from a fermenting cooking class I am taking from Nourished Kitchen.







Apple Cider Vinegar

1 pint raw apple juice
1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar (either purchased or from a previous batch)
mason jar with ring
cheesecloth or linen napkin
fliptop bottle, optional, for storage method (I need to buy one!)

-Stir apple juice together with vinegar.
-Pour into a mason jar, cover with cheesecloth or a linen napkin and secure it with the ring of your mason jar. Place it in a dark and cool, but not cold, place in your kitchen.
-Vigorously stir the juice daily (with a wooden spoon) and remove any film or other signs of contamination if they appear.
-After about three weeks, begin testing the acidity of your vinegar by taste-testing. Continue fermenting for a more acid vinegar.
-Transfer to a fliptop bottle for storage, leaving at least one to two inches of headspace in case of continued fermentation. Raw vinegar is likely to continue fermenting if you store at room temperature, and its flavor will gradually become more acid and slightly more complex with age.