Not every venture can be a success. And so it has come to pass. I have had a failure.
When I told friend C, who had been successful with creating tasty vinegar with different flavours dependent on the type of apples used, that one of my jars had mould growing on the surface she suggested I hadn’t cleaned the jars properly. I swore that I had, but deep down I felt sure there would be no other reason for the mould growth. I felt a sense of despair because I had been excited to produce my own vinegar from my own apples.
Unfortunately the situation was worse. When I lifted the cloth from both jars, with contents derived from two types of my apples, two different conglomerations of mould presented themselves.
One website I read said; Normal vinegar concentration (usually around 5% acetic acid) is too acidic to grow mold in the vinegar itself. Mold can sometimes grow on the bottle or on the surface of the vinegar. It isn’t dangerous and can be wiped/skimmed off.’
I was not prepared to skim off the mould without knowing more so despatched the whole lot to the ‘I am not quite vinegar yet heaven’.
Alas. I will wait until next year to try again. Meanwhile this site provides me with information about the benefits of vinegar and much more so it is definitely worth pursuing the production of my own. The simple recipe for the Green Goddess salad dressing sounds divine.
Tasmanian Discoveries 
Bummer….I certainly also would toss these ones out! It is not the mood of the vinegar mother as they talk about on the website. I wash my jars and sterilise them in the microwave just before I use them. Once the apples are out I stir the vinegar every few days before bottling. Good luck next time.
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I read that there was a possibility of a mother but I didnt get one at any stage. I thought my cleaning process was excellent because I have never ever had mould on any preserves of any kind in the past. But this one got me – perhaps simply because it was open to the air somewhat and needed to be not totally airtight. But I didnt stir after I removed the apples so maybe that has something to do with it. Puzzling but I will try again. Thanks..
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I can understand your reticence, but I generally skim or pick the mould off the top of jam or pesto, etc., when it presents itself [and it is kept in the fridge], and I’m still here to tell the tale! 😉 Cheers, Jon.
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Yes I do this with ‘solid’ foods but with liquid it is too difficult to take it off without mixing it in somewhat.
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