WHAT TO DO ONCE YOUR ELDERFLOWER VINEGAR ARRIVES:
Your order will contain an elderflower vinegar mother and some starter vinegar. This is enough to make a 1 litre of raw elderflower vinegar. Don’t worry though; the mother grows pretty fast so you will be making much more in no time at all. Once you receive your elderflower vinegar mother from us, it’s best to get it fermenting as soon as possible.
BREWING JAR:
You need something to ferment your elderflower vinegar in. We recommend using something glass. Glass is much easier to clean and keep sterile. Plastic tends to degrade over time and is prone to scratches which can harbour unwanted bacteria. Plastic also carries a risk of chemical contamination from the materials contained inside of it such as BPA. A glass kilner style jam jar is perfect to use.
JAR COVER:
You also need something to cover your jar with. We recommend paper kitchen towels as they are easy to discard and replace. You can also use a muslin cloth or similar if you wish. Rubber bands also come in handy to secure the cover to the jar.
WHAT INGREDIENTS DO I NEED?
You only need one ingredient to make elderflower vinegar, elderflower wine. We buy organic certified elderflower wine here at Freshly Fermented to make our vinegar with. However, you will find many recipes online on how to make your own elderflower wine from the flowers. This will work just as well. Although being seasonal, it can be difficult to make enough to last the entire year.
HOW TO MAKE ELDERFLOWER VINEGAR:
1. Add the elderflower vinegar mother and starter vinegar to the glass jar.
2. Fill the remainder of the jar with your wine.
3. Cover the jar so that it can still breath, but no dust can get in.
4. Leave the jar at room temperature for a minimum of 8 weeks.
After 8 weeks have passed, your vinegar should be murky and you will usually see a new mother has formed. At this point, taste your vinegar. It should not have any sweetness to the taste. If it does, it will need a little longer.
MAKING THE NEXT BATCH OF ELDERFLOWER VINEGAR:
At this stage you will usually now have two mothers. It is unusual for a new mother not to form with each batch of vinegar made. However, it sometimes does happen. This does not usually indicate a problem.
Always ensure you keep some of the vinegar as a starter for the next batch. You will need around 100ml of vinegar as a starter for every litre you wish to make. This is really important, without the starter vinegar added, you run the risk of mould forming. If you now have several mothers, add one to each batch. However, you can make elderflower vinegar just by using the starter vinegar.
PLEASE NOTE:
If you have more than one fermenting food culture at home, we recommend that you keep them at least 1 metre apart from each other at all times. This is to stop cross contamination of the different cultures. If you are working with dairy in particular, this is very important. Please contact us is you require further assistance with fermenting more than one culture.
