Making your own vinegar

I am a novice vinegar maker. My problem is I simply do not eat enough fruits. But when I do eat fruit, I make vinegar out of the scraps.

I clean with vinegar and I use it as a fabric softener. I rinse my hair with vinegar.  I have used it in gnat traps and in cooking. Vinegar truly is a wonderful thing to keep in hand.  For those of you who are preppers, why store vinegar when you can make it as you need it.

I start with scraps. I have used pineapple cores, peach skins and apple scraps.

Let them sit out when they can get air..but no bugs. The trick is to gather the yeast that occurs naturally in the air. Yeast is everywhere. The scraps can be wrapped in cheesecloth or put into garment bags and hung in the corner if the kitchen...or outside.

Don't let the scraps rot, that is not the point. The point is to gather yeast.  Once the have gotten a good dose of fresh air...and hopefully yeast, they need to be put into a sugar solution. The ratio is one quart water: 1/4 cup sugar (or one gallon water:1 cup sugar). It is best to not use plain white sugar. It has been bleached and treated to prevent molds. Use a brown sugar or a non bleached natural sugar for the best results.  Chopping the scraps helps also as it allows more access to the natural sugars. 

I save my scraps as I eat apples.  I put them into the warm sugar solution. When I get enough, I open it up and let more yeast in with cheese cloth.  After it ferments a while, I remove the cheesecloth and put my lid with the airlock attached to let it complete the fermentation process and keep bugs out. When it has fermented a few weeks, I cap it off and put it on the shelf.

Once you have vinegar going, you add a bit of your old vinegar..or the entire mother floating on the top to a new solution to jump start the process.

You can have a separate vinegar for each different fruit you eat or mix them all together,  it is your choice.  

If you cap the vinegar with normal lids it will corrode the caps.   I personally use old vodka bottles I gather. They will normally fit on a shelf easily,  they are easy to hold when full and they have a handy thing in the spout to make it pour easily. 

References

http://www.rural-revolution.com/2013/07/making-fruit-scrap-vinegar.html?m=1

http://www.eattheweeds.com/vinegar-your-own-unique-strain/

http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/The_Household_Cyclopedia_of_General_Information/howtomak_bjc.html

http://www.countrysidemag.com/83-4/countryside_staff/

Keeping warm in power outages

I recent Facebook discussion got me thinking of power outages and hours to keep warm in the winter.

That is not really a concern of mine and hasn't been for several years. Right now, I heat almost entirely with kerosene.  I treat the kerosene for the smell and have no real issues.  The kerosene provides heat and light. In a pinch, I can also use it for cooking.

But I have had to survive in emergencies.

Below is gathered some hints too stay warm in a grid down situation.

First I would put a tent in living room as it is a smaller area to heat.

Use sheets, blankets or even pillows to cover all the windows except one. That one window will be needed for ventilation.

Bring my solar lights into tent...it provides plenty of light

Set up the sun oven outdoors to heat water in bottles wrapped in dark cloth. When they are hot, wrap in wool socks and bring in the tent to give off heat.

Light a kerosene lantern to give heat. Move the cat beds into tent, cats have a temperature several degree above humans. Dogs will work also.

Eat, as the act of eating and digesting generates core heat.

Gather wool blankets, sleeping bags or whatever to insulate tent.  Don't forget about the floor either.

Wrap up the water heater.  It will not only give water, but warm water in cold nights. It will also help it not cool and freeze as fast.

Dress in layers. Cotton first to wick sweat, then wool to insulate. Spritz the wool with water as needed to raise the temperature of the wool.

Never drink anything cold as that chills the body core.

Set alarms specifically for checking toes and fingers for cold damage.

Crack a window for ventilation. Remember the window left uncovered?

Be sure to let someone know you are in an emergency situation so they can check in with you occasionally.

So, that is the main things.  This takes into account you are on a grid heating system and do not have an off-grid backup.