I have been making hard cider for a couple of years now. First year I started fermentation in the carboy - and was getting the explosions. This year, I started fermentation in a large mouth 5 gallon tub. It came with a lid and a hole in which you put the bung and air lock. Use the champagne yeast, not brewer's yeast or baker's yeast as this will increase the alcohol content. Cider only takes about 2 weeks to get done - some people keep wine for 30 or 60 days. In the first few days, you'll see "head" and bubbles, you will also see the yeast in suspension. After a week, the bubbles will disappear but the yeast is still there. I tried drinking it - and it gave me a pretty bad hang over - the reason is that the organic products in suspension give off trace quantities of methanol. After a week more, the yeast will die and fall to bottom and the cider will clarify. You won't see the yeast in suspension. Now it's done and ready for bottling. I tried drinking it again - and no hangover. The taste is not quite cider - more like white wine. --- Regarding your question - you can add the sugar and the yeast. If the vinegar is not "strong" enough as a pickling agent - then the yeast will continue to ferment. If it is strong enough - then the yeast will not - which means it is a strong enough pickling agent. However, be sure to add champagne yeast - as that can tolerate the highest alcohol content and acidity - I believe around 18%. Also, you can just taste the vinegar and compare it to another product with a published acetic acid content of 5%. Is it more or less sour - if it is more sour - it should have higher vinegar concentration. It sounds to me like you vinegar is still oxidizing. You have to stir the vinegar and keep it open to air to allow oxygen to interact with the alcohol. If it is unstirred, in a large barrel it can take six months, with an automatic stirrer it could take a two or three weeks. The more surface area that is exposed to air and the frequent agitation will reduce the time to complete the process.

Pam, We are nothing here if not enablers. We all enable each other, whether it comes to gardening, preserving or cooking. I have heard of Linda Amendt's book, but don't have it. I think you could do a search on the Harvest Forum and find reviews of it there. The three non-Ball canning books on my bookshelf that I use the most are these: "The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving" by Ellie Top and Margaret Howard. My copy is from the second edition, published in 2007. They may have a newer edition or a more current revision out, or even a newer book. I haven't checked lately. This book has marvelous small batches many of which make only 2 to 6 half-pint jars, which is a great way to try new recipes without making huge batches you might never eat. It also is ideal for items you grow in smaller quantities or can purchase at the Farmer's Market. This book has a lot of great recipes for everything from the usual jams, jellies, salsas and pickles to flavored vinegars, mustards, marinades, dessert sauces, syrups and even liqueurs. I use this book pretty often. "The Joy of Pickling: 250 Flavor-Packed Recipes for Vegetables and More from Garden and Market" by Linda Ziedrich. I have the second edition, published in 2009. This book has a huge variety of recipes and they are different from a lot of the standard pickling recipes. For example, she has a whole chapter on recipes for sauerkraut, kimchi and other cabbage pickles, and a different chapter on rice-bran, miso and soy-sauce pickles. There's a full chapter on fermented pickles, and also full chapters on sweet pickles, quick pickles and freezer pickles....as well as chapters on pickled meat, fish and eggs, and a chapter devoted to chutneys, salsa and other relishes. I love this book. "The Joy of Jams, Jellies and Other Sweet Preserves: 200 Classic and Contemporary Recipes Showcasing the Fabulous Flavors of Fresh Fruits" by Linda Ziedrich. My copy shows a copyright date of 2009. I am not positive if all the recipes in this book are free of commercial pectin, but nothing I've made from this book has included commercial pectin. It is full of amazing recipes for anything and everything you possibly could make from fresh fruit, including these: apple cider syrup, apricot-pineapple jam, cantaloupe jam with mint, maraschino cherries, fig jam, rose petal jelly, rose petal syrup, red grapefruit marmalade, lemon curd, lime syrup, orange jelly, peach-fig jam, hot green pepper-lime jelly, plum-apple conserve, pomegranate syrup, pumpkin butter, quince jelly, raspberry jam, raspberry vinegar, strawberry-orange jam, tomatillo jam, tomato marmalade, yellow tomato-pineapple preserves, watermelon rind preserves and watermelon molasses. If you are looking for recipes that are a little different from the usual fruit recipes in canning books, this book is full of them. I was watching the same football game and thinking at times that it looked like they were playing the game inside a snow globe. I know you'll be busy today ahead of the brutal cold front. It is almost noon and we're still below freezing. It is hard to imagine that a week ago we were in the 70s and hit the 80s a couple of times. Today it is a whole different world, and a very cold one at that. Dawn

Biscuits with sausage gravy, grits. Marlen's Pull Apart Bacon Bread 1 pkg (10 oz) bacon 3/4 c green pepper, chopped 3/4 onion, chopped 3 tubes (7-1/2 oz each) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits 1/2 cup margarine, melted 1/2 c (2oz) shredded cheddar cheese Cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving drippings. Crumble and set aside. In bacon drippings (or vegetable oil) cook green pepper and onion until tender. Cut biscuits in fourths and place in large bowl. Add sauteed vegetables, crisp bacon, margarine and cheese. Toss until thoroughly mixed. Place in a 10" tube pan coated with Pam. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Immediately invert onto serving plate. Serve warm. MAPLE APRICOT GRANOLA Gourmet, February 2003 Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 hr serving size Makes about 10 cups. 1/4 cup flaxseeds (1 1/4 oz) (I omit this) 6 cups old-fashioned oats (18 oz) 2 cups sliced almonds (8 oz) 1 cup hulled (green) pumpkin seeds (not roasted; 5 oz) 1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds (not roasted; 2 1/2 oz) 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup pure maple syrup 1/3 cup crystallized ginger (2 1/2 oz; optional), finely chopped 2 cups dried apricots (11 oz), finely chopped Accompaniments: plain yogurt or milk; honey or maple syrup Special equipment: an electric coffee/spice grinder preparation Preheat oven to 350F. Finely grind flaxseeds in coffee/spice grinder, then stir together with oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, salt, oil, and syrup in a large bowl. Spread mixture evenly in 2 large shallow baking pans (1 inch deep) and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, stirring and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until golden brown, about 30 minutes total. Cool granola completely in pans on racks, then stir in ginger (if using) and apricots.  Granola can be made 1 week ahead and kept in an airtight container at cool room temperature, or frozen 1 month. PECAN PRALINE BACON Gourmet : March 1996 user rating 100% would make it again user rating: 4 forks Quick & Easy appears in this menu Bed & Breakfast Brunch yield: Serves 6 Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Ingredients 1 pound thick-cut bacon (about 12 slices) 3 tablespoons sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder 1/4 cup pecans, chopped fine Preparation Preheat oven to 425°F. On rack of a large broiling pan arrange bacon slices in one layer and cook in middle of oven 10 minutes, or until it just begins to turn golden. In a small bowl stir together sugar and chili powder. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle bacon with sugar mixture and pecans. Return pan to oven and cook until bacon is crisp and browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon, praline-sides up, to paper towels to drain. My cousin just gave me this Ina Garten recipe - he made them the other day after seeing on tv - said they were easy and delish. INA GARTEN'S EASY STICKY BUNS (from Good Morning America) Makes 12 We used to make really delicious sticky buns at Barefoot Contessa, but they took two days to make because the yeast dough needed to rise overnight in the refrigerator. I was dying to find a way to make them easier, so I decided to try baking them with Pepperidge Farm puff pastry dough, instead. OMG are they good ... and they're really easy to make! Light, flaky dough filled with brown sugar, toasted pecans, and sweet raisins -- my friends go crazy when I make these. 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed 1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces 1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted for the filling 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled 2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 cup raisins Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture. Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2 inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon), and cool completely.

I make Apple Crostata more often that a 2-crust pie. It's so easy. It's Ina's recipe Apple Crostata For the pastry: 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons granulated or superfine sugar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 pound (1 stick) very cold unsalted butter, diced 2 tablespoons ice water For the filling: 1 1/2 pounds McIntosh, Macoun, or Empire apples (3 large) 1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced Directions For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough becomes a solid mass. Turn the dough onto a well-floured board and form into a disk. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Flour a rolling pin and roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to a baking sheet. For the filling, peel, core, and cut the apples into 8ths. Cut each wedge into 3 chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest. Cover the tart dough with the apple chunks leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly on the apples. Gently fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle. Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. I also like Mom's Apple Cake from SmittenKitchen Mom’s Apple Cake (Smitten Kitchen) For the apples 6 apples, Mom uses McIntosh apples, I use a mix of whatever looks good 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 5 tablespoons (65 grams) granulated sugar For the cake 2 3/4 cups (360 grams) flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon fine sea or table salt 1 cup (235 ml) vegetable oil (safflower, sunflower, olive and coconut oil also work, as does melted butter) 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar 1/4 cup (60 ml) orange juice 2 1/2 (13 ml) teaspoons vanilla extract 4 large eggs 1 cup (130 grams) walnuts, chopped (optional and to be honest, we never use them) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan. (I use this one.) Peel, core and chop apples into 1-inch chunks.Toss with cinnamon and 5 tablespoons sugar and set aside. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Mix wet ingredients into dry ones; scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated. Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples (and their juices) over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.* Cool completely before running knife between cake and pan, and unmolding onto a platter. Do ahead: This cake is awesome on the first day but absolutely glorious and pudding-like on the days that follow, so feel free to get an early start on it. I keep it at room temperature covered with foil. * Tip: The apples love to hide uncooked pockets of batter, especially near the top. Make sure your testing skewer or toothpick goes not just all the way down to the bottom, but does a shallow dip below the top layer of apples to make sure it comes out batter-free. Should your cake be browning too fast, before the center is baked through, cover it with foil for all but the last few minutes in the oven.