Apples are frequently used to make sauce and juice in the food processing business, but they can also be used to make other goods like cider and cider vinegar. Fermentation is the process that yields both cider and vinegar.
The steps involved in producing apple cider vinegar are as follows:
Selection of Apples
Apples ought to be ripe and firm. Apples that are green or immature have a bland flavor.
Washing
The apples must be washed to get rid of bacteria, insects, spray residues, leaves, and twigs after they have mellowed. They are mechanically dumped onto a scrubber from the containers. Each apple is scrubbed and rinsed by this machine, which removes the majority of chemical stains from the skin.
Grinding
Apples are a hard fruit, thus slicing is required to make the juice extraction process easier. High-speed rotary blades are used to grind the fruit into a pulp, or the apples can be put in a big mill and processed into a fine pulp that resembles applesauce. In order to get the most juice possible out of the apples, this is done.
Pressing
Three primary types of presses—the hydraulic press, the screw press, and the belt press—are employed in the commercial manufacturing of apple juice to separate the juice from the mash. The screw press operates constantly and has a higher working capacity than the hydraulic press. The bladder press and the basket press are two other presses. These are primarily employed in small- and medium-scale manufacturing.
Pasteurization
It takes place for 10 to 15 seconds at 92 °C. To eliminate all undesirable germs, this is done.
Cooling and Filling
Through plastic tubes, the juice released from the pomace is pushed to a cooling tank. A screen mesh is used to filter out any pulp particles from the cider as it is being sent to the cooling tanks. After that, it is cooled and kept at 33° F (0.6° C). This aids in preventing unwelcome microorganism contamination. After adding preservatives such potassium sorbate, the juice is then transferred to the fermentation tank.
Fermentation
The apple juice ferments for eight weeks, frequently in two phases. This involves traditional alcoholic fermentation, in which yeast strains convert carbohydrates into ethanol, followed by acetobacter fermentation, which results in the production of vinegar.
Aging and Bottling
Oak barrels are used for aging to improve the flavor. For cider, use sterilized containers. Each bottle may get a modest amount of sugars for a "in-bottle fermentation." To stop further fermentation, place a cap or cork on the bottle and then pasteurize the cider. The addition of sulfur is most frequently used after adding sugar to prevent pasteurization from killing the yeast.
After you follow the process, you can now enjoy ACV at home!