In our modern age it is no longer necessary to live our lives in tune with the seasons. Spring passes to fall and the life cycle continues with or without our noticing. If our lives depended on the life giving plants around us we might associate the spring with fresh, cleansing greens and the autumn with fruits and roots.
Harvest time has always been of great importance for people who live in temperate climates. Finally the last fruits and vegetables are ripe and the roots, having taken all the sun energy they can, are ready to hibernate for the winter. This is the last opportunity to gather fresh food before the long, cold winter.
Despite my sadness at the coming of the colder and short days, I am excited for all the abudance growing around me. There are so many delicious fruits and berries this year, I’m sure all the rain has helped.
Crabapples are often abundant and are extremely common in Calgary. I find people are not really sure what to do with them. One of my favourite things to do is make apple cider vinegar. It is such an incredibly easy thing to do, it’s a wonder people buy it for premium prices at the supermarket. It’s as simple as:
- Cutting up apples.
- Adding a bit of sugar (to speed up fermentation).
- Covering the apples with water in a glass jar.
- Covering the opening of the glass jar with cloth.
- Allowing the apples to sit for up to 3 months depending on the storage conditions. Smell and taste to see if they are done!
Good practice says to stir the apples regularly at first to prevent any moulding of the top floating apples, although I personally have not had any problems. Many tips and recipes can be found in books and on the web, but I encourage people to experiment for themselves because the costs are relatively non-existant compared to the benefits.
Fermentation is the process through which natural bacteria and yeasts in the apples digest the sugars in the apples. The waste products produced by the bacteria and yeasts are ethanol (alcohol) and eventually acetic acid (vinegar). The incredible product is a living culture that feeds your body with nutrients as well as with probiotic organisms. Apple cider vinegar has been claimed by many to be a general tonic to improve health and can be taken before meals to improve digestion.
This year I am experimenting with pears instead of apples (see photo above). I’m looking forward to the brief intermediary phase of fermentation where I can have a little taste of homemade pear cider.