What would happen if you just let cider ferment on it's own, without adding yeast?!
Answers:
If you do not keep air out it will turn to vinegar but if you simply pressed apples and took the juice and put it in a container with an airlock you would get some sort of alcoholic beverage!.!.!.!. might taste like crap but then again it might be great!.
The reason is that yeast is ever present in the environment and wild yeasts give unpredictable results when fermented!. Pressing the apples would yield juice but it would also wash wild yeasts off the skin of the apple (or grapes or any other fruit you pressed for the juice) and they would start the fermentation process if you did nothing to prevent it!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
The reason is that yeast is ever present in the environment and wild yeasts give unpredictable results when fermented!. Pressing the apples would yield juice but it would also wash wild yeasts off the skin of the apple (or grapes or any other fruit you pressed for the juice) and they would start the fermentation process if you did nothing to prevent it!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
No alcohol will form without the addition of yeast!. Yeast is a micro organism which feeds on sugar and this process produces alcohol and carbon dioxide!. If you seal up fruit juice, that's all it will ever be!. As for naturally occurring yeast, there is only one place in the world, in Belgium, where yeast naturally adds itself to the mash!. The brewers who produce this "Lambic", purposely leave the barrells open so as to facilitate this natural process!. It is then infused with a variety of fruits or berries, is highly carbonated, and to my taste, it is one of the true wonders of the world!. Try it instead of a sweet sparkling wine next time you are pairing!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
It's a gamble!. You could get good cider, poor cider, or, most likely, the juice would be infected by the bacteria that cause the production of vinegar!. You could also come down with a bad case of the runs!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
vinegarWww@FoodAQ@Com
vinegar Www@FoodAQ@Com