Re: vinegar in plastic container

[Guest guest]

I'm not an expert by any means. I know that in kombucha brewing, we are told not

to brew in metal or plastic. But, in reading " Wild Fermentation " he uses

food-grade plastic buckets (the 5 gallon ones). I prefer to use glass whenever

possible to avoid getting plasticizers into my ferments and/or foods.

Tina

>

> Hi there. I want to make my own vinegar. I have a large plastic jug that I

am considering using. Should I be concerned about the acidity of the vinegar

degrading the plastic?

>

> Thanks,

>

>

[Guest guest]

There is a lot of concern about chemicals in " plastic " leaching out into

foods. In reality, there are many different materials known as " plastic. "

In the pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries, many liquid chemicals

have to be incredibly pure, and these are almost always piped in plastic

pipes because those plastics are the only materials that will keep the

chemicals pure. Even chemicals that will attack glass can be piped in

certain types of plastic. At the same time, there is some truth to claims

that some plastics are contaminating food. Usually, this is not due to the

plastic resin itself, rather it is due to chemicals added to the plastic to

change it's properties. Some baby bottles and water bottles have been shown

to leach BPA which is toxic to humans

In general, if you get something marketed as " food grade " plastic, you won't

have a problem. These will usually be polypropylene or polyethylene. If

the recycling symbol shows it to be # 2, #4 or #5 you will be fine. You

should not reuse plastic containers labeled as #1 (They are considered good

for one use, but I would avoid them myself.) Containers labeled #7 should

not be used with food.

Of course, most plastics should not be subjected to flames or very high

temperatures.

On Mon, Mar 7, 2011 at 2:07 PM, <brian_garrick@...> wrote:

>

>

> Hi there. I want to make my own vinegar. I have a large plastic jug that I

> am considering using. Should I be concerned about the acidity of the vinegar

> degrading the plastic?

>

> Thanks,

>

>

>

>

--

Regards,

Harkness

[Guest guest]

Estrogen also is a concern when using plastics to eat food from.

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rawferrets

>

>

> Hi there. I want to make my own vinegar. I have a large plastic jug that I

> am considering using. Should I be concerned about the acidity of the vinegar

> degrading the plastic?

>

> Thanks,

>

>

>

>

--

Regards,

Harkness

[Guest guest]

Actually pretty much all the vinegar I buy comes in plastic jugs and it

doesn't

seem to affect the vinegar. However, I would think it would be difficult

to deal with the mother in a jug ... what you need is a wide lid that you

can

get into. Once the mother gets going she's going to be as wide as

the container, and I find it useful to float her on a raft of wine corks (so

when I add wine, she doesn't sink). If you are going to get fancy you

can get a tube and funnel that goes underneath so you can pour more

wine in without disturbing the surface, but I never got around to it

and the vinegar is great!

Also think about decanting. It's a lot easier if there is a spigot,

so the dregs at the bottom stay in place.

And you want to make sure that air can get in, but little flies can't. So

you'll

need a hole of some kind at the top of the jar, with cloth glued over it.

Overall, the easiest container I've found is a " sun tea " jar ... they are

cheap and work great. The glass isn't the best quality so they can

break easier than some jars, but with care they do fine.

On Mon, Mar 7, 2011 at 12:07 PM, <brian_garrick@...> wrote:

> Hi there. I want to make my own vinegar. I have a large plastic jug that

> I am considering using. Should I be concerned about the acidity of the

> vinegar degrading the plastic?

>

> Thanks,

>

>

>

>

> ---

[Guest guest]

It should be of a material that will not degrade like Vinigar bottles(of course)

but others that held acidic liquids like apple, grape, or orange juice.

>

> Hi there. I want to make my own vinegar. I have a large plastic jug that I

am considering using. Should I be concerned about the acidity of the vinegar

degrading the plastic?

>

> Thanks,

>

>