BRV ingredients
I live in Canada where the climate does not allow for many fruit trees (even fewer organic trees in my area). I might be able to find apples or strawberries.
Can you make BRV out of organic fruits found at the grocery store or do they have to be fresh picked?
Does it have to be made out of fruit, or are there other things that work well?
Top answer
Chris Trump has talked about making vinegar from FPJ there is a how to vid also in his FPJ vid on banana flowers he talks of making vinegar from it, its kinda a FFJ also so id think either would work fine
From the KNF library
From the KNF library
Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books
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Sep 2026
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4 sources
Drake's library names brown rice or banana as the base for vinegar. (Cho's Solutions, p. 1)
Fruit is not the only option. Cho lists cereals and fruits as the things that produce vinegars. (Cho, Recipe, p. 45)
Drake also says to turn leftover FPJ mash into vinegar rather than waste it. (Office Hours Oct 2025, 32:39)
One farmer started BRV from an apple cider vinegar mother. Mold formed on top. Drake said that is normal. (Office Hours Mar 2023, 8:36)
The library does not say whether grocery-store apples or strawberries work. It does not say whether organic matters or whether fruit must be fresh picked.
Sources
- 8:36 Office Hours (Mar 2023) — Mold on Top of a Fermenting BRV (Brown Rice Vinegar) · “Making BRV (brown rice vinegar) from an apple cider vinegar mother — mold formed on top during fermentation, is that normal?”
- 32:39 Office Hours (Oct 2025) — FPJ Sinks vs Sources, IMO4 Bog Soil Myth, Bee Feed Without Sugar · “better to turn the leftovers into vinegar or feed them to livestock”
- p. 45 Cho, Recipe · “Cereals and fruits, which produce Vinegars, are typical alkali foods.”
- p. 1 Cho's Solutions · “Vinegar from brown rice or banana will flip the polarity of a cell upon metabolization going from acidic to alkaline”
1 more answer
Rain Country Homestead on YouTube has lots of videos on making your own vinegar from things in your garden - fruits, flowers, greens - anything. Vinegar Q & A. She advocates just for 4 weeks or so, but try leaving it for longer, try adding a mother, see how it goes. We need a pH of about 2.5, she typically goes for 3.5. Take her ideas and apply the KNF principles.
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