Fruity, Flowery Wine... By Accident!

     At least three weeks ago, I opened a #10 can of mandarin oranges. ($3.00, courtesy of the Friday/Saturday store in Arvada. What a buy.) After we ate most of them, I put the rest in a plastic pitcher in the fridge.
     Where they sat...and sat...and sat.

     Finally, during my current clean-out campaign, I served the oranges topped with whipped cream. They looked ok -- they were fine, right?

     Son #1 took the first spoonful. "These oranges are fizzy," he said.
     "I think they're alcoholic," the Brick chimed in.

They were right!

Those silly oranges, plus a little juice, had acquired a tangy effervescence that was actually better than the original. Somehow, they acquired enough yeast from the air to make the citrus version of hard cider.

Delicious.

I thought about this when I read Penniless Parenting's take on Redbud Flower Wine. She mixed a bunch of flowers with sugar and water, then left the jar on the counter to catch any 'wild yeasts.' A few weeks later, it made a mildly alcoholic wine. A few weeks after that, it became a spicy vinegar for salad dressing and such.

Does this mean that I should open another #10 can, and leave it in the refrigerator for a few weeks?

Or will it turn into vinegar, instead...

Update: The dumpster is gone. A very large truck stopped by this afternoon, and hauled it away, with much crashing. Suddenly our driveway looks HUGE.

Bye bye, Large Orange Friend...and whatever the heck that graffiti scrawl said on your side.