Making Homemade Vinegar

                                      

Home made vinegar tastes a lot better than store bought perhaps because is not made chemically but allowed to ferment naturally. My sister asked if it was difficult to do. I told her if was easy. You take four left over wine bottles each with a smidgen of left over wine, either white or red. Then you place them outside your house strategically on the four coordinates, north, south, east and west. Stuff a bit of cheesecloth in the necks to keep out bugs and forget them for two weeks while they blow in the breeze. Check them Tuesday afternoon (or anytime you want) by smelling the neck. If they smell sour, the fermentation of the alcohol to vinegar is underway. If your climate is hot, wait until fall when the temperatures are below 85 F during the days. (Mother of vinegar can only tolerate 60 ~ 90F.)

Actually, I lied. Place the bottles anywhere you like. Good to place them where they will not be accidentally kicked over. Once you have captured a starter, you may add any wine to the starter and store the fermenting bottle (crock or glassware) covered with cheesecloth in your cupboard. If you continual add wine white to a starter that was originally red wine, it will eventual pale to white. To keep the starter active, keep it fed.

Vinegar maybe further aged in toasted oak barrels to add more flavor. A typical 2 liter barrel is around $50, while a larger 5 liter may run $80~85. They will need treatment as well as a spigot to pour vinegar and a stand. Follow barrel maker’s instructions to cure the barrel, which is the process that makes the barrel hold content and not leak.

If you want to skip finding vinegar spores, you may purchase Living Mother Culture (MOV) some from a wine equipment store or oak barrel store or even Amazon.com