[Sca-cooks] making vinegar

[caointiarn]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "caointiarn" <caointiarn1 at juno.com>
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <>; <gordonse at one.net>
Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 6:37 PM
Subject: making vinegar


> > I have a white vinegar  that I really liked that seems to have a live
vinegar mother culture in it.  Does anyone have people in their local groups
who are into brewing and make vinegar (on purpose :-) )?  I have stopped
using that bottle and thought it might be fun to try and use some of it to
make vinegar.  However I don't know how to do this and would like to have
some advice from someone with experience so there will be less risk of
losing the vinegar strain.<
> > Sharon
>

     For you Sharon, I'm sending attachments about vinegar. {one is a
grouping from the Flori-thingy (tm) }  You could try with what you think
might be "mother"  and you won't know if it's viable unless you do try.
>
> Vinegar can be made from anything that contains sugar or starch: fruits,
grains and sugar holding beverages. Raw, unprocessed vinegar contains the
gelatinous substance called the  "mother," or active acid bactar that forms
the basis for the fermentation. It is rich in enzymes and minerals such as
potassium, phosphorus, natural organic sodium, magnesium, sulfur, iron,
copper, natural pectin and trace minerals.  This is visible confirmation
that vinegar is being produced.   I started with such a piece from my class
in making vinegar at Estrella 2002.
>
> The truly natural way is to let the wine or beer sit in the open,
uncovered  for a couple days until it starts to have a vinegary odor, then
cover it  with cloth and let it mature. The vinegar-producing bacteria need
air to  live and reproduce so don't cap it airtight.  Keeping it warm speeds
the
 process. It is not a fast process, taking weeks to months to produce a
satisfactory product.

  This is how my first batch of vinegar started.  I was taking some apple
wine from first fermentation bucket to sealing it in airlock vessels.  I ran
out of room before I ran out of wine.  So, I left the 3 cups in a
quart-canning jar on my kitchen counter and went off for vacation for 2
 weeks.  I came back to find the jar contents had grown a thin, whitish
gelatinous material.  It smelled quite sharp, very acidic.  I put it in a
cupboard and started doing some research for making vinegar.

 However, for predictable results, and to control the process in a manner
that prohibits unwanted and unfriendly yeast and bacteria, Mother {active
acid bactar} should be used.   Vinegar can be made from any dilute alcohol,
which makes wine and beer ideal for our purpose. The percentage of acetic
acid in vinegar is directly related to the percentage of alcohol used to
make the vinegar.   The ideal base to make vinegar should contain 5% - 7%
alcohol.  Thus, your choice of base needs to be diluted with water, avoiding
heavily mineralized or chlorinated water.  Moreover, because of added
sulfites to modern wines, the wine should be left exposed to air for 24
hours/overnight before introducing the mother.

 Just as in other fields of brewing and fermentation, keeping everything
clean and sanitized throughout the process is essential.   Keep in mind that
this is food. Do not use containers made from materials that react badly to
acetic acid. I like to use nonporous materials such as glass containers.
It may be a good precaution to not keep your vinegar mother working in the
 same room as your fermenting wines and beer. Some brewers won't have it in
their house at all.  Another precaution: once you start making vinegar in a
container, especially a porous one,  don't try to convert it for use in
making wine, beer or cider.

 Making vinegar is an easy process, but one that takes patience.  It takes
about a week to convert 1% of alcohol to 1% acetic acid.    The vinegar
needs to be kept at "room temperature" {68 - 85F} for the mother to convert
the alcohol to vinegar.  Keep the container out of direct sunlight.   The
mother needs oxygen, so the container should not be air tight, or filled
completely.  Aerate the vinegar by gently swirling the liquid in the
container every day for the first week.   It may take up to 6 weeks before
you see a thin film forming on top of the vinegar.    This new mother will g
row across the top of the vinegar and can become ¼ inch thick within two
weeks.  Swirling will have the mother fall to the bottom, but that's okay.
If the alcohol to acetic acid is unfinished, more mother will form.   After
a month's time, taste the vinegar.  If it suits your palate, strain it
through cheesecloth into bottles and cap or cork them.  If you plan to keep
your vinegar for an extended period of time, you may want to pasteurize it
by a simple hot water bath of at least 140F, but not hotter than 160F.

    Caointiarn {currently "making" a nice white & burgundy vinegar }