[Sca-cooks] Mother of Vinegar
Terry Decker
t.d.decker at att.net
Thu Nov 20 03:40:15 PST 2014
1. Yes, there are different types of mother of vinegar. Mother of vinegar
is formed from cellulose and acetic acid bacteria. There are thousands of
different acetic acid bacteria which can be present. While any of these can
produce vinegar, using an acetic acid bacteria that is optimized to the
medium produces the best results. A commercial mother should work any
vinegar making at home, it may or may not produce the best results.
2. Effective distillation begins around 1000 CE. Production of high
alcohol brandies doesn't take off until the 14th Century. Probably why the
Celts used rosin to preserve their enemies heads rather than pickling them
in Irish whiskey.
Alcohol also dissolves sugars, reduces flavors, and softens connective
tissue, so it might not be an appropriate method of preservation in a given
instance. Honey (in a low humidity environment) is actually a better
preservative.
3. Honey brandy.
Bear
On a whim, since they seem to sell lots of things, I checked Amazon. Quite
a number of both mother of vinegar cultures and various types of vinegar
that contained the mother, there.
The actual vinegar is much cheaper than the bottles of mother, but larger,
so it likely costs more to ship.
Also, I can’t tell if you just get one batch for each bottle of mother, or
not. If so, that would make it a lot more expensive than buying ‘live’
vinegar.
1) Are there different types of vinegar mothers? i.e.: Is it better to use a
apple cider mother if you are going to add it to apple cider?
I did see some “White Wine/Neutral Vinegar Starter”, but the description for
the red wine vinegar doesn’t seem to be that specific. So does it make that
big a difference? I do know that many brewers seem to want specific yeasts,
and almost never bread yeasts.
I did think the instructions on the red wine vinegar description might be of
use to those making vinegar at home and those who have recently had
problems:
<<< USING MOTHER OF VINEGAR Directions: Mother of vinegar can be
successfully used with wine or any other alcohol to produce vinegar. There
are three main aspects you need to make sure of however: 1. Remove sulfites:
Sulfites occur naturally in wine but are also added to prevent bacterial
growth which causes vinegar to form. To remove sulfites there are two
methods a. Stir the wine for about 30 minutes - can work but is not always
effective b. Add small amounts of hydrogen peroxide. Get the typical 3%
hydrogen peroxide sold at most drug stores and add 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) to
the wine. Stir in and this should remove most sulfites. The hydrogen
peroxide will not be toxic or harm the taste of the vinegar. The general
formula is 1 mL of 3% hydrogen peroxide removes 10 ppm of sulfites and red
wine contains on average 20-40 ppm of sulfites. 2. Make sure the alcohol
percentage of the mixture you want to turn to vinegar is less than 10% v/v,
preferably between 6-8% v/v. This is best achieved by diluting the wine. For
example, to make vinegar from 12-14% alcohol red wine, mix 2 parts of red
wine with 1 part of water and 1 part mother of vinegar. 3. Make sure the
vinegar can breathe: the bacteria making vinegar need access to oxygen so
make sure there are holes or an open top the vinegar can breathe through.
Cover these holes or top with cheesecloth or gauze however to prevent fruit
flies from getting in. Finally, the optimal temperature for vinegar growth
is 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit. It will still grow fine at room temperature
though. Good luck! >>>
2) I hadn’t thought of the alcohol percentage being a concern before, but it
makes sense. I guess you could use that vodka or bourbon to preserve your
vegetable or fruit harvest, but I seldom hear of that now, or in period. :-)
It was done with honey and I would expect honey to be more expensive than
alcoholic distillations in period.
3) What do you get if you distill mead?
I’m still undecided whether to do some hunting at my local brewing shops or
simply order through Amazon.
Maybe different vinegars for Yule gifts?
Stefan
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