Read more about the history of vinegar in the book length history, Vinegar, The Eternal Condiment By the end of World War II, the original industrialized process for making vinegar, the packed generator quick process of Schüzenbach, had been the dominant mode of industrial production for over one hundred years. While relatively rapid compared to traditional methods, one to two … Read More
Making white distilled (spirit/alcohol) vinegar at home
White distilled vinegar, the workhorse of home canners/picklers and DIY cleaners around the world. Not known for its culinary subtlety it is still the largest vinegar produced and sold by far, with the majority of sales actually being bulk shipments to other food manufacturers such as those making ketchup, mustard, pickles, sauces, etc. Most home vinegar makers don’t endeavor to … Read More
Tips on aging vinegar
For those who have made their own vinegar, or have bought some they want to age and refine, aging vinegar is the easy part though patience is a must. Vinegar can age almost indefinitely if stored right. Traditional Chinese vinegars are aged 3-6 years, traditional Balsamic is aged from 12-25 years and sherry vinegar can be aged for similar long … Read More
Mother or SCOBY?
This is a quick post to clarify some confusion I have run into from a lot of home fermenters. The rise of the popularity of kombucha has brought the notion of the SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast ) to name the thick gelatinous mass that sits on top of kombucha fermentations. Before this the more widely known and … Read More
Recipes to make your own malt vinegar
Malt Vinegar (using liquid or dry malt extract) Dry or liquid malt extract (type can be personal preference though barley based ale extracts approximate traditional recipes) Water Brewing yeast (ale or lager) Live mother of vinegar Mix quantity of extract with water to adjust the specific gravity for 6% alcohol by volume (roughly 1.05). For liquid yeast, pitch in directly. … Read More
Vinegar Aging and Value
Read the full book on the history of vinegar, Vinegar, The Eternal Condiment available on Amazon! Besides raw material, one of the big differentiators between premium and regular vinegars is the aging process. This can range from 2 months for Balsamic of Modena IGP to 6 months for basic sherry vinegar to 12 years for Gran Reserva Sherry or 25 … Read More
My vinegar smells like acetone (nail polish remover)!
If you make vinegar long enough you have to tackle almost every problem. I sometimes get emails and questions about an “acetone” smell from vinegar, very similar to nail polish remover. What does this mean? First, you must understand the process by which acetic acid bacteria turn alcohol into vinegar. The short chemical pathway is: Alcohol (Ethanol) + Oxygen -> … Read More
The deal on light and vinegar (and kombucha) fermentation
Many vinegar makers have asked me about the question of the effect of light on vinegar production. The temperature effects on vinegar production are well known but the effects of light are more subtle. First things first: the typical ambient light in your house does not seriously impair vinegar production. Therefore, there is no need to religiously keep vinegar production … Read More
Making apricot vinegar
Photo courtesy: Miguel Alan Córdova Silva Most of my blog posts have been about making vinegar or its history. I am going to start adding some special recipes as well. Today’s special is apricot vinegar and all you need are dried apricots, sugar, brewery’s yeast, and raw vinegar with mother. It produces a good vinegar, particularly sweet if you do … Read More
More information on making malt vinegar
Many people read and commented on our post regarding beer and malt vinegar. In order to help aspiring malt vinegar makers, we are linking this article about malt vinegar manufacturing from Roderick N. Greenshields from the University of Aston in Birmingham. No one does malt vinegar better than the British and Greenshields was one of the best experts. Birmingham was … Read More