The History of Vinegar Manufacturing: The Submerged Fermentation Process

Reginald SmithMaking Vinegar, Vinegar History, Vinegar Industry2 Comments

Early Frings Acetators

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

Reginald SmithMaking Vinegar, Uncategorized, White Distilled/Spirit Vinegar27 Comments

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

Recipes to make your own malt vinegar

Reginald SmithMaking Vinegar, Malt Vinegar6 Comments

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

Reginald SmithAll About Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, Chinese Vinegars, Making Vinegar, Sherry Vinegar, Vinegar IndustryLeave a Comment

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)!

Reginald SmithAll About Vinegar, Making Vinegar44 Comments

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

Reginald SmithMaking Vinegar, Microbiology, Mother of Vinegar2 Comments

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

Reginald SmithMaking Vinegar16 Comments

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

Reginald SmithMaking Vinegar, Malt Vinegar, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

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