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
From Alegar to Sarson’s: A History of Malt Vinegar
My article on the history of malt vinegar appeared in the 113th issue of Petits Propos Culinaires published by Prospect Books. Download below. Please cite as: Smith, RD (2019). From Alegar to Sarson’s: A History of Malt Vinegar. Petits Propos Culinaires, 113, 95-119. Additional recipes and info on malt vinegar are here
Sherry vinegar makers consider their own balsamic competitor
As reported in this article from Diario de Jerez (Google translation here) the sherry vinegar makers and the certification bodies of Spain are planning on introducing a thick, sweet sherry vinegar that would be a competitor with balsamic vinegar. Made from sherry vinegar and grape must from grapes like Pedro Ximénez or Moscatel, the new vinegar cannot be called ‘balsamic’ … Read More
4th of July: The Quartering Act and vinegar
The Quartering Act of 1765 was made to make the American colonists pay for local British garrisons after the debt incurred by Great Britain from the French and Indian (Seven Years’) War. As one of the intolerable acts that led to the Revolution, it imposed direct costs on colonists without their consent. In Clause VI (and some others) vinegar is … 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
Vinegar Acidities – Levels and Usage
We have talked about acidity a bit on this blog, from how to measure acidity and how it is different from pH to comparing the acidity of Coca-Cola and vinegar. Vinegar obviously comes in different acidities though. Which one do you need? How do they help? Below is a quick and informative guide to vinegar acidities and their usages. Acidity … Read More
Vinegar/Kombucha Acidity Testing and Microbiological Analysis Services
Here at Supreme Vinegar we frequently get inquiries about testing vinegar acidity or even questions about what bacteria someone’s vinegar has. We frequently test all of these in our own vinegars and would now like to extend our services to all home vinegar or kombucha makers. Vinegar/Kombucha Acidity Testing Acidity testing is done using sodium hydroxide titration and the average … Read More
pH and acidity exercise: Vinegar vs. Coca Cola
Based on our last post outlining the differences between pH and acidity as measures of acid strength, a short exercise will help emphasize the differences. Here we will compare two deceptively similar acids: 5% store bought white vinegar and Coca-Cola classic. White Vinegar As stated before, 5% white vinegar has an acidity of 5% which means 5 grams of … Read More
What does it mean to measure vinegar with ‘grains’?
As vinegar’s industrialization spread globally in the early 20th century industry terminology became standardized. In particular, it was found that the sale of vinegar was confusing without a standard nomenclature for the strength of the vinegar. Percent acidity is the commonly known term for vinegar strength. Percent acidity is measured in grams of acetic acid per 100 mL of water … Read More
A short history of vinegar in pre-modern Korea
Korea has an old vinegar culture dating back over a thousand years. While Korean vinegar history has been less thoroughly documented, especially in English, there are many references to recipes and processes for manufacturing of vinegar as well as culinary and medicinal uses. The Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), was the period of the flowering of the Korean culture and the establishment … Read More
- Page 1 of 2
- 1
- 2