Vinegar is such a commonly used ingredient in so many dishes that it needs no introduction. But I've learned that it's often the simplest products that we know the least about.
One of my husband's closest friends, Laura, makes wonderful jams and jellies. She recently gave us a delicious bottle of home-made vinegar, and I asked her for the recipe. Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 bottle of wine
Preparation
Place the French Mother of Vinegar in a plastic or ceramic crock with a lid that allows airflow while keeping out dust – eg, you can loosely attach a coffee filter over the mouth of the jar, or get a Chinese crock that has an airhole in the lid, which works perfectly and fill up with leftover wine of any kind.
It takes 1 month-4 months to turn to vinegar, depending on the size of the mother in relation to the wine, and how warm the crock is kept (at 70-80 degrees as in our sunny windowsill, it happens fast; at 50-60 degrees in our garage, it goes slowly).
Taste it for doneness and when it’s ready, ladle or siphon off the vinegar and add more wine to the crock so the Mother can stay fed and healthy. To use the vinegar, you can use it straight from the crock, or filter it through a strainer or coffee filter to remove any particulate matter like a spot of dust or residue of the Mother that may be aesthetically annoying.
Tips
You need good French Mother of Vinegar (mere de vinaigre) to start get your vinegar started. You can buy it directly from Laura at www.domainebrix.com. Mother of Vinegar, also known as Acetobacter, is a bacteria that takes alcohol and air and makes vinegar.
Related Posts
See the last post: Roasted Bell Pepper Pearled Barley
Recipes by Type
RSS Feed
About Jackie
Hi! My name is Jacqueline Pham and I am a self-taught home cook based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am French-Vietnamese, born and raised in Paris, France. I live with my husband Lulu and his family.
My hubby's family is from India, so our home is a melting pot of cultures and cuisines with all the rewards and challenges that you can imagine. There are vegetarians, meat-lovers and allergies of every kind. This site is a way for me to share my love of food and interact with all you Femme Fatales out there putting food on the table for your loved ones everyday.
