PEU
Flashlight Enthusiast
Acknowledging the request of 2 fellow CPFers here is a brief tutorial on vinegar making from left over red wine.:
There is also information on the web, you can google for it, to aggregate the info here and may be to correct some mistakes /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
There is a good rule, a good wine makes an even better vinegar.
What is vinegar?
Vinegar is produced by a group of bacteria called acetobacters, these bacteria when in contact with alcohol and air transforms the alcohol into acetic acid, which in low concentrations (3-7%) is known as vinegar.
Where do I get this bacteria?
the lazy way is to search the web for vinegar mother and buy a bottle of this goo, yes it looks like jello floating in vinegar, this jello is the acetobacter culture.
the natural way is to get a mother of vinegar:
take some red wine 9% and vinegar 5% acetic acid (50/50 and make sure there are no sulphites in either) and put them into a wide mouthed bowl and leave it out side for a few days covered with some coarse cheese cloth. I will be very surprised if you don't have some acetobacter. A small piece of fruit left outside for a few hours will all but guarantee you will have acetobacter.
If your wine is more than 9% (the usual is 13-15%) you can water it down, dont use tap water because is chlorined and you knows that kills bacteria.
The cloth is to keep flies out or the vinegar, flies love vinegar
After a few days to a week, you will see small patches of a kind of film floating on top of the solution, thats your acetobacter culture growing.
OK, I've got the goo, whats next?
The difficult part is gone, now the only thing you need is patience.
Thats it?
No /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
You will need a recipient for the vinegar to grow, valid materials are: stainless steel, opaque or painted glass (on the outside), porcelain, glazed ceramic, oak, etc. NO-NOs are aluminium, copper, non stainless steel, cast iron, some plastics, etc.
The recipient needs to be open mouthed with a big opening, the more air the better the acetobacter work, a bottle of wine for example is not good because the air entry point is very small. The top of the recipient must be covered with a coarse cloth or hard cover with many holes covered with extra fine inox mesh/cloth (remember the flies)
Right, thats all?
No /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Now you have the recipient (crook), and the bacteria culture, you can pour the wine, how much? about the half of whats in the crook.
When is ready?
Use your taste to check the acidity, if it still tastes like wine, leave it a few more weeks, if it tasted acid enough its ready, remove some, bottle it and add some more wine, and repeat.
What is this sediment?
you will notice sediment in the vinegar bottle, thats dead bacteria and is harmless, remember that this is live vinegar and if you leave it open the bacteria will continue their job, so, there are 2 options:
1) keep the bottle closed when not in use
2) put the vinegar bottle in boiling water for about 15 minutes to kill all the bacteria, and then if you want, use a coffee filter to remove the sediment.
Is all this safe?
yes as long you keep the acid levels high enough, I mean above say 2-3%, if your vinegar-to-be is not that acid, mold will form, you will notice it, don't bother, it ugly, its green, it smells bad, but again, it will not appear if the acid level is right.
Vinegar naturally rejects bacteria, thats why pickles and all the like come in vinegar, its used widelly in the industry to preserve food.
So, thats almost it, questions are welcome
Pablo
There is also information on the web, you can google for it, to aggregate the info here and may be to correct some mistakes /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
There is a good rule, a good wine makes an even better vinegar.
What is vinegar?
Vinegar is produced by a group of bacteria called acetobacters, these bacteria when in contact with alcohol and air transforms the alcohol into acetic acid, which in low concentrations (3-7%) is known as vinegar.
Where do I get this bacteria?
the lazy way is to search the web for vinegar mother and buy a bottle of this goo, yes it looks like jello floating in vinegar, this jello is the acetobacter culture.
the natural way is to get a mother of vinegar:
take some red wine 9% and vinegar 5% acetic acid (50/50 and make sure there are no sulphites in either) and put them into a wide mouthed bowl and leave it out side for a few days covered with some coarse cheese cloth. I will be very surprised if you don't have some acetobacter. A small piece of fruit left outside for a few hours will all but guarantee you will have acetobacter.
If your wine is more than 9% (the usual is 13-15%) you can water it down, dont use tap water because is chlorined and you knows that kills bacteria.
The cloth is to keep flies out or the vinegar, flies love vinegar
After a few days to a week, you will see small patches of a kind of film floating on top of the solution, thats your acetobacter culture growing.
OK, I've got the goo, whats next?
The difficult part is gone, now the only thing you need is patience.
Thats it?
No /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
You will need a recipient for the vinegar to grow, valid materials are: stainless steel, opaque or painted glass (on the outside), porcelain, glazed ceramic, oak, etc. NO-NOs are aluminium, copper, non stainless steel, cast iron, some plastics, etc.
The recipient needs to be open mouthed with a big opening, the more air the better the acetobacter work, a bottle of wine for example is not good because the air entry point is very small. The top of the recipient must be covered with a coarse cloth or hard cover with many holes covered with extra fine inox mesh/cloth (remember the flies)
Right, thats all?
No /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Now you have the recipient (crook), and the bacteria culture, you can pour the wine, how much? about the half of whats in the crook.
When is ready?
Use your taste to check the acidity, if it still tastes like wine, leave it a few more weeks, if it tasted acid enough its ready, remove some, bottle it and add some more wine, and repeat.
What is this sediment?
you will notice sediment in the vinegar bottle, thats dead bacteria and is harmless, remember that this is live vinegar and if you leave it open the bacteria will continue their job, so, there are 2 options:
1) keep the bottle closed when not in use
2) put the vinegar bottle in boiling water for about 15 minutes to kill all the bacteria, and then if you want, use a coffee filter to remove the sediment.
Is all this safe?
yes as long you keep the acid levels high enough, I mean above say 2-3%, if your vinegar-to-be is not that acid, mold will form, you will notice it, don't bother, it ugly, its green, it smells bad, but again, it will not appear if the acid level is right.
Vinegar naturally rejects bacteria, thats why pickles and all the like come in vinegar, its used widelly in the industry to preserve food.
So, thats almost it, questions are welcome
Pablo
