Fermentationist Certification: Ferment 8 ~ Vinegar

Vinegar

History of Vinegar

“Vinegar, son of wine.” Hebrew Proverb

Unpasteurized vinegar has traditionally been considered a healthful tonic. Vinegar translates to “sour wine” from the French, and has existed since people first discovered how to make wine. However, the distilled white vinegar that is now a staple in our grocery stores and pantries is a cheap commodity food, mass produced to be flavourless, and with no benefit for health. Traditional vinegars, made using quality alcohols and live cultures are a healthy living food which provide complex flavours to enhance a meal, and can even be drunk on their own.

Vinegar has been produced for several thousand years. While many other ferments came about because they better preserved the product such as sauerkraut, beer, wine, and cheese, vinegar is in itself a preservative—being credited as the world’s first preservative. It can be used to preserve other perishable items—ones that cannot be fermented on their own.

The kind of vinegar is determined by the starting materials. Red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, malt vinegar, and apple cider vinegar for example. Whatever you start with will greatly impact the flavour of the final product. This is why distilled vinegar has no other flavour except the acetic acid. The beginning product is pure distilled alcohol (usually from grains). This is how we get our white vinegar.

Today's focus in Red Wine Vinegar!

Supplies I used!

Supplies:

Your favourite Red Wine

Mother of Vinegar (MOV)

Red Wine Vinegar Pellicle

What is Mother of Vinegar?

Mother of vinegar is a colony of bacteria.  These are the good bacteria called Acetobacter.  They perform the same purpose for making vinegar as yeast does to make wine.  They form the mother on the surface since they require oxygen to convert wine to vinegar and the surface is where the air is at.  

I purchased mine at www.amazon.com

Mother of Vinegar (MOV) from Supreme Vinegar

What is a Vinegar Pellicle?

A Vinegar Pellicle is just a fancy word for Mother or it may even be referred to as a SCOBY.  If you don't have one, you can grow your own with simply using the Red Wine and Mother of Vinegar.  I was given one from a friend so I used it!

Red Wine Vinegar Pellicle

Step by Step:

Red or white wine may be fermented into vinegar using either unpasteurized red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar as a starter culture. Wine containing sulfites may be used, but it must not have been preserved with potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate (see below for additional info on Sulfites). Alcohol levels higher than 7% can inhibit the acetobacter, so when fermenting wine it is necessary to add a little water. Use the ratio of 2 parts  wine to 1 part water and 1 part vinegar. Pour 2 cups of wine, 1 cup of water, and 1 cup of unpasteurized vinegar into a jar or crock, making sure that it is no more than half full.

What about wine Sulfites?

A lot of people try to make wine vinegar and fail.  They are frustrated, but don't realize almost all modern commercial wines are made not to become vinegar on purpose.  This is done by adding sulfites, which inhibit the vinegar bacteria.  Typically red wine has 20-40 ppm of sulfites.  there are two ways to get rid of them.

1. Stir the wine continuously for about 30 minutes.  It is a lot of work and not always effective.  This is the option I chose for this blog post. I stirred my wine for an entire hour!!!!               
2. Add hydrogen peroxide.  This is completely harmless.  Just use the regular 3% hydrogen peroxide from any drug store.  Each ml you add and stir in removes 10 ppm if sulfites from a bottle of wine.  A good amount per bottle is 1/2 teaspoon which is 2.5 ml.  This will almost assuredly reduce the sulfites to a manageable level. 

Cover the top with cheesecloth or a thin towel to allow it to breathe.

Voila!  Now its time to wait :)

How long does vinegar take?

It can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 12 weeks or more depending on several factors.  Patience is key, but there are two steps one can take to speed up the process:

1. Air contact area: if you are using a narrow bottle, the mother only has a small surface to form on.  The size of the mother is directly related to the speed of vinegar fermentaion so a wider vessel is better if speed is a concern.
2. Temperature:  The best temperature for vinegar fermentation is 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit.  If you can't maintain that, don't stress.  Just try not to get it cold, ie. below 65 degrees.

When is my vinegar done?

There are several ways to determine this.  The most common is to sample the smell and taste until it is to your liking.  Remember, vinegar is pungent and acidic.

More accurately, one can use a pH meter.  These can cost between $25-$75 at a homebrewing store.  Once your pH is below 4, your vinegar is safe and almost all vinegar is finished with a pH less than 3.5.

Progress:

11.08.2016:  Start date
18.08.2016: Week 1 ~ smells like wine ~ temp between 80-85
25.08.2016: Week 2 ~ smells like wine ~ temp between 80-85 ~ tastes acidic
01.09.2016: Week 3 ~ smells like wine ~ temp starting to cool with the fall hitting
08.09.2016: Week 4 ~ smells like wine