Making your own vinegar couldn't be easier!
Here is a good solution to use the bottoms of bottles, but also to have a flavored vinegar as desired.
And don't buy it again!
I'm not going to give you a chemistry lesson (I hate it!), but it's better to understand the principle before starting.
Wine turns into vinegar on contact with oxygen in the air and a bacteria also contained in the air.
To serve as a catalyst for this process, the "mother" is also indispensable.
It is a membrane that forms on the surface of the wine after a few weeks in the open air.
To make good vinegar, it is important to choose the right vinegar maker:it can be made of oak, ceramic or stoneware.
It has a large cork stopper which must allow air to pass through, which is essential for the formation of vinegar.
It is also equipped with a tap so you can use the vinegar when it's ready! You can buy one like this.
1. Choose a young wine (the younger the wine, the faster the process). Red, white or rosé, you can take any.
2. Empty the wine into a container. Fill it with your bottle bottoms. You can mix different wines. Bordeaux, Burgundy, Beaujolais... it doesn't matter.
3. Leave the wine mixture to air and wait 3-4 weeks for the "mother" to form. The "mother" is the thin film that will settle on the surface of the wine and will then transform it into vinegar.
4. Place your "mother" in the vinegar pot with a ladle or large spoon.
5. Then fill the vinegar pot with wine not too alcoholic (between 7 and 10°):a classic vinegar bottle has a capacity of 4 or 5 litres. It is important to fill it the first time so that you can then draw vinegar.
6. Wait between 4 and 6 weeks, by tasting the vinegar obtained as this period approaches (a few drops in a teaspoon are enough to know if the vinegar is ripe).
7. You can then taste your first in-house production !
Then pour a maximum of 1/2 to 1 liter per week (no more than 1/5 of the container anyway), using the tap provided for this purpose, in a bottle that you will use on a daily basis.
And don't forget to empty your bottle bottoms in the vinegar pot so that your vinegar is constantly renewed.
Voila, making vinegar is easy!
For those in a hurry and if you know someone who already makes their own vinegar, get a mom . This will save you a month in the production of your vinegar.
You will see that you will love it, because obviously you can use it for all your salads or other sauces.
And since you have chosen the wines you like to make your vinegar, it will correspond exactly to your tastes...
- Use red wines.
- Store your vinegar bottle in a dry and ventilated place , at a temperature of at least 20°.
- Don't move it and lift the cap from time to time to air it.
- The better the wines you use are , the better your vinegar will be.
It's not very complicated! The composition may vary:let macerate the chosen ingredient (thyme sprigs, or tarragon leaves, raspberries, or garlic cloves, etc.) in the vinegar for several days.
Not to be done directly in the vinegar pot , but in a separate container.
Once you've purchased the vinegar maker, the savings are yours! Indeed, you will no longer throw away your bottle bottoms, but fill your vinegar pot as you go .
No need to buy wine for this use. You can easily mix the different vintages that you are used to drinking on a daily basis.
And more vinegar to buy...
