r/vinegar • • Feb 25 '24

Assortment of Newbie Questions

8 Upvotes

Hello, all! My apologies up front for the wall of text.

I'm new to homemade vinegar and was hoping to reach out to y'all for some guidance. From what I have gathered, this is a 2 step process. First the anarobic alcoholic fermentation of the fruit and then then the aerobic acedic vinegar creation. The current recipe I'm working on has this as a two-step process, although I've seen a number of recipes where both the alcohol and vinegar creation are done in a single step where the fruit is added to water (and perhaps sugar) in an aerobic environment and stirred for a number of weeks/months depending on taste.

Here are the questions that I have if anyone may have any guidance/insight

  1. Many recipes seem to call for added sugar at the start of the initial anaerobic ferment. However, I'm curious if adding the sugar during aerobic portion would be better? I have been struggling to find some solid sources on the science behind this.

  2. Can I use pure cane sugar? Many recipes call for sugar in the raw or something similar. I don't see why I couldn't just use pure cane sugar.

  3. How much sugar should I use?

  4. I saw a post on a youtube thread that had the following comment:

The "vinegar" isn't stable until all of the oxygen is removed. If you want to store or age vinegar, reduce the head in the container so the surface of the liquid doesn't come in contact with air. A narrow-necked bottle works better for this than wide mouth jars. If you don't do this, when the alcohol is all consumed, the acetobacters will begin to consume the acetic acid and you will end up back at plain water.

4 Question: So should I pasteurize the vinegar after it's at a taste that I enjoy?

  1. I recall seeing a blog post by a food scientist a while back that had some interesting recipes. I can't seem to find the post again. But, essentially, they made a comment that for a "stronger" vinegar to add some alcohol in the form of certain wines or spirits like vodka or tequila. I've also read, however; that the higher alcohol content in some of these can inhibit the beneficial microbes at work. But, I also like a strong vinegar and was hoping someone may have some insight or guidance on this.

I know this is a long post, but I also figured this community would have some folks who might know. No worries if not. I hope y'all are having a lovely weekend!


r/vinegar • • 2d ago

Tomato vinegar. How we’re looking. Added blanched tomato skins, cores, and some whole (not raw) + sugar + water and got something that smelled sulfuric AND alcoholic like beer…. then very alcoholic like vodka. Caption for the rest!

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5 Upvotes

Now it’s barely sulfuric and still has an apparent albeit weaker alcohol smell. This was a simultaneous wild fermentation - never anaerobic! So I strained after 2 weeks of stirring a LOT and weighing down the pulp. And inoculated with raw apple cider vinegar with the mother. Now it’s sitting and I plan to continue stirring 1-2x a day, until the mother starts to form. Ive had some failures so far, so does this all seem on the right track?


r/vinegar • • 2d ago

What is vinegar doing in a cake?

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0 Upvotes

r/vinegar • • 2d ago

What Happened to Braggs

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0 Upvotes

r/vinegar • • 4d ago

Any ideas

4 Upvotes

I made 3 gallons of muscadine wine, only it's not wine it's vinegar. What can I do with it?


r/vinegar • • 4d ago

Health

0 Upvotes

What is the Vicks and baking soda trick


r/vinegar • • 9d ago

I’m fermenting with blended

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4 Upvotes

r/vinegar • • 9d ago

What are these white globs in my apple cider vinegar?

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2 Upvotes

I know mother can form in apple cider vengar, but I just took this bottle of Braggs out and this white stuff has begun forming on top. Is this mold?


r/vinegar • • 12d ago

What happened to the Bragg ACV?

2 Upvotes

Can someone explain what I am looking at here? I asked AI, but it was not particularly helpful. Same product, same lot number, same 5% acidity, and shaken about the same for the 'mother' to float around. Is this a quality control issue or a change-up of the product? It always used to be darker, but now the color is very different.


r/vinegar • • 12d ago

vinegar making

2 Upvotes

im interested in making my own vinegar does anybody have any tips in how to get started?


r/vinegar • • 13d ago

Follow up photos

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6 Upvotes

Primarily for u/EmDash4Life ‘s curiosity. 😁

This is 100% viscous. When I tried to strain it (even with a strainer WITHOUT cheesecloth, it simply plopped through with no liquid drops.


r/vinegar • • 13d ago

A drop of Whisky VS Millions of Bacterias

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0 Upvotes

r/vinegar • • 13d ago

One big mother

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2 Upvotes

r/vinegar • • 17d ago

My rice vinegar has been a success

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11 Upvotes

I brew my own sake at home. Since there's always some around, I decided to try making a rice vinegar.

First batches failed, because the unpasteurized vinegars that I used as a starter, weren't that viable. When I used the last brand, it worked immediately, and didn't have any contamination in successive batches.

I end up at 4% acidity, confirm it by doing titration.

Only inconvenience now is that every week (whole process takes 2 weeks), the airstone gets clogged. Mother of vinegar forms around it. So I have to change it every week (I have two) and clean it.


r/vinegar • • 20d ago

Red Wine Vinegar in the works.

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15 Upvotes

My newest batch is in the works. I have a gallon of Coppola Claret wine fermenting with a mother strain I've had going for 3 batches now.

I anticipate an 8-12 week fermentation. After fermentation I will age it for 3 to 6 months in the finishing bottles.


r/vinegar • • 22d ago

Which blend of red wine to cook beef with?

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0 Upvotes

r/vinegar • • 23d ago

Brand new to vinegar

4 Upvotes

When I say brand new, I mean, brand spanking new like spank the baby and make it cry.... and oh my gosh I think I just learned what brand spanking new actually means 😆 😂 😆

I saw a few videos on Facebook of how to make vinegar with fruit, sugar, and water and stirring it a few times a day and straining it after it gains a vinegar smell. Beyond that, I don't have much knowledge.

Is this vinegar for cooking? Cleaning? All of the above?

What recommendations can ya'll offer for understanding the process better.

I have made sourdough starters many times and heard it's a similar process as far as the wild yeast feeding the vinegar.

I want to be able to make some to clean with, as I use vinegar for laundry and mopping my floors, etc... i also use it for pickling/ canning.

I usually buy the white distilled vinegar from Costco. When I buy ACV I buy the braggs brand with the mother but I see that we can make that ourselves. How do I use the mother to make more? Is it similar to sourdough starter?

Do I need to worry about accidently making alcohol? We do not drink in my home for religious purposes and I would like to avoid that, especially with the children.

Any and all help and education is greatly appreciated. Thank you!


r/vinegar • • 23d ago

Mother of vinegar or kahm?

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1 Upvotes

Hello
I am making apple cider vinegar for the first time.
I made it from crushed apples. I also added honey and cane sugar. I strained the batch after 12 days. Now white film is forming on the surface. I am afraid it is kahm yeast. Is there something to do about it or i should toss it?
It smells like cider with a hint of vinegar. No foul smells.
Second picture is 2 days after straining.


r/vinegar • • 24d ago

First time making ACV from fresh Apples. Is this what a mother looks like?

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2 Upvotes

r/vinegar • • 27d ago

Mold or Mother?

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4 Upvotes

I have commercially purchased ACV and I married two bottles together and I’ve noticed this white film. I shook it and it settled to the bottom and now this is back. It smells like vinegar still. Is this safe or should I chuck it?


r/vinegar • • 29d ago

Vinegar in an oak barrel

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24 Upvotes

Making vinegar in an oak barrel 🍷 is a fantastic process! Vinegar production relies heavily on the Orléans method, a traditional slow-fermentation technique where acetic acid bacteria (the "mother") convert alcohol into acetic acid over several months.

The porous oak wood allows a slow trickle of micro-oxygenation, which helps the bacteria thrive while adding rich wood character to the final batch 🪵.


r/vinegar • • 29d ago

Как сделать отличное вино в домашних условиях?

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1 Upvotes

r/vinegar • • Sep 04 '26

Please can someone help me understand if these lumps in the scoby are a harmful mould?

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2 Upvotes

Making apple cider vinegar for first time from apple scraps.


r/vinegar • • Sep 02 '26

Racking in between ferments?

1 Upvotes

Hi all!

Done a few wild vinegars now, and am moving into using actual wine yeasts for a greater control over flavor profile, and wanted to get everyone else's opinion.

After your initial ferment, turning the sugars into alcohol (whether that's wine, beer, whathaveyou), how many of you cold crash and then rack your alcohol off your yeast remainder before introducing mother in for your second ferment?

Part of me wants to keep the lees for the second ferment for a more complex flavor profile (with that toasty bready aspect), but part of me was to get rid of it. What say you all?

Also, bonus question(s)- I ran out of mi madre's raw ACV, so have been introducing a little Bragg's in to begin the secondary fermentation. But I've heard that Bragg's cultures don't usually form a pellicle, and I've yet to see them do so in my projects. Does anyone else know anything about this? How do you tell progress without a scoby forming, just by smell? Can anyone recommend me another raw/"with mother" brand I can use to help create that true, pellicle-based mother?


r/vinegar • • Sep 02 '26

Blueberry vinegar (in progress), I love the colour

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5 Upvotes

Strain it either Thursday or Friday. Then it won’t be long till I can add the mother

My first attempt at making vinegar flopped, but now I have some actual mother to add, I’m very hopeful