7-minute video showing how to make vinegar using a mother, triggering fermentation in order to turn different liquids into separate types of vinegar.
A couple of months ago, I started a batch of vinegar with leftover pineapple. Instead of using it after a couple of weeks, I left it in a dark cabinet for several more weeks. Slowly, it began to get cloudy, like the picture below, and, eventually, the cloudy mass solidified into a hard disk. This solid is called a vinegar mother. Just like any good mother, she hosts everything the bacteria needs to make vinegar. Once you have a mother, you can easily make vinegar from virtually any fruit juice, wine, beer, or other sugary beverages.
At this point, I have managed to grow several great looking vinegar mothers. They are ready to start working on fresh sugar and alcohol to turn them into some delicious vinegar. I love a good experiment so I decided to make a video to demonstrate the process. I am going to show you how to make a fruit and a barley malt vinegar for your own homestead. So, I encourage you to grab some fruit and a couple of beers and watch the video below.
Useful
Acetic acid is the ingredient in vinegar responsible for the taste and benefits that we hope to capture. The acetic acid in vinegar, particularly the unfiltered, natural, organic type, is useful in many ways in your home. It aids in maintaining healthy blood sugar levels, healthy digestive system plus it also works as a powerful astringent. Whether you sprinkle it on a salad, slurp down a teaspoon, rub it into your hair and scalp, or clean your windows, vinegar is an all-around useful product. There are hundreds of ways to use this product around your home. Check these ideas out!
Easy
If you watched my other video showing how to make apple cider vinegar, I hope you already know how easy it is to make your own. It just takes fruit, sugar, water, and a starter to start the process. Then, place it in a warm, dark location to ferment. In a couple of weeks, you will have naturally delicious vinegar. The hardest is part is remaining patient.
If you create your own mother, it is even easier, as you can skip the starter part and plunk that mother right into a glass of beer. Just watch below!
Fun
I have fun learning and experimenting with fermentation in my home. From kombucha to sourdough to vinegar, these products are a delicious source of beneficial bacteria and yeasts. Our ancestors have followed these same formulations for generations. I believe recreating these recipes and using the output is more natural and healthy for me.
If you think you may enjoy the experimentation, follow along to find out how to create and manage a vinegar mother of your own. Once you have your own, you can put your own homespun vinegar to work in your home.
Birth Your Own Mother
To start your own mother, follow along the basic recipe using some already fermented vinegar as a starter. Apples are a simple ingredient to use and they produce great results. Once completed, date the mixture and cover it with a coffee filter or cheesecloth. Let it sit for 2-3 weeks. At this point, remove any fruit and let it go for another 4 weeks. During this period, check it every week or so to see what is going on. You should notice bubbling and it should continue to become more cloudy.
During fermentation, the beneficial bacteria slowly perform their work as long as they have air to breathe. They feed on sugar and turn it into alcohol and eventually into acetic acid, the basic component of vinegar. As the bacteria perform this work, a cloudy, bio-film develops across the top of the liquid. This film continues to thicken until it becomes cellulose. This solid (picture below) houses the energy sources the bacteria need to perform their work. This community serves as their home. As long as the liquid it’s suspended in remains hospitable (food source and temperature), the mother continues to grow and produce more acetic acid.
Once you have a mother, you can add it freely into fruit juice or alcohol to create vinegar. Just make sure you are using products made from all-natural ingredients. Then, all you need is time, a constant food source, and air to breathe.
One last thing, every mother needs a name. Mine is named Vernelle. Have a great ferment!
If you would like to learn more about vinegar mothers, including their history and make-up, click on this link at SupremeVinegar.com.