How to Make Vinegar: A Simple Recipe

Although wine making can be a tricky process, using grapes or other fruits to make vinegar is actually pretty easy, as this article by Kristie Leong points out. As long as you can obtain some kind of unpasteurized vinegar solution to use as a starter culture, a suitable container, some fruit juice, and any other ingredients you might want to add for flavoring, you’re good to go.
The only difficult part might be the waiting time required to allow the vinegar to oxidize to the desired strength, but you can compensate for this by making larger quantities to store for later use. Meanwhile, the chemical formula and molecular bonding structure for acetic acid, the active ingredient in vinegar, can be found in the upper left corner of the post.

Why settle for store bought vinegar when you can make it fresh in your own home? The chemical reaction needed to make vinegar is the oxidation of an alcohol (oxidation is simply the addition of oxygen to a chemical group). The simplest way to do this is to convert a sugar into alcohol and then oxidize the alcohol to create vinegar. One of the easiest sources of sugar to use for the fermentation process is fruit juice. Here are easy instructions on how to make vinegar in your own kitchen at home:
Things You’ll Need:

1.A large glass container with a wide mouth. Don’t use metal or plastic as the acid can interact with these materials and ruin your vinegar.

2.Fresh fruit juice. The fruit juice you select should be free of additives or preservatives. Fresh apple or grape juice are good choices.

3.A bottle of unfiltered vinegar. (You can purchase this at a health food store.) This is a source of bacteria for the fermentation process.

How to Make:
•Lay your clean, glass container on the table.

•Pour about a quart of the unpasteurized, unfiltered vinegar into the glass jar.

•Add an equal amount of your chosen fresh fruit juice.

•Mix the two ingredients thoroughly and place the container into a warm, dark place.
The temperature should be between 75 and 85 degrees in the storage area.

•Taste your vinegar periodically until it’s the appropriate strength for your particular taste. This process may take up to 4-6 months to be complete, but remember to check it periodically to assess its taste.

•Once the appropriate vinegar strength is achieved, you can package it into bottles.
What could be easier than this? Plus, you’ll have the thrill of knowing you made it yourself.

What kind of fruit juice works best for making vinegar? This depends on the type of flavor you want your vinegar to have. By using grapes or grape juice, you create wine vinegar. If you use apple juice, you’ll end up with cider vinegar.
Once you know how to make basic vinegar, you can take it a step further and create delicious gourmet vinegars using a variety of herbs, spices, and fruits. These gourmet vinegars add delicious flavors to foods without adding a significant quantity of calories or fat. Plus, they make wonderful hostess gifts or Christmas gifts.

Once you get started making gourmet vinegars, you won’t be able to stop! Plus, these vinegars really transform the taste of your salads and fresh vegetable dishes. It’s a great way to motivate yourself to eat more salad!
Now that you know how to make vinegar, why not try your hand at it in your own home? It’ll taste delicious on your next salad!