Homemade Wine Vinegar Food

HOMEMADE RED WINE VINEGAR

Steps:

• Pour the wine into a clean, wide-mouthed half-gallon glass jar. Put the lid on and shake it well to aerate the wine. Remove lid, and add drinking water until the jar is about three-quarters full, along with the live raw vinegar or mother. Cover the jar with cheesecloth and keep the cloth in place with a rubber band.
• Leave the jar undisturbed in a dark place at room temperature for 3 to 4 weeks, checking regularly to see that a vinegar mother (a translucent, gelatinous disk) is growing on the surface, and no mold is forming. (If you see green, black or white mold, scrape it off; if it grows back, throw out the mixture and start over.) You should begin to smell vinegar after a few weeks, and can taste it every week or so to monitor the fermentation.
• After about 2 months, when the alcohol has acidified, or when a taste of the vinegar makes your mouth pucker, it's ready to strain and bottle. (You can save the mother to begin a new batch.) The vinegar can be used as is, or aged in the bottle for up to a year to mellow its flavor.

HOMEMADE WINE VINEGAR

Steps:

• Pour the wine into a sanitized widemouthed jar. If the wine contains sulfites, stir in the hydrogen peroxide to neutralize them. Let sit for a minute. Stir in the water with a wooden spoon.
• Pour in the raw vinegar. Stir well; a little oxygen is good for getting the process going.
• Cover the jar with a piece of unbleached cotton (butter muslin or tightly woven cheesecloth), or a basket-style paper coffee filter. Secure with a string, a rubber band, or a threaded metal canning band. This is to keep out fruit flies.
• Place on your counter or in another spot that is 75° to 86°F.
• Check the vinegar in a month, when you should have nice acidity. However, it may take another month or two for the acidity to fully develop. Test the pH: It should be 4.0 or below.
• Bottle half the vinegar and replace with the same amount of wine for another batch. Or bottle it all and store the mother for another batch or to share with a friend. Use immediately, or age to allow it to mellow and flavors to develop.