HEALTHY INGREDIENT
DIY fruit vinegar
VINEGAR Versatile qualities of By S. MICHAL BENNETT Photography By JOEL RINER
V inegar is a familiar pan- try product for most of us, whether we grew up with it as a recipe ingredient or used it to clean stubborn stains and water mineral buildup in our homes. I don’t remember my mom using it very of- ten for cooking, but my great-grand- ma Brown pickled and canned lots of vegetables. Personally, I gained an appreciation for vinegar when I be- gan making shrub syrups— an old- world process that typically involves fruit, sugar and vinegar. Although I’m not a fan of shooting apple cider vinegar every morning to improve my health, I have now integrated vinegar into my diet and life in a va- riety of ways. The history of vinegar is almost as old as wine, which is believed to be the first source of this acidic liquid. Legend attributes the discovery to wine turning sour after being left too long in the fermentation vat. And the
word “vinegar” itself is derived from the French word “vinaigre,” translat- ed “sour wine.” >> The process Two steps are needed to produce acetic acid and thus create vine- gar. First, a sugar-containing prod- uct, such as fruit, juice, malted grain or rice, is fermented with yeast in a closed environment. This fermenta- tion converts the sugar into alcohol and CO2. Next, the brew is opened up and exposed to oxygen and bacte- ria in the air, which converts the alco- hol into acetic acid and water. Edible or culinary vinegar, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, contains 4-8% acetic acid. Vinegar specified for cleaning typically falls at 6%, with a water content of 94%. The two most common vinegars to- day, apple cider and white, both con- tain about 5% acetic acid. You’ll find here a recipe for mak -
ing your own fruit vinegar with a little fermentation help, but please note: homemade vinegar produces a “mother.” Think kombucha, which is made in a single step that allows both yeast and bacteria to create a culture — a mother SCOBY (symbiotic cul- ture of bacteria and yeast) — on top of the liquid. The same conversions happen, but in a slightly different way. Vinegar also produces a SCO- BY, and, if you enjoy making kom- bucha, you might be ecstatic about this. If not, be warned that SCOBYs are weird and look like a layered snot pancake. Just saying. >> Health In the ancient tradition of Chinese medicine, vinegar is used to process herbs that benefit the body through soothing the liver, preventing blood stasis, relieving pain and purging the organs and tissues of toxins. It’s considered a warming tonic as it can
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