The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook_ A Home Manual - James Green [99]
HOW VINEGAR IS MADE
For those who might be interested in making some vinegar, it is an aromatic sour liquid formed by a two-step fermentation.
The first step of fermentation is accomplished when appropriate microorganisms turn sugar-containing liquids into alcohol. These base liquids can be simply a sugar and water mixture, fruit juices (Peach, Pear, Cherry, Apple, or Grape—the latter two being the most commonly used in the U.S.), sugar-containing vegetable juices, infusion of malt (barley), other grains, or rice.
The second step is accomplished by the action of the microscopic entity, Mycoderma aceti, which takes over and turns the alcoholic liquids (which are now hard cider, wine, beer, etc.) into a dilute acetic acid. Mycoderma a. is resident in all free-flowing air, and in time will find any alcoholic liquid left exposed. It also rides on the feet of vinegar flies which waste no time zeroing in on any and all alcoholic zones, most commonly the uncovered kitchen compost bucket or bowl of ultra-ripe (fermenting) fruit. Mycoderma a. also resides in great abundance in the naturally occurring, clear, amber-colored, thick, jellylike substance that it makes in vinegar referred to by vinegar folks as “the mother.” This mother (a cloudy sediment of strand-like chains of connected protein molecules that congeal at the bottom of the bottle) can be filtered out and passed on from batch to batch as an inoculant which greatly facilitates the continuance of high-quality vinegar manufacturing.
At 75 to 90° F. the transition of alcohol to vinegar can take about four months if you’re using a “mother”; but in certain circumstances this has happened from merely a few weeks to up to six months depending on the temperature during the fermentation and the length of arrival time of Mycoderma a.
Theoretically, one should be able to open a bottle of sweet cider, let it stand at about 70° F., and after about 5 weeks it will turn to a mild alcoholic hard cider, then to vinegar. This process can be enhanced and quickened by adding a little “mother” from a previously made batch to the fermented cider.
THE NATURE OF VINEGAR
The term vinegar is derived from the French vin aigre, denoting a sour wine. In the U.S., according to FDA regulations, the word vinegar (when appearing on a commercial label) without an adjective signifies the cider vinegar made from the juice of apples. Other acetous liquids may be denoted by various adjectives such as wine vinegar (grape vinegar), malt vinegar, sugar vinegar, rice vinegar, or spirit vinegar which is made directly from dilute (grain) alcohol. By further FDA regulations, all (mercantile) vinegar must contain at least 4 percent acetic acid (4 grams of acetic acid per 100 cc of volume). Viewed chemically, vinegar is a very dilute (4 to 6 percent) solution of acetic acid, containing foreign matters.
Pure (unmedicated) vinegar is known for its refrigerant qualities. It diminishes thirst, promotes the flow of saliva, and helps alleviate restlessness. It promotes the secretions of the kidneys and respiratory mucous membranes. It is well used for this purpose in managing fever, acting to diminish the frequency of the pulse and the heat of the skin. External application of vinegar helps cleanse, tone, and condition the skin. Vinegar, because of its antiseptic properties, can be sponged over the body to check perspiration odor and relieve skin inflammations, sunburn, and itching; it also reduces surface temperature of the skin in fevers. Used as a lotion, the evaporation of this liquid produces a refreshing sense of coolness on the skin; vinegar is used to sponge the surface of the skin to allay heat or with cotton cloth as a cooling discutient (a remedy that dissipates accumulations) to bruises and sprains. Used externally as an ingredient in lotions, vinegar is useful in skin conditions