Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
about making a uniquely healthful product with gourmet
qualities that will enhance your salads, greens, dressings, and
anything else you make with vinegar.
If you make wine and beer, you will already have the raw
materials at hand allowing you to make gourmet vinegar
inexpensively. So I will focus on using wine and beer as the
starting materials in this chapter, even though vinegar can
also be made using similar techniques if you use hard cider,
sake, or practically any other product containing alcohol.
Speaking of Wine and Beer
I really enjoy making wine and beer. I enjoy every aspect of
the process, and I especially enjoy sharing my work with
someone who will appreciate the results of my efforts. But
sometimes my efforts result in a less-than-stellar product. The
wine I made from bottled blueberry juice and brown sugar
comes to mind as does the beer I made with far too much
oatmeal. What on earth was I thinking? The good news is, I
can use these to make vinegar. You will likely have some
learning experiences of your own that will serve as excellent
raw material.
Some commercial wines and beers are pretty poor. Even if
wine or beer that you've purchased is pretty good, it may
have sat in the refrigerator too long or be near its sell-by date.
Rather than dump that effort or money down the drain, you
might consider using it to make your own vinegar.
Wine that you use to make vinegar cannot have been
preserved using potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate. Beer
seldom has such preservatives. Any wine you use can be
