VINEGAR - How to Make it

Vinegar – Uses and how-to-make

Vinegar, a staple in every pantry, is a multi-tasking wonder with a rich history of use for everything from making pickles to treating war wounds. The ancient Babylonians used it to preserve food; medics during World War I treated wounds with it; and Roman armies diluted it with water to create an everyday antibacterial drink. Today, versatile vinegar is still widely used in food preservation, but its household uses extend well beyond pickling.  Thanks to its acidity and neutralizing properties, vinegar can clean, disinfect, soften, shine and more. Use it from the kitchen to the bathroom, in everything from homemade cleaners to hair rinses, to take full advantage of this humble household wonder.

1. Grease Cutter: Vinegar’s acidity lets it cut through grease with ease. Dip a sponge in vinegar and wipe to degrease stovetops, microwaves, dirty dishes and more.

2. Disinfectant: A natural antibacterial, vinegar makes a great base for any nontoxic cleaning solution. For an all-purpose disinfecting solution, dilute 1 part vinegar in 4 parts water and use anywhere germs are found, such as countertops, keyboards, shared phones, doorknobs and remote controls.

3. Toilet Bowl Cleaner: Clean, disinfect and deodorize your toilet by pouring 1 cup of vinegar around the inside of the bowl. Let sit for an hour, use a brush to remove rings, then flush.

4. Drain Cleaner: To keep drains clog-free, pour 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain, then follow with 1/2 cup of vinegar. Wait for foaming to subside, then follow with a gallon of boiling water. If necessary, remove hair and other debris with a wire. Repeat if drain is still slow.

5. Glass Cleaner: For a streak-free shine, combine 2 cups water, 1/4 cup vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon liquid dish soap in a spray bottle. Spritz onto mirrors, then wipe down with old newspapers.

6. Residue Remover: Clean the glue residue that labels and stickers leave behind by wiping the sticky surface with a rag dipped in a vinegar-water solution.

7. Hair Rinse: Shampoos and other hair products can leave behind residue, making hair lackluster. Remove buildup by diluting 2 tablespoons vinegar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice in 3 cups water and mixing well. After shampooing, pour rinse over hair before rinsing with water. The vinegar will close the cuticle and leave hair soft and shiny.

8. Furniture Polish: Combine 1/4 cup olive oil, 4 tablespoons vinegar and 2 teaspoons lemon juice in a spray bottle. Shake well before use, and refrigerate any leftover solution to keep it from going rancid.

9. Stain Remover: Purge grass stains and blood spots by whipping up your own natural stain remover. Mix 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup baking soda and 3 cups water in a spray bottle. Just spray on the stain and toss clothing into the laundry!

10. Laundry Softener: Conventional fabric softener stays in clothing, where a buildup can cause irritation, but vinegar breaks down and dissolves detergents. For softer clothes, towels and sheets, just add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle.

11. Dandruff Preventive: Vinegar’s acidity can help kill some of the bacteria responsible for causing dandruff. Rinsing with vinegar can also deep-clean the scalp and help remove flakes of dead skin cells. For a no-dandruff rinse, mix 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves (or 1 tablespoon dried leaves) and 1 cup boiling water. Let the mixture cool to room temperature, strain, then pour over scalp after shampooing. Rinse treatment from hair with water.

12. Wart Killer: To remove unsightly warts, dip a cotton ball in vinegar, place over wart and secure with a bandage. Change the cotton ball daily. The acid in vinegar will eat away at the wart over time. (Be sure to keep the skin around the wart moisturized.)

13. Breath Freshener: Eliminate bad breath by rinsing with 2 tablespoons vinegar and 1 tablespoon salt diluted in 1 cup water. This rinse is especially effective at removing onion and garlic odors.

14. Paintbrush Softener: Make stiff paintbrushes useful again by dipping hardened bristles in a bowl of vinegar for an hour or less. Rinse the bristles with warm water and soap, then let dry before using.

15. Greens Reviver: Leafy greens looking wilted? Soak them in a bath of 2 cups cold water and 1/2 teaspoon vinegar to bring them back to life.

16. Egg Aid: When hard-boiling eggs, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the water to prevent egg white from seeping out of cracks in the shell.

17. Rust Remover: Revive rusted nuts, bolts, nails or tools by soaking them in a bath of pure vinegar for several hours. If the solution becomes cloudy, change the vinegar. After soaking, wipe away rust with a cloth.

Buyer Beware - Not all vinegar is created equal. While all vinegars require ethanol for production, some vinegars are made with synthetically produced ethanol made from petroleum. Check the label before you buy for words like “grain alcohol” or “neutral grain spirits” to ensure you’re buying a product made from natural food sources.  Or, make your own vinegar!

HOW TO MAKE VINEGAR

There are many varieties of this homemade, tangy, fermented liquid; homemade vinegar can be just what you want it to be.  Choose a container made from glass or enameled earthenware.  You don't want the container material to react with the vinegar.  Aluminum, iron and plastic will ruin the vinegar.  If you are using glass, try to select a dark bottle. Fermentation occurs in the dark, so you either need a dark container or else need to keep the liquid in a dark place.

CIDER VINEGAR

Cider vinegar is made from sound, tart apples. Cut the apples into small pieces . . . skins, cores, stems and all. Make a mush - by hand or with an electric juicer and strain it through a muslin bag (you can also hand press the pulp in a potato ricer lined with cloth or use a juicer).

Pour the juice that is collected into clean (dark, glass jugs are preferable) and cover their tops with several thicknesses of cheesecloth, held in place with string or rubber bands. Let the brew work in a cool, dark place for about six months . . . then strain, bottle and cork.

TURNING APPLE CIDER INTO VINEGAR

If you don't want to bother with apples, just allow some sweet cider to stand in a warm place in an open jug for a few weeks. It will gradually turn to vinegar.

APPLE PEELING VINEGAR

Vinegar can also be made from apple wastes, should you be baking a lot of pies or canning peeled apples.  Put the peelings, cores and bruised fruit into a wide-mouthed jar or crock and cover with cold water. Store — covered — in a warm place and add fresh peelings, cores and bruised apples from time to time. When the batch tastes sufficiently strong . . . strain, bottle and cork.

Unless you ferment the vinegar for a very long time, there is probably alcohol still left in it, which you can remove by boiling.  While you're at it, you can pasteurize and reduce the vinegar, so that you can store it for longer and concentrate the flavors, respectively.

To achieve pasteurization, heat the vinegar to 170 degrees Fahrenheit (77 degrees Celsius) and hold it there for 10 minutes.  Crock Pots are perfect for holding food for a long time below the boiling point.  Use a thermometer to check your crock pot's temperature at each setting to determine which setting is closest to 170 degrees.

Unpasteurized vinegar can be stored in sterilized, capped jars in the refrigerator for a few months. Pasteurized vinegar can be stored in sterilized containers with tight-fitting lids at room temperature for more than a few months, as long as they are kept out of direct sunlight.

Bottle and store your delicious, homemade vinegar! Strain out the vinegar through cheesecloth or a coffee filter, separating the mother, which can be kept for making more vinegar. 

MOTHER OF VINEGAR

The substance that gradually thickens on top during this process is the "mother".  You can save it as starter for another batch (to speed up the process).

HERB VINEGARS
Once you have brewed up a few containers of apple cider vinegar you can use it as a base to add herbs into - to be infused.  These vinegars can be used for salad dressings, on meat, as dips, and can be used as medicine. Vinegar acts as an "extractor" to pull nutrients and flavors from the fresh herbs. 

Wash and strip basil, rosemary, tarragon, mint, dill and/or other herb leaves from the plant stems. Spread the leaves on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and dry them in the sun or a very low oven until they begin to curl. If that's too much trouble, just hang small bunches of herbs to dry in a warm, clean attic.

Dump one packed cupful of the dried herbs (mix and match  . . . try different combinations till you find your own special blend) into each pint of your experimental cider vinegar and pour into clear glass bottles or jars. Cover and let stand for two weeks in a sunny window. Shake the bottles once or twice a day and — when the liquid tastes sufficiently strong — strain, bottle and cap.

Herb vinegar can also be made with finely-chopped fresh chives, celery leaves or cloves of garlic (remove garlic after 24 hours).