Vinegar

If you're interested in sustainable living, you need at least one German friend.

Why? You ask

Because in Germany people still do things like pickling and jarring and making your own. In England, we just don't cut it - you can't walk into a supermarket and pick up some sourdough starter, a large contraption to sterilise your bottled preserves, or a vinegar mother.

Yes, a vinegar mother. My friend Sabine very kindly offered me one after I mentioned we had a ton of white wine left over after the wedding. I'd always assumed vinegar happened from the oxidation of alcohol. Alcohol --> aldehyde --> carboxylic acid, right? I remember that from A-level chemistry. But apparently vinegar comes via my best friends, bacteria.

So how does one go about making vinegar?

First, take one vinegar mother proffered by German friend.

If you do not have either of these resources, proceed to step two...

Take leftover gone-off wine (fairly traded, of course), and pour into large, wide-necked container.

 Next, add vinegar mother... schlop!

...then cover with a clean cloth, and leave in a cool place for several weeks/months (I am unclear on the exact duration of this - more later)

If you do not have a starter, apparently it will do the work itself. Like with all things in nature, bacteria come as a bonus, whether we like it or not.

In this case I imagine the necessary bacteria (Mycoderma aceti) will predominate as the natural oxidation proceeds and the vinegar becomes more acidic. We use vinegar to preserve food as it stops the growth of 'bad' bacteria and fungi - from my experience very few of these are particularly fond of acidic conditions. I just never knew that there could be good bacteria in vinegar. Maybe that's why so many health books say it's good for you...