vinegar

[Cathy Smith]

Hi all –

 

When I buy vinegar to use for home, I buy organic vinegar “with the mother.”  Often, I see this mother in the bottle.  Since I ferment things, I always appreciate ingredients that are alive or active in some way.

 

When I buy vinegar to use for my business, I buy high quality brands that I can buy in bulk.  A couple of jugs of a conventional brand, leftover from last summer, seem to have developed mothers in the jug.  I thought that the vinegar from this conventional brand had been “denatured” enough that it would be impossible for the vinegar to grow a mother?

 

Or did I assume the worst and it may be possible for regular, conventional red, white, apple and rice vinegars to grow mothers eventually?

 

And does this mean that these vinegars have more probiotic properties than they did last year (when the liquid was clear)?

 

And would anyone care to share stories/encouragement for making vinegar?  I assume, since I have these mothers, that I might use them to create more rice and grape wine vinegars?

 

Thank you!

 

-cathy in Oregon