Vinegar is made by fermenting alcoholic liquids, which results in a sour tasting product. Different types of foods may produce vinegars with distinct colors and flavors that have different properties. Although at the most basic level, vinegar is a solution of water and acetic acid, but the concentration of acetic acid varies, but it is generally between five and eight percent. Vinegar can be made from a large number of basic materials that All of them affect its taste in different ways. For example, red wine vinegar is made from red wine and apple cider vinegar is made from apple wine - because of this, the flavors of the final product are very different.
How is vinegar prepared?
In general, vinegar is produced by the reaction of oxygen with an alcoholic liquid, resulting in fermentation and the production of acetic acid. Vinegar takes its name from the old French term "sour wine", meaning wine that has been left to become vinegar.
Vinegar is often made with grain alcohol to achieve high acidity. For example, white vinegar is made with vodka and malt vinegar is made from malted barley – just like whiskey and beer.
For example, the process of making malt vinegar starts with malt barley. In this way, the seeds are crushed and then poured into hot water to enable the extraction of sugars and other chemicals in the seeds. Yeast is then added to them and it is cooled to ferment for about six days. At this stage, the process of making beer and malt vinegar is the same.
In the next stage, specially cultivated bacteria called Acetobacter are added to the beer-like liquid. This bacterium converts the alcohol in the liquid into acetic acid and results in the final flavor of vinegar. At this stage, the vinegar is diluted to a certain level of acid concentration and then bottled and sold.