Red Wine Vinegar

What is red wine vinegar? Simple - a fermented product of red wine. This may not be the most clear explanation; I agree to that. So let's get into more details, shall we? The actual vinegar is made from the fabulous and delicious red wine. Now, the taste of red wine vinegar and its quality all depends on the ingredients that were used to make the vinegar in the first place. If you choose the best red wine, then of course, your vinegar will have exceptional taste. Including that, vinegar needs to be aged for a particular time, in wooden barrels, for it to have that tangy, bitter, and sour taste.

How the Vinegar Is Made

Before you learn how to make the vinegar, we need to understand the simple process of how red wine and few other ingredients make their journey to becoming the vinegar we love. The red wine is first fermented till it turns sour. This, in turn, produces acetic acid. There are other acids that can be produced in the process of fermenting. And depending on the time frame the vinegar is being fermented, this acidic level can vary. After the fermentation process is over, all there's left to do is strain the vinegar and pour it inside a jar. Or you can let the vinegar age for better flavor.

Now, this may seem like a lot of work, but trust me, after the ingredients are mixed, all the work is done on its own. Many people, to avoid all this work, opt to purchase their vinegar from a store, or use a substitute for the vinegar. But then again, what will be the fun in that? Which is why, we'll take a look at how the vinegar is made from scratch.

Benefits Availed from the Vinegar

You'd be surprised to know that there are considerable amount of the vinegar health benefits. It helps in lowering cholesterol and blood pressure levels, aids in smooth blood flow, and reduces the risk of any heart disease, as it contains potassium. People who have diabetes are often advised to have this vinegar with their foods. Why? Because it fights those food cravings as it lower the glucose levels down and keeps the amount of insulin in check. And if you're worried about the vinegar calories, then I'm going to tell you to not. This vinegar has zero calories and no sodium.

Vinegar Recipe You Can Make

Step #1 - Gather the ingredients - 2 cups red wine, 1 cup mother of vinegar, 1 cup distilled water, and 1 tablespoon 80-proof Vodka. Make sure that the utensils you use to make the vinegar in, are sanitized (not simply washed) properly.

Step #2 - In a bowl, mix red wine and water together. Add mother of vinegar to this and mix thoroughly. Place a cheesecloth on top of the bowl and secure with a rubber band. Leave the bowl alone in a cool, dark place for 6 to 8 weeks.

Step #3 - Make sure that the temperature in the storage area is about 80ºF to 85ºF. Once this time has passed, bring the bowl out, remove the cheesecloth, and pour inside another sanitized bowl.

Step #4 - Now we need to pasteurize it at 155ºF for at least half an hour. You can also choose to add campden tablets (3 tablets for 1 gallon of vinegar). For the pasteurizing, you need to mix in 1 tablespoon 80-proof Vodka for 1 gallon of vinegar.

Step #5 - To age the vinegar, keep it in the same dark place for another 6 months. Now, the temperature needs to be about 50ºF to 60ºF. Once the vinegar is ready, you can either age it further on, or use it by pouring in a sanitized glass bottle.

Use this recipe as dressings, vinaigrettes, marinades, or to drizzle over vanilla ice cream (make a reduction sauce, very delicious). There's always something or the other you can do with this vinegar. Now that you have the complete information on red wine vinegar and how it's made at home, you can definitely come up with different recipes to use it in. There are people who, due to the fact they don't like the taste of this vinegar, tend to search for red wine vinegar substitute. To that, all I can say is that if you give time, you can easily develop a taste for the vinegar.