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Vinegar-Uses.com
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When we eat in a restaurant, we all wonder just what happens to that leftover wine we leave the table e.g. do the dregs of one bottle get poured into another to make a full one, or do the waiters drink it at the end of the shift?
I’m sure we could come up with many ideas as to what happens to that precious alcohol that didn’t get poured from the bottle but it seems, according to some top chefs, that the leftover wine is saved in a huge container and later used to make vinegar, or to make sauces for later ‘to-die-for’ dishes.
It seems that the rule of any good kitchen is ‘waste not want not’, so making vinegar from what could be a very expensive wine seems to make a lot of sense, as long as, of course, it’s not coming from the drinking glasses!
As people have become more conscious about drinking too much or about drink-driving and creating oneself a difficult future solely to finish off the bottle, some restaurants can collect enough leftover wine to make enough vinegar for regular use and even allow some to age before it’s used.
It seems that although making vinegar needs patience, all you need to start with is the gunge (the ‘live’ vinegar) that settles at the bottom of the bought bottle, as this is the ‘good’ bacteria that changes alcohol into this desired acetic acid. Pour the leftover wine (that’s if you ever have any) into a wooden container in which you have already put little holes at the top of the container, where the liquid won’t escape but air will be able to enter. Now add the gunge / sediment from the bought bottle, add a little water to the barrel and wait. Home-made vinegar is said to beat all of the commercially produced brands, so making it has to be worth a shot.
Once you have your very own vinegar, why not then make different flavours by adding herbs? Other than the vinegar, all you need is fresh herbs and sterilised jars or bottles with tightly fitting lids.
Sterilise your containers by boiling some water in a saucepan, adding a tea towel to the base of the pan and dipping your containers and their lids into the water for twenty or thirty seconds. Another method is to give them a spin in a dishwasher, so use whichever method suits you most.
Choose herbs such as rosemary, oregano or sage that will add a distinct flavour to your ‘home brew’ and simply place two or three sprigs into each container before topping up with your own condiment. Seal the containers and, after three weeks, the contents will be ready to enjoy. Don’t worry if you see that the herbs are becoming a little woolly: simply strain the liquid and put it into another clean bottle or jar, with a few more sprigs of the same herb. With such knowledge, vinegar will never taste the same again!
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