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Happily munching my way through my pickled onions at the moment. Does anyone know whether the vinegar can be reused after they are finished?

I don't re-use it for pickling as such, but keep it in a separate, labelled bottle for using in salad dressings, etc. Waste not, want not, label it and eat it.

I don't see why not

I asked this question a while ago... http://selfsufficientish.com/forum/view ... ht=pickled

I have to say that I didn't reuse it.. and the jar that I had finished grew a mould on the top when it wasn't refrigerated.

If you do reuse it for pickling you will probably want to boil it to increase the acetic acid content, the pickled onions etc absorb this more than the other componants of the vinegar and it's the acetic acid which preserves the food. (All pickling vinegars should be 5% aectic acid at least).

Hope this helps,

Philip

I've made wine that tastes like vinegar , but how exactly does one make pickling vinegar.

You take vinegar with a high enough level of acidity (malt is usual in the UK, but I'm planning on using red wine vinegar as malt is unavailable here) and add a selection of things like cloves, garlic, cinamon, etc...

I'm afraid I can't give you a definitive recipe, as I lost the one I had saved when my compooter broke down.

I reuse the pickling vinegar for cleaning, descaling the kettle etc.

Zoe

Ah - a very old war recipe calls for gherkin vinegar (the vinegar from a jar of gherkins) to be used as salad dressing - take your lettuce (generally iceberg then), sprinkle it with sugar, and then dribble a bit of the vinegar across - it is absolutely delicious!!

Who knows, maybe pickled vinegar can be used the same way. I was raised on vinegar and sugar salad dressing.

I use the vinegar from pickles in marinades and glazes for other meals, like sweet pickle juice in a mustard glaze for ham, or pickled onion vinegar in marinades for other meats.

Lois

Has anyone made their own vinegar?

Nev

Not yet Nev,

But we might give it a go this fall and try for apple cider vinegar- neighbour has 6 apple trees.

Just need to find a cider press-and a recipe

Lois

I was going to have a go at making my own red wine vinegar, but i couldn't find a crock anywhere to make it in - and then someone threw out the bottles of wine.

From what i read when i looked into it, it seems that you need a crock with a tap at the bottom, and then you either leave the wine there for months on end, or you add a bacteria (can't remember what one now, but its one of the winemaking ones) and wait for a 'mother' to form - it looks like a greyish jelly like mass on top, then you leave it and draw off the vinega underneath. The mother can be divided and used again - just keep it in vinegar.

"Future Foods" in Somerset used to sell vinegar mothers.
But I cant find his website any more
it was http://www.futurefoods.com/

lots of other interesting 'fermenting' type cultures and unusual vegetables & plants as well.
Simon something, he was ex-HDRA Heritage Seed Library.
Any info on his whereabouts would be interesting !

Thanks all!

When I mention "mother of vinegar" around here all I get is nervous giggles and outraged stares. I have had one go from scratch for making cleaning vinegar by fermenting sugar then allowing it to turn to vinegar. It smells vinegary somewhat. I want to have a go at making stuff that doesn't taste like monkey wee though so we can use it for edible purposes.

Nev