Homemade Vinegar

The best way to ensure a supply of wine vinegar that is better than almost anything you can buy is to make your own. A small oak barrel and a little bit of living vinegar, or vinegar mother, is enough to get started. Begin by putting about a cup of mother in the barrel and adding a cup of leftover red wine. Cover the bunghole on top of the barrel with a towel—don’t use the stopper, since the bacteria that make vinegar require air—and keep it in a warm place, next to a hot water heater, perhaps. After a couple of weeks, add 2 cups of wine. Wait another couple of weeks and add another 2 cups of wine. Continue in this way until the barrel is three-fourths full. (Don’t fill the barrel all the way or the wine won’t have access to enough air.) Depending on the temperature, the vinegar should be ready to use 2 weeks after you add the last of the wine. Tap off a few cups at a time and continue to add bottle ends to the barrel. As the vinegar matures in the barrel, it will develop a more complex flavor. Never drain off all the vinegar. Just keep tapping the barrel whenever you need vinegar, and replacing the vinegar with wine.