Making Your Own Wine Vinegar with a Ceramic Crock and a “Mother”

Appears in
Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking: Traditional and Modern Recipes to Savor and Share
Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking

By Paula Wolfert

Published 2009

  • About

Good, simple red wine vinegar, the mainstay of numerous vinegar-based dishes in this book, is rarely found. Commercial manufacturers make it too fast and on the cheap. If you want to make a truly delicious poulet au vinaigre or a mildly tart sauté of chicken livers with vinegar and onions, you’re far better off using a homemade vinegar than one from the store. Also, making your own is fun.

So what makes homemade vinegar so special? Simply put, it’s crisper, subtler, and better balanced, with a bright quality that enhances food. Used to deglaze a pan for a sauce, it yields far better results than commercial vinegar. Great wine vinegar coaxes out layers of flavor, creating a more seductive dish.