Recipes & Guides

Equipment

• 2 L glass jar, wide mouth
• Cloth + rubber band, hydrometer optional
• Dark spot 20–30 °C

Ingredients

• Fresh apple juice / cider (unpasteurized, no SO₂/sorbate)1000 mL
• Sugar if juice <12 Brix (optional)20 g
• Wine yeast EC-1118 (optional, for clean ferment)0.5 g
• Live raw apple vinegar 5% (starter)150 mL

Procedure

1. Primary — to cider (7–14 d): if needed add sugar to 12–14 Brix. Pitch yeast, cover with airlock. Ferment 20–25 °C until gravity ≤1.002 (~6–7% ABV). If using pasteurized juice without yeast, let wild ferment 2 weeks.
2. Acetify — to vinegar (3–8 wks): transfer to wide jar, add live vinegar (10–20% of volume). Cover with cloth. Hold 22–28 °C, dark. A cellulose mother will form in 1–3 weeks.
3. Test: taste — no ethanol sweetness, sharp acetic nose. Verify with titration kit: aim ≥4.5% (≥45 grain). See Lab (titration = mL NaOH ×0.6).
4. Finish: rack off mother, coarse filter, bottle. Save mother in 200 mL raw vinegar for next batch. Pasteurize 60 °C/10 min if you want to stop further growth.
5. Store: cool dark cupboard; raw will keep growing mother — strainable. For canning, use only if verified ≥5%.

Ingredients

• Dry wine 9–13% ABV750 mL
• Water (to dilute to 6–7%)250 mL
• Live wine vinegar starter200 mL

Key spec

Alcohol >8% inhibits AAB — always dilute. Use SO₂-free or let sulfited wine breathe 24 h.

Procedure

1. Dilute wine to 6–7% ABV: (750 mL 12% = 250 mL water). Pour into crock with 200 mL starter. Cover with cloth, 20–25 °C.
2. Draw 200–250 mL every 3–4 weeks once sharp, replace with fresh diluted wine — the continuous Orléans cycle. Don’t disturb mother; replenish 1:1.
3. Age 1–3 months in bottle for burn to soften. Red wine: expect tannic grip; white: cleaner.

Ingredients

• Short-grain white rice300 g
• Koji rice (Aspergillus oryzae)100 g
• Water800 mL
• Sake yeast or EC-11180.5 g
• Live rice vinegar150 mL

Procedure

1. Rinse, soak 2 h, steam rice 25 min. Cool to 35 °C, mix with koji + 500 mL water — “moromi” — cover, 28 °C 48 h, stir daily (amylase phase). Smells sweet, porridge-thick.
2. Add 300 mL water + yeast, airlock 2–3 weeks to sake-like mash (~8% ABV). Dilute to 6% with water before next step.
3. Wide jar, add live vinegar, cloth, 25 °C 4–8 weeks until sour. Komesu should be 4.0–4.3%, faintly sweet, clean.

Shortcut version: 500 mL dry sake diluted to 6% + 100 mL live vinegar → 3–6 weeks. See DIY fast paths.

Ingredients

• Pale malt, crushed250 g
• Water1200 mL
• Ale yeast (US-05)1 g
• Live vinegar150 mL

Procedure

1. Mash: 250 g malt in 900 mL water at 65 °C 60 min, strain. Sparge with 300 mL 75 °C water. Boil 10 min (no hops). Cool, pitch yeast, ferment 10–14 d to ~4% ale.
2. Acetify as apple method: add 150 mL live vinegar, cloth, 25 °C 3–6 weeks. Toasty, grainy, brown.

Ingredients

• Fruit peels/cores (pineapple, apple)300 g
• Sugar (brown or white)100 g
• Water1000 mL
• Live vinegar (optional boost)50 mL

Procedure

1. Dissolve sugar in water, add fruit. Loose lid, 20–25 °C, stir daily 8–12 d — wild yeast → bubbly low wine.
2. Add live vinegar if you have it, cloth cover 2–4 weeks until sharp. Strain, bottle. Great for shrubs and cleaning.

Ingredients

• Red or white wine vinegar 6%60 mL
• Dijon mustard10 g
• Shallot, minced20 g
• Extra-virgin olive oil180 mL
• Honey or sugar8 g
• Salt / pepper3 g / pinch

Procedure

1. Macerate shallot in vinegar + salt 5 min (softens sharpness).
2. Whisk in Dijon + honey, then stream oil while whisking to emulsion. Or shake in jar. Taste — should be bright, not stinging. Add water if too sharp.
3. Holds 5 days refrigerated. Shake before use. For malt vinegar on chips, skip oil.

Swap vinegar style to change character: sherry → nutty, rice → delicate, cider → fruity. Keep 3:1 oil:vinegar at 6%; at 5% use 2.5:1.

Ingredients

• Red onions, thin sliced250 g
• White or cider vinegar 5%250 mL
• Water250 mL
• Sugar20 g
• Salt10 g

Procedure

1. Pack onions into 500 mL jar. Heat vinegar + water + sugar + salt to dissolve (not boil). Pour hot over onions.
2. Cool, lid, refrigerate 24 h before eating. Pink in 2 h. Use preservation calc to check acidity if scaling.
3. Variation: add 1 tsp oregano + chili for tacos; rice vinegar for mild.

Ingredients

• Small pickling cucumbers1000 g
• White vinegar 5% (not <5%)500 mL
• Water500 mL
• Canning salt40 g
• Dill heads + garlic, mustard seed, peppercornsper jar

Procedure

1. Use only a tested recipe (USDA Complete Guide / NCHFP). Wash cukes, trim blossom end. Pack with dill/garlic.
2. Bring vinegar + water + salt to boil. Pour over cukes leaving 1 cm headspace. Debubble, wipe rims.
3. Process in boiling water bath: 10 min (0–300 m), 15 min (300–1800 m) per altitude. Cool 12 h. Check seals; pH should be ≤4.0 after 24 h if you measure.
4. Cure 4 weeks for flavor before opening. Store cool 12 months. Do not alter vinegar/water ratio.

Ingredients

• Sugar100 g
• Sherry or wine vinegar 6–7%80 mL
• Water20 mL
• Stock or fruit juice (optional)100 mL

Procedure

1. Caramelize sugar + 20 mL water to deep amber (170 °C). Off heat, add vinegar (violent — stand back), then stock. Stir to dissolve.
2. Simmer 2–3 min to syrup. Use: deglaze duck, pork, or carrots; balance with salt + fat. Keeps 2 weeks cold.

Ingredients

• Short-grain rice (sushi)300 g
• Water for cooking360 mL
• Rice vinegar komesu 4.2%45 mL
• Sugar15 g
• Salt5 g

Procedure

1. Rinse rice 3×, cook 360 mL water, rest 10 min.
2. Heat vinegar + sugar + salt to dissolve; cool.
3. Fan rice while folding in awasezu with cutting motion (don’t mash). Glossy, just tart. Cover with damp cloth, use within 2 h (do not refrigerate).