On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1454

strongenoughtopreventthevinegarsolution
itselffromspoiling.Above5%alcohol,the
resultingvinegarwillbestrongerinacetic
acidandsomorestable,butthefermentation
proceedsmoreslowlybecausethehigh
alcohollevelsinhibittheactivityofthe
bacteria.Forthisreason,andtominimize
residualalcoholinthefinishedvinegar,wines
of10–12%alcoholareusuallydilutedwith
waterbeforeaceticfermentation.However
thisalsodilutesthewine’sflavorful
components;sopatientvinegarmakersmay
stillchoosetofermenttheirwinestraight.
VinegarProduction

Therearethreestandardwaysofproducing
vinegarintheWest.
The Orléans Process The simplest, oldest,
and slowest method was perfected in the
Middle Ages in the French city of Orléans,


where spoiled barrels of Bordeaux and
Burgundy wine on their way to Paris were
identified and salvaged as vinegar. In the
Orléansprocess,woodbarrelsarepartlyfilled
with diluted wine, inoculated with a mother
from a previous batch, and allowed to
ferment. Periodically, some vinegar is drawn
offandreplacedbynewwine.Thismethodis
slow,becausethetransformationofalcoholto

acetic acid is limited to the wine surface
exposedtotheair.Buttheslowfermentation
leaves time for reactions among the alcohol,
aceticacid,andothermolecules,andproduces
the finest flavor. When optimized, this
process can yield a barrel full of vinegar in
twomonths.
Streamlined Trickling and Submerged
Cultures In the second, “trickling” method,
the wine is poured repeatedly over a porous,
air-rich matrix — wood shavings, or a
synthetic material — onto which the acetic