On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1457

mayproduceoff-flavors.Thispossibilityis
minimizedbystartingwithaculturedyeast
and a vinegar “mother” from an active
vinegar crock or commercial source. The
warmer the temperature (up to around
85ºF/30ºC) and the larger the surface area
exposedtotheair,thefastertheliquidwill
acetify. Fruits with less than about 10%
sugarintheirjuiceswillproducelessthan
5% alcohol and thus less than 4% acetic
acid in the final vinegar, which will be
prone to spoiling. Such fruits should be
supplemented with table sugar, which
boosts the subsequent alcohol and acetic
acidlevels.
Malt Vinegars Malt vinegar is essentially
madefromunhoppedbeer:thatis,fromcereal
grainsandsproutedbarley.Ithasovertonesof
barley malt. This was the standard form of
vinegarinbeer-drinkingBritain,whereitwas
originallycalledalegar.


AsianVinegarsAsianriceandgrainvinegars
are made from grains whose starch is broken
down to sugars by means of a mold culture
rather than sprouted grains (p. 753). Chinese
vinegars can be especially flavorful and
savory because they’re made from whole,
sometimes roasted grains, fermented in
continuous contact with the grain solids, and

often aged in contact with the molds, yeasts,
and bacteria, all of which release amino and
other organic acids and other flavor
compoundsintothevinegar.
WhiteVinegarsWhitevinegarisamong
thepurestsourcesofaceticacid.It’smadeby
aceticfermentationofpurealcoholthathas
beeneitherdistilledorsynthesizedfrom
naturalgas,andisnotagedinorsoftenedby
contactwithwood.Itcontainsfewornoneof
thearomaticandsavorybyproductsofthe
alcoholicfermentation.IntheUnitedStates,
morewhitevinegarismadethananyother
kind.It’susedmainlyinthemanufactureof