Homemade vinegar—often called one of the most versatile liquids—is a natural food. No preservatives or chemicals need be added to vinegar, but various flavors can be added to enhance the taste. Vinegar has been used for centuries as a preservative and in many different ways. Some people even promote this liquid as a miracle cure for arthritis and weight gain, among other things, and as the perfect household disinfectant.

Mother Knows Best
Unfortunately, as with many recipes from the past, making homemade vinegar is a lost art that requires a little help from mother. Mother, in this case, does not refer to the woman who gave birth to you, but rather to a thick, jellylike substance that forms in fermenting sugar-based liquids and produces acetic acid, which is necessary in making vinegar.

This slimy, sometimes stringy, gelatin-like material consists entirely of yeast cells and bacteria. The same mother can be used continuously for years, and healthy mother can be divided and placed in different bottles to make more vinegar. An unhealthy mother will begin to discolor and become brittle.

Sound confusing? It really isn’t. Under the right conditions, anyone can make vinegar. When the sugared liquid is exposed to air, it is converted into alcohol through the process of fermentation. Wine, as well as fresh fruit juices and even sugar water can be used to grow a starter or mother.

How to Make Vinegar
Some people choose to purchase mother from online sources, others choose to make their own. To make your own, you’ll need a little wine or other sugared liquid, a little water, a clean glass or porcelain bottle, air, a warm temperature, enough cheesecloth to cover the top of the container—to keep insects out—and about three to six weeks' worth of patience.