Vinegar is transformative in just about any dish. The best thing about it is that if you have sugar, you can make it from almost anything! I do. I make it from whatever scraps I have lying around the kitchen. I’ve got several versions brewing right now, and hopefully I’ll have the chance to tell you about them all. It’s summer after all. The cool thing about having lots of little vials of vinegar around is that they take the work right out of being a creative cook. I’m not a lazy cook. I love to try new things in the kitchen, but I will admit that our weekday meals tend to follow a very simple formula: lots of veg, some kind of grain, maybe an egg or two or some beans. It’s up to the seasonings (aka ferments, in my house) to make these meals jump out and shake their jazz hands. So that’s where all of these vinegars come in. My cupboards look silly, and sometimes an especially small bottle will get lost at the back of the pantry, but I think it’s worth it.
I often hear all fermentation grouped into the “lacto-” category. That’s an inaccurate descriptor for lots of fermented stuff, including vinegar. If you want an “o” at the end here, you’ll have to go with “aceto-.” Vinegar is basically a super-cool process that involves two types of fermentation. First, you have yeast fermentation. That basically takes the sugar in your liquid and converts it to alcohol (among other things), giving you wine. It gets really foamy and exciting, and you can even drink it for a hit of low alcohol wine within the first week, although I personally think that’s a waste of good vinegar for anything beyond a tasty teaspoonful. Quickly, though, the acetobacter that are basically part of the air we breathe, start to turn that wine into vinegar, via acetic fermentation. Once the SCOBY, or mother, forms you kind of want to leave it alone, and let it finish up. In the summer, it’s a good idea to start tasting on the early side (like 2.5 – 3 weeks). If a vinegar over cooks, you get something very acidic, but without much character. I like my vinegars to have a little hint of what they were made from. If I wanted just any old acid, I could squirt some lemon juice on there and be done with it, so I usually err on the side of under-fermented, that way, I can leave it in my cupboard a bit and let it ferment a bit more, if need be.
Vinegar fermentation will produce a mother. As I mentioned in this old wine vinegar how-to, you definitely do not need a mother to make vinegar, but it makes the process go more quickly. You should start with a little bit of living vinegar, though. If you aren’t in the habit of making your own, just grab some Bragg’s. They got me started on my first batch.
CHERRY SCRAP VINEGAR
Yields about 2.5 cups of cherry vinegar, and one vinegar mother
Did you read my post yesterday about making a delicious, cherry, fruit cocktail? I hope you saved your pits, because this is how you use them. Flesh to pit fermentation, y’all! You can do this with just about any fruit. I’ve made a wide variety of fruit and herb vinegars and they are pretty much my favorite thing ever.
Ingredients
- The pits. Don’t crush them because what’s inside can be toxic. In tact pits are perfectly safe, however.
- Whatever flesh is leftover on the pits and any cherry seconds. Exclude cherries with mold on them, or cut out ALL of the mold, but soft ones are totally fine
- 1/4 cup of sugar (this will be gone by the time you consume your vinegar, so no worries, sugar-fearers)
- 1/2 cup live vinegar, such as Braggs
- Filtered water
How-To
- Put your cherry pits and seconds in a quart or (preferably) larger jar.
- Dissolve sugar into 3.5 cups of room temperature water. Add live vinegar.
- Pour liquid over pits and cherry bits, ensuring that there is at least some space at the top of the jar. Vinegar fermentation is one area where you want as much air as possible getting at your fermentable material, so the more room in your jar, the better.
- Cover the jar with a coffee filter or breathable cloth and secure with a rubber band.
- Swirl it around and/or stir thoroughly at least twice a day. After 5-7 days, when bubbling has subsided a bit, drain the liquid into another container and compost the cherry parts.
- Re-cover the jar with the liquid in it and let it sit for 2-3 weeks, tasting after 2.5.
- Once it tastes like vinegar, you are good to go! Strain it into a container that closely fits the quantity you have left, being sure to remove as many scraps of excess yeast and wispy mother as possible. Air was your friend during fermentation. After fermentation, if will ruin your vinegar, and eventually turn it into water (like
magic!chemistry), so again, be sure it’s a tight-fitting container with a tight lid.
Becky says
This sounds very intriguing. I definitely have some cherry pits I could do this with.
I have a bottle of fancy vinegar a friend gave me a few years ago – I’ve noticed it’s grown a scoby, but the only way to get it out is to break the cute bottle.
Amanda says
Hi Becky, Do it! So simple, seriously. I think you’ll really like it!
As for your fancy vinegar, you might want to strain out the vinegar. If there’s a mother in there, it’s fermenting it which can definitely make for a more acidic vinegar than you might like, and eventually for a less-vinegary vinegar than you would want. If I have vinegars in my cupboard for more than a month, I always check and strain. Unless you pasteurize them, which will kill the good bacteria, or seal them super tight, like with wax, they will usually form a Mother. It’s not a tragedy :-).
Let me know how it turns out if you end up doing it!
Bobbi says
I am lucky in that a local orchard sells pears for $5 for 20 pounds. I just picked up 80 lbs yesterday. I have a batch of pear preserves going and want to use my scraps to make vinegar. I purchased some vinegar mother. You didn’t mention that here. From research it seems that adding that speeds up the process but this will work with or without. Is that true?
On another note, local olive oil places (I live where we have local olives) also sell fruit vinegars for $18 for 6 oz. I would love to make my own for nothing. : )
Amanda says
Hi Bobbi,
Yes, making vinegar with a mother shaves about a week off the process in my experience, but it is definitely not necessary, and when you make vinegar, you’ll get a new mother every time. I hear you on the DIY cost savings. I get a big smile on my face at speciality markets when I see just about every ferment I make for 3 to 3000 times the price that it cost me!
Happy fermenting!
Amanda
Maegan says
I stumbled upon your website while looking for solutions to my over-abundance of beets. I’m now looking forward to making pickled beets with cumin. I’m very excited and I’ve bookmarked your site so I can come back often.
This last weekend’s project was applesauce. So Id like to try this vinager recipe. I’m not sure at what point you add the Braggs vinegar or how much. Can you clarify? Similarly once you have your own “mother” how do you use it to help make future vinegars?
Amanda says
Hi Maegan,
First, thanks for the kind words! Second, thanks for the correction! I was indeed missing an ingredient in the ingredients list. It’s corrected now so it should be clear. Even a couple Tablespoons of live vinegar with be enough to get you going, but a 1/2 cup will really jumpstart things.
As for the Mother, you just throw it in your next batch, preferably after you’ve strained out any solids (many people make wine vinegar, malt vinegar or cider vinegar that won’t have any solids in it, so in that case, you can put the mother in right away). Generally you don’t need a mother to ferment vinegar, but it will speed up the process.
Nancy says
Can you use frozen cherries? . . have a full freezer of whole cherries with pits still in them
Amanda says
Should be fine, Nancy! The bacteria and yeast that make fermentation happen are mainly coming from the air, so just make sure to stir regularly to make sure they’re incorporated and able to eat those sugars!
Lisa says
Is this the same as a fruit (or herb) shrub?
Thanks
Jessie says
I grabbed a case of half-gallon Ball jars a while back without knowing exactly what they’d be used for, and now realize that they’re the perfect size to brew up some fruit vinegars. Cherry pits have been put to work! So glad to be able to get another use of the “scraps” before they hit the compost bin.
Julie says
Do you use just the cherry pits? What are the ‘seconds’…thanks for your help!
Juile says
For this recipe, is it just the cherry pits, not quite sure what ‘seconds’ means in ingredient list…thanks!!
Amanda says
Hi Julie,
When you pit cherries, there’s usually a bit of cherry flesh left on them, so that’s what you want. Seconds are cherries that weren’t pretty enough or in good enough shape to just eat.
Tammy Deaton says
Hello, I would like to know if you are Making vinegar from wine, do you still retain the alcohol?
Amanda says
Hi Tammy,
I can’t answer this question with certainty, but I can tell you that the bacteria responsible for vinegar fermentation (acetobacter) “eat” alcohol and convert it into acetic acid, which is how you end up with vinegar. So there may be a bit of alcohol left but a fully fermented vinegar should have little or none.
Ann says
Thank you for this! You inspired me to try with golden plums from a wayward tree. I have a question – on day five, I need to be on the road and away from my ferment for a long weekend. What would you recommend I do? Sieve the fruit on day four (color has changed a bit and the liquid tastes quite nice actually) and just hope the mold stays away for a few no-stir days, or pop it in the fridge and try to revive it when I get back, or just leave it as it is and scoop out any mold when I get home? I loathe the idea of mold but I suppose it’s not the end of the world. Thoughts? I haven’t seen any mold, but I guess I’m paranoid. I do lots of lovely healthy lactoferments but this is my first vinegar.
Amanda says
I’m a little bit pickier about mold on vinegar. I tend to toss it, since there are potentially bad molds that can grow on vinegar. The fridge isn’t going to be your friend here either, as it could actually stall fermentation altogether. I would give it a good stir before you go, stick it in a cooler place in the house and cross your fingers. You may get luck and your SCOBY may just form while you’re gone, preventing any mold from growing. At 5-7 days, that’s not uncommon.
I hope it goes wonderfully and you’re so pleased with your plum vinegar! Sounds delish!
Tim says
Someone gave me a big bag of mashed icky raspberries that I immediately just stuck in the freezer and now I finally know what to do with them. Do you ever use any weights to keep down the fruit ‘mash’ when making vinegars or is it a non issue meaning mold isn’t likely to form anyway?
Enid Ginn says
Hi Amanda
I’ve just stumbled on your site – such a mine of wonderful information!!!! I have wanted to make vinegar from scratch for sometimes, but somehow other things seem to get in the way. Can it be made with eggplant? I’m so keen now to try out your suggestions, and the only thing I have in the garden are several eggplant bushes with fruit that are way beyond my capacity to devour. I have some old apple cider vinegar in the shed (I feed it to my animals) and it certainly has the ‘gloop’ that many describe, so I presume that I can use it.
Thanks again
Enid
Amanda says
Hi Enid,
Thanks for the kind words!
Theoretically you could make vinegar with any fruit or vegetable, but if you’re using vegetables rather than fruit, you’ll need to add a LOT more sugar before starting fermentation. Usually vinegar fermentation begins with alcohol (yeast) fermentation. Yeast fermentation occurs when sweet things are made available to yeast. When vegetables are made “available” they veer towards bacterial fermentation, which will give you pickles rather than alcohol or vinegar.
I hope that helps!
Amanda
Ema says
Hi Amanda, you could keep the scoby that forms and use for next batch right? Thank you @hotpotsandchocolate????????
Amanda says
You can! But it’s not necessary and some believe that using a mother has a negative impact (flavor, digestive enzymes, etc) on the vinegar that it’s used to make.
Good luck!
micki says
My raspberry wine has “turned to vinegar” as they say after primary fermentation when i was fining it. Is there anything that can be done to it to make it actually become a palatable vinegar?
Amanda says
Hi Micki,
I’m sure there are some hardcore brewers out there who will have suggestions for you.
As a dedicated fan of wild fermented everything, my suggestion would be to check the pH moving forward, and once you get to the 3.0-3.5 range, bottle it up tight and lay it down for a good long while.
While I love the unpredictable flavors of wild fermented vinegars not every batch will be for everyone. Aging almost always helps a ton, though! You could also add some of a living vinegar that you really enjoy. That will add some of those microbes in there and hopefully inoculate the batch. Unfortunately that’s the best I’ve got for you when it comes to accidental vinegar :-). I hope it helps a bit!
Melissa says
Is fruit vinegar sweet? What do you use it for?
Amanda says
No, it’s not sweet when it’s fermented this way (some people make vinegar infusions and call them vinegar, and those might be sweeter). I use it where I use any other type of vinegar and the taste profile fits. Flavors will vary slightly from batch to batch and over time.
Enjoy!
EthalFrida says
I have fresh cherries that I am not eating fast enough. They are beautiful, organic and firm. Can I just go ahead and use them to make the vinegar. And… since I have some apple cider vinegar fermenting should I not put them close by each other?
Amanda says
Definitely, although I would mash them a bit to free up those sugars.
I would put them right next to the apple cider vinegar, or use that as a starter!
Kay says
Kind of a dumb question here – Can I eat the cherries, spit out the pits and collect those for vinegar? Or will that introduce too much unwanted bacteria? I don’t have a cherry pitter, and I like to eat cherries…
Amanda says
Hi Kay,
That’s not a dumb question at all, but the answer is no. You definitely don’t want your mouth bacteria and enzymes involved when you’re fermenting something raw. That could definitely inoculate the wrong guys, and it’s likely to turn out a little grody (just a guess on that).
Kat says
I was actually wondering the same thing. After all, many cultures serve ancient wine/liquor made by chewing and spitting then fermenting grains. If I’m successful in creating a mother, I might venture to try it sometime… though I’m sure people will be horrified
Amanda says
Keep in mind that those grains are traditionally cooked after being made into spit balls. The enzymes in spit will malt the grains. You then need to kill off the bacteria from your mouth, which would be more likely to colonize the ferment than anything wild in my opinion (that could be wrong, but homeostasis seems like it would be in play here).
Rebecca says
You say scraps and seconds “of” 2 lbs cherries, but what if I want to make vinegar just from some extra, pitted, perfectly good cherries? How many pounds of vinegar-making fruit do I need to make your recipe?
Amanda says
Hi Rebecca,
I’m sorry, I’ve never written down a specific amount for whole cherries, but you can play it by ear. It will taste like vinegar more than the fruit, but more fruit will give you a bit more fruit character.
John says
Can I make vinegar out of coconut meat?….raw, dessicated, flakes?…I am not really interested in making it out of coconut water…Thanks, jfb
Amanda says
I have made coconut vinegar out of coconut water before, but never the meat. I don’t see any reason it wouldn’t work, though. I would definitely puree the meat and add sugar for best results.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes!
Deana says
I’m so excited to find this!! I’ve been making cherry jam and cherry bbq sauce and am so thankful I saved the pits!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
I have never done anything like this before so, I have a few probably very silly questions.
Once the 2.5 week period starts, do I cover it with a real lid or still use a coffee filter?
And, when it’s all done, you say that the less air the better…does this mean that when you use some out of it, you should transfer to a smaller bottle? Or should I store it in tiny bottles so that it’s all used once opened? How long before it turns to water? I am wanting to give as gifts but don’t want the gifts turning to water before the recipient gets to use it. Thanks!
Amanda says
Until you’re bottling, you always want your vinegar exposed to air, so only use a filter/paper towel/kitchen cloth/etc. Once it’s done fermenting, air is your enemy so store in a tight-fitting container with a lid. If it’s stored in an airtight container, you’ll likely have it for years. If it’s exposed to air, presumably it will start its transformation relatively soon (after a few months?) but the truth is that’s never happened to me so I can’t tell you how long it would take.
Suzy says
Oh this looks wonderful. I pit pounds of cherries for jam every summer. I also make cherry liquor with whole cherries. Could I use those leftovers to make vinegar? They are soaked in sugar, vodka, and water for three months. I have to waste them and can’t eat them all!
Alison Stanley says
I followed the recipe exactly, other than using frozen organic cherries rather thanks craps since it is not cherry season. When I checked on my vinegar after a couple of weeks, there were white specks floating on to[,but a nice big mother in the bottom of the jar. I assume the white flecks were yeast?? I strained the vinegar through cheesecloth and into a clean jar. I covered the jar and put in in the refrigerator. Do you know why the yeast bits formed and if the vinegar is safe to consume? Thanks so much.
Amanda says
Hi Alison,
Using frozen fruit could definitely be a problem. The fruit itself would be providing the bulk of the natural yeast and plenty of yeast strains wouldn’t survive months of freezer temperatures.
The mother would be floating on the surface of the vinegar, unless it was moved around a lot), so I’m not 100% sure it is a mother.
I wish I could give you a better answer, but there are a few too many variables for me to know if it’s good, bad or other in this case. I would think that what was forming on the surface was a mother, but if fermentation never took place, it could just be mold. Without seeing and smelling it in person, I wouldn’t be comfortable diagnosing.
Sorry I can’t be of more help!
Isa says
Hi Amanda, I have followed your guidelines for a couple of successful fruit vinegars, plum and apple, both great. I am currently trying an apple and quince version. Yesterday I filtered out the solids but apparently was too energetic in getting the liquid through the sieve and have ended up with a lot of fruit pulp sediment. Do you think this might have a detrimental effect on the final product? Would it be best to filter it sgain now?
Thanks for all your good advice.
Amanda says
Hi Isa,
You’ll be fine! The only reason to strain is so that your final product is free of pulp and the mother that forms won’t have pieces in it (no big deal if it does). You can strain again after fermentation, or leave the fruit pulp in there for the long haul. It’s more about appearance than anything else at that point!
Thanks for reading!