Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar is one of the best catalyst there is. Whatever 
herb you mix it with will be assimilated that much quicker. It's absolutely 
great.
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We always made vinegar after we got done either making apple sauce or 
apple cider. We filled our 5 gallon crock with the leftovers or by 
products- stuff you normally waste- cover with cold water and cover. 
We would put it in a warm place and every so often put more peels 
when we made pie.Strain off the froth on the top as you go along. 
When it smells and taste like vinegar- we would strain it and put in 
sterilized jars and put the lid on. We stored it in our pantry which 
was cool and dark. 
Depending on sugar content of apples and ripeness and warmth depends 
on the amount of time. We had vinegar as soon as 4 weeks and up 12 
week. Longer it sits after it's strained it seemed to taste better. 
June
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How to Make Vinegar (http://www.vinegarman.com/VinegarMaking.html)
Making vinegar is so easy it can be done by accident. We could even say that 
most of it is made without our cooperation or awareness. Making good vinegar, 
consistantly,  is another story. That requires a little effort. But the effort 
pays well.

Vinegar can be made from almost anything which contains sugar or starch.  It is 
made from many different things; fruits, grains, roots even wood.

It can be made directly from sugar but is best made by first converting the
sugar into alcohol and then turning the alcohol into vinegar.  The conversion 
from starch is a little trickier, but the process shares a lot of similarities.

There are many ways to make vinegar and many of them are covered in our fun easy 
to read reference book on the subject. But for now let's stick to the very 
simplest way possible.  If you want to learn more about vinegar and vinegar 
making join our club.

To make vinegar the simplest way you need to find yourself;

A container with a spout .(e.g. a sun tea jar) The spout is not mandatory
but it sure makes things easier. The container should also have a wide mouth to 
let in air as well as a way to keep out flies. (Air is very important!)
You will be visited by vinegar flies!  They are my assistants. The container
should be glass or stainless steel for best results. Aluminum and iron is
definately out.  Some plastics can work, some are dangerous because they
react with vinegar. So, for now, I would skip plastics. 
Some fresh fruit juice. (Even the frozen variey will do. But I would stay
away from the bottled ones because they add chemicals to keep the juice from 
turning to vinegar. (See how easy it is to make vinegar.)
A starter culture. Notice I said "starter culture".  Don't make a big deal
about getting a "mother", it will probably ruin otherwise good vinegar. What you 
need are the bacteria which make vinegar.  Check the home brew stores or pick up 
a bottle of unpasturized, unfiltered vinegar.  I have had great success with 
Braggs Apple cider vinegar. The vinegar in the culture keeps out the other molds 
and bacteria until the vinegar bacteria have had a chance to take firm control 
of the juice.
A dark place.  You could also paint your jar or cover it . The object is to
keep out the light. Light will slow the vinegar production or even kill your
culture. A warm place. The precise temperature is not so critical but it does 
make a difference on how fast your vinegar is made. If you feel comfortable at 
that temperature, most likely the vinegar bacteria will be happy also.
OK, we have a vinegar culture, a container to put it in, some food for it
and lot's of warm air available to it.Pour about one quart of the starter into 
the container. Pour about the same amount of juice into the container.
Put the mix into a warm dark place. Keep checking it until it is as strong as 
you like it or it seems to belosing strength. Bottle it in small bottles.
Leave it for at least six months before using.  (You could use it right away
but, this will make it smoother)
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From Laura:

I have a fancy Italian cookbook that gives instructions for making your own red 
wine vinegar.  I would use organic red wine (yes, there is such a thing, or you 
can make your own :-)

You need a one gallon container (glass, enamel, stainless or brand-new wood), a 
bottle of wine and a slice of freshly baked bread.  Soak the bread in a little 
wine until it's mushy.  Pour the rest of the wine into your container, add the 
mushy bread and stir it up real well.  Cover the container with a cloth (let in 
air but not bugs) and store somewhere warm and dark, like a kitchen cabinet.

Depending on how much yeast was active in the bread and how warm your storage 
spot is, you'll get vinegar in anywhere from a week to a month.  You can just 
keep adding wine to the container as you use the vinegar (add no more than half 
fresh wine, half old vinegar) and have a constant supply.  This brew will also 
grow a "mother" (jellylike culture of the vinegar-making beasties) that you can 
scoop out and use to start a new batch in a separate container (or give to a
friend).

I haven't tried this -- still looking for the fancy wooden cask like in the 
cookbook photo ;-)  I'm thinking you can use pretty much any variety of wine for 
this.  I make mead (honey wine) pretty regularly, and the concept of mead 
vinegar just intrigues me, so I may just have to do this without the fancy 
wooden cask . . .

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