Mother of vinegar

The mother of vinegar ( vinegar also Essigkahm or fungus) is a gelatinous, stringy mass of acetic acid bacteria ( Acetobacteraceae ), which can form when wine or other alcoholic liquids are left slightly longer open time. Fermenting liquor with the aid of oxygen from the air to form acetic acid.

In the traditional vinegar production by the Orléans method vinegar mother is used to " inoculate " the alcohol-containing starting material and to thus accelerate the acetic acid fermentation. The wine used should preferably not or only weakly sulfurized be. During fermentation, the bacteria involved, inter alia, also produce acetaldehyde, so not completely reacted vinegar can have an unpleasant pungent odor.

Mother of vinegar may develop later in commercial vinegar, if this was not fully fermented. Despite the somewhat unsightly appearance of mother of vinegar is completely harmless and can be consumed safely.