Red Wine Vinegar
Posted by Merryweather on Feb 12, 2009 · Member since Sep 2008 · 54 posts
So I have this red wine vinegar that I've had for, maybe... 6 or 7 months. Its opened and has been sitting unrefrigerated. Now there is some stuff sort of floating in it, and a lighter colored layer on the top. Normally I would assume that it has gone bad but I don't know much about vinegar, and it doesn't look exactly moldy. Also, its hard to tell by smelling because all vinegar smells strong. Anyone have any suggestions? Should I just replace it?
Use it. It's fine. Vinegar lasts like 98 years, I say. It might just be more pungent/vinegary? I dunno.
If it was me I would toss it, I hate wasting food but it sounds to me like your vinegar went sour. Make sure you keep it in the fridge after you open it! :) Maybe I'm wrong but grandma always said better safe then sorry.
If you're really brave, shake it up and try some of it, if it tastes bad, it probably is.
i would try shaking it up really well and try some... it won't kill you :P i think it's probably a-okay :)
Um, vinegar is already "soured." The cloudy layer is the "mother." The priniciple that soured the wine that made the vinegar. Strain it if you feel unsure, put it in a clean bottle. It's not going any further "off" than it was when they made it. If you've had it around forever, it may have gotten a bit, I dunno--dusty? but I doubt it.
You can use it just fine. I buy vinegar maybe twice a year, because I usually use lemon juice instead. It doesn't go "rancid" even in our 120ºF summer heat.
Um, vinegar is already "soured." The cloudy layer is the "mother." The priniciple that soured the wine that made the vinegar. Strain it if you feel unsure, put it in a clean bottle. It's not going any further "off" than it was when they made it. If you've had it around forever, it may have gotten a bit, I dunno--dusty? but I doubt it.
You can use it just fine. I buy vinegar maybe twice a year, because I usually use lemon juice instead. It doesn't go "rancid" even in our 120ºF summer heat.
This. I don't even refrigerate my vinegar--it's totally fine. That's supposed to happen.
http://bestsmileys.com/signs12/17.gif
If you toss it you'll be wasting a perfectly good bottle of vinegar. There is always "stuff" floating in the red wine vinegar I buy.
KMK must have hit the post button right before me
And anyway, "vinegar" comes from the French "vin aigre" = wine that has soured. When Pasteur developed his heating process he was trying to save wine from souring into vinegar. The idea of applying it to milk etc. came later.
Although what happens to the aroma when you heat wine, I hate to think.
Thanks so much guys!
I love vegweb! How else would I have figured this out? Hehe. Well I am going to go for it, then. Thats gonna save me some money! Yay!
That stuff floating in the red wine vinegar is called the "mother" I kid you not. It frequently happens especially in unrefined or organic vinegars. I like to keep mine in the fridge just in case but it is not necessary. I don't think the vinegars will last for eight years as mentioned above, but I think at least two.
Vinegar lasts like 98 years, I say.
I don't think the vinegars will last for eight years as mentioned above, but I think at least two.
98, though? ;D
there was an episode of good eats about pickling on today, and he said that once opened, vinegars start to lose their flavor after about six months.
there was an episode of good eats about pickling on today, and he said that once opened, vinegars start to lose their flavor after about six months.
What an odd thing to say. I don't know what they put in US-made vinegars, maybe if they are chemically enhanced or something, but real wine vinegar here in Spain certainly doesn't "lose its flavour." As I said, a litre of vinegar can last me for six to eight months and it's fine to the last drop, even in our extreme (over 100ºF) summer temps.
Um...vinegars and age? What about balsamic....the older the better....oh yeah that is in the keg or whatever...still I think it's fine I've never tossed a vinegar for age anyway.
Um...vinegars and age? What about balsamic....the older the better....oh yeah that is in the keg or whatever...still I think it's fine I've never tossed a vinegar for age anyway.
That does seem like an odd thing for Alton to say! I think I remember an episode where he talked about balsamic and aging...maybe he's getting senile. :hrmm:
Or he's being paid by a vinegar maker to say it so people will toss out half-bottles of the acetic acid and buy more. (What, you think it can't happen? ;D)