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Ok all you vinegar enthusiasts, you have convinced me to actually try making my own.  For those of you who have made your own, did you start with a mother of vinegar?  If so, where did you get it?  The experts all seem to have different timelines. I have read timelines of anywhere from two weeks to two months, without mention of adding a mother. I have read that if I want vinegar in less than 6 months, I need to add a mother.  I have read that adding a mother will make the fermentation go too fast and spoil it.   I have also read of adding live vinegar for the mother and keeping and raising your own mother. Amazon has a company that sells various jars of mother for different types of vinegar.  I am so confused.

Does anyone have a recommendation?

Thanks,
Zephy

Hopefully others who are more experienced in vinegar making chimes in.  I have attempted to make red wine vinegar using Bragg's apple cider vinegar with mother several years ago.  For my taste, it was very strong in acid and I did not care for it. But, I really did not understand how much further water could be added to dilute the acid without compromising safety.  Like you, I am going to attempt making red wine vinegar again using one of the recipes from books I own now.

I do however make different infused vinegars using either apple cider or rice vinegar as base.  Also love making infused soy sauce such as those infused with shiitake, garlic, green ume apricots from my yard, citrus peel, kombu, pickled umeboshi, etc. 

Although it is referred to as ume vinegar, not sure if it qualifies as real vinegar.  I make umeboshi pickles annually and must first keep ume with salt and sugar brine for a week before they are dried outdoors for 3-4 days.  The liquid brine left is called ume vinegar in Japan and it is used for flavoring and it does have sour taste with amazing aroma that keeps lifetime like umeboshi and miso.

Is Sherry vinegar worth it?

Have seen a number of recipes calling for it but have been unable to find it anywhere obvious. Then this morning noticed my local Waitrose (in the UK) is selling a 250ml/8.8oz bottle by Belazu for £5.65/$8 

I really like sherry and champagne vinegars and do use those more than white wine vinegar. If you see persimmon vinegar and like apple cider vinegar, I recommend getting it.   

I have another vinegar question: what should one use when a recipe calls for vinegar, just vinegar? Apple cider? White? Red wine? White wine? Anything else?

This is a problem in both old and new recipes.

Hi Bittrette,

I think you can choose what you like.  White vinegar has no flavor, so if you want acid without adding anything else, it is a good choice.  White vinegar is also colorless, if adding color to what you are doing matters.  From what I have read, white vinegar is used in pickling precisely because it doesn't add color.  Black and balsamic add sweetness, malt tastes slightly sharper to me (sorry, I don't have a better word).  I've also been enlarging my vinegar collection, and try to taste and choose in the moment.  My old go-to was always red wine vinegar, since my son actively dislikes the taste of apple cider vinegar. 

Zephy