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Vinegar FAQs
Why are you called American Vinegar Works?
Our founder was a geography major in college (true story!) and is obsessed with place and products that reflect an authentic sense of place. The French call it terroir but we are not that fancy…
We are called American Vinegar Works because we only use quality American wines, ciders, beers, and sakes to make our vinegars. In this way, our vinegars build on the great work being done by the American craft alcohol community. Your local microbrewery was the inspiration for American Vinegar Works.
How is vinegar made?
Traditional vinegar is made by fermenting some type of alcohol—think beer, wine, cider, sake – into acetic acid. To make vinegar you need five key ingredients: alcohol, vinegar bacteria, oxygen, heat, and time.
Depending on the ABV (alcohol by volume) of the specific alcohol you may need to add water to dilute the alcohol. This is because when you get to a certain height in ABV the vinegar bacteria simply cannot operate and eat away at the alcohol to transform it into acetic acid or vinegar. This, by the way, is why your bottle of scotch will never turn into vinegar.
Over time and at the right temperature the vinegar bacteria will eat away at the wine or cider and turn into vinegar. Depending on the level of ABV, the environmental conditions, and the amount of vinegar you are trying to make this can take anywhere from two weeks to about six months simply to complete the fermentation. During this time you will see that a film, often thick, will form on top of the liquid. This is vinegar mother and is a byproduct of vinegar fermentation.
Better traditional vinegars are then aged for months to years after fermentation. This allows the vinegars to develop more nuanced flavor profiles and not just be acid bombs.
Reach out if you have any other questions on how vinegar is made.
Do you produce your own vinegar?
Absolutely. We ferment, age, and bottle all of our vinegar in our vinegar works in Massachusetts.
We know that even having to ask the question may strike some of you as crazy. But the modern food world can be a bit crazy. It is common practice for food companies to just be recipe and marketing companies. They come up with a recipe-- and sometimes not even a recipe—and then they go to larger centralized manufacturers called “co-packers” that actually make and bottle the products for them. As you can imagine this means foods are increasingly standardized and the “innovations” come in the form of marketing buzz and jazz hands instead of in the form of better foods.
As you might be able to tell this really bums us out both because it is misleading to consumers and because it leads to a bland standardization of our foods.
Mother always told us to “ Fight the vinegar industrial complex!” and we hope you will too.
Let customers speak for us
from 1092 reviewsI’ve heard the most death row inmates request steak for their final meal. But the way this vinegar mixed with my mayo and olive oil on a sliced turkey sandwich….I would kill for it or should I state I would die for it? I don’t know, either way it’s fricking great and worth the costs.
Just making some salad dressings and using on my steamed cabbage. Wonderful taste.
I’m not what you would call a connoisseur of vinegar but I do consume 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in 8 ounces of water every day.I have used Braggs for years but then the ownership changed,Quality and transparency became questionable and I started looking for a replacement.Stumbled upon this on social media.This apple cider vinegar is the best I’ve ever tasted.Braggs is not even in the same league.not even a comparison.I hope your company can stay afloat.Keep up,the good work.Perfection is an endless pursuit.I will be a repeat customer and try to lead others to the trough so to speak.OORAH
This was the first time trying this vinegar and I was not disappointed. I made a vinaigrette for salad and it was very good. I will definitely be ordering more!
So good. My mouth is watering just thinking about it in my cupboard at home
This stuff is worth the premium. So good in salads. I didn’t know wine vinegar could be so tasty
A simple sample set was enough to get me hooked. There will be more orders to come with time! Excellent quality and flavors! Well done!
Wonderful people to work with, my problem was solved within hours.
I have not sampled all of the vinegars yet in that I haven't been creating very many meals yet this year, however what I have used blends very well each time I have used them. I have not received any recipes from your company yet.
Delicious.
This product is the kind that once you try it the stuff on the shelf cannot compare. Worth every penny. I make all my own salad dressings and these are the best. Invest and enjoy
I bought a gift card for my son and daughter-in-law as one of their Christmas gifts. I specified the date I wanted it to arrive in their in box and it all went perfect. This is the first time ordering from American Vinegar Works and with no problems. I was so pleased with my purchase and the choices of flavors I went ahead and ordered some vinegars for myself!
As an exile of the UK and latterly of Newfoundland, I find myself wishing I had good fish and chips at my door just to use this vinegar. It's made for fish and chips.
I use sherry vinegar to lift ratatouille...a good splash in the aubergines and another good splash when plating. This stuff is superb. Some of the store bought are a little too sweet. This has a dry and nutty edge, I can splash with abandon and it doesn't add sweetness that mars the bright acid lift.
The bagels were fresh and delicous and i will order