Home Vinegar Making

Why make vinegar at home? It’s cheap, delicious and adds nuances of flavors to food. It is made using a “mother” so you get all the probiotic health benefits. It's a wonderful way to utilize scraps from your kitchen that would either be thrown into the garbage or the compost.  And best of all... It’s easy!

In this class we will cover:
- A general overview of vinegar and vinegar-making
- Ingredients that can be used for making home-made vinegar
- Materials needed to make your own vinegar
- Step-by-step instruction and guidance on how to create your own home-made vinegar

After a guided demonstration and Q&A, each participant will take home the materials necessary to make a jar of vinegar including a vinegar “mother” along with basic vinegar recipes to continue creating vinegars at home. Following the in-person class, participants will receive a video link of the demonstration for your vinegar making at home. The instructor will be available to contact for troubleshooting for up to a week following the class. 

Please note, this class will be held in a semi-outdoor space due to COVID-19.  Please dress appropriately for the weather. The class will be held in the Horn Farm Corn Barn, which is an aerated space meant to infiltrate wind for drying corn. Seating and tables will be set up for 6 ft. social distancing and the barn doors will be left open. All participants are required to wear masks in the corn barn.

About the Instructor

Laura Bair has been creating fermented foods for a number of years.  Her culinary adventures include fermented vegetables, fermented fruit, vinegar, kombucha, kefir water/milk, vegan yogurt, and vegan “cheese.”  She uses fermented and “slow-cooked” foods to add nuances of flavor and taste to her meals, harness the benefits of probiotics to promote healthy gut nutrition, and as a means to preserve food in bulk.  She and her husband follow a whole-food plant based diet and reside on a 1-acre food forest/garden/orchard located between Hallam and Wrightsville.  Laura holds a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell and she is currently pursuing her Food Safety Manager certification.  Laura’s formal education is in Nursing and Education.