It's the Mother!!

There comes a time in every woman's life where she has to try to make her own vinegar, right? No? Well, I've been itching to try it, anyway. Actually, my first attempt, completely untutored, ended in weird fuzzy stuff growing on leftover wine. Pretty sure that was a fail. But this time, I have instructions from a book, so it'll have to work! (because if you read it in a book, it must be true) 

As instructed, I put fresh, organic strawberries in a jar, poured in half a bottle of leftover wine...

 ... then placed a handkerchief over the top (discovered I was out of cheesecloth) and put it in its new home in a cupboard over the oven.

In theory, in a couple of months there should be a slimy, gelatinous thing called a "mother of vinegar" in there amongst the strawberries, along with some fresh red wine vinegar. Then I'm supposed to put half of the mother into another, larger, container and "feed" it some wine which it will turn into vinegar. The other half goes back in the jar with some more wine to get busy making more of itself. If I remember to do that occasionally I should have better than average red wine vinegar for the rest of my life. Michael is skeptical. All of that effort for what? Vinegar? To make salad dressing? Really?

I see his point. But how could I resist growing something called a "mother of vinegar?!"  Lookout everybody, it's the Mother (of Vinegar)!