growth in vinegar ... what is it?

A batch of red wine vinegar, made in 2002, was recently discovered to
have large, tube-like growths inside ... the largest probably about
1.5" diameter, and nearly the length of the bottle.

Any idea what this could be?

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

A batch of red wine vinegar, made in 2002, was recently discovered to
have large, tube-like growths inside ... the largest probably about
1.5" diameter, and nearly the length of the bottle.

Any idea what this could be?

It's called Vinegar Mother and is a harmless fungal growth.
It can be used to make more vinegar from wine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar_mother

Cheers!
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

A batch of red wine vinegar, made in 2002, was recently discovered to
have large, tube-like growths inside ... the largest probably about
1.5" diameter, and nearly the length of the bottle.

Any idea what this could be?

It's called Vinegar Mother and is a harmless fungal growth.
It can be used to make more vinegar from wine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar_mother

I wish my vinegar would do that! I's love to be able to throw
leftover wine into a bottle and have home made vinegar down the road.
--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.

It doesn't look like any of the pictures of mother that I've seen ...
these are several segments of tubes, each about 1.5" in diameter ...
but yes, they do seem to be flexible.

In article <[email hidden]>,

sf said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

A batch of red wine vinegar, made in 2002, was recently discovered to
have large, tube-like growths inside ... the largest probably about
1.5" diameter, and nearly the length of the bottle.

Any idea what this could be?

It's called Vinegar Mother and is a harmless fungal growth.
It can be used to make more vinegar from wine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar_mother

I wish my vinegar would do that! I's love to be able to throw
leftover wine into a bottle and have home made vinegar down the road.

We have ongoing cultures of Kombucha symbiont...
Brewed over sufficient time (2 weeks ore more), it makes vinegar.

Want some? It's a similar organism but symbiotic. It's a mix of bacteria
and fungus.

I know it makes a seriously good vinegar if you want to play with it. ;-)

I can't help but wonder if Kombucha and Mother are related.
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

It doesn't look like any of the pictures of mother that I've seen ...
these are several segments of tubes, each about 1.5" in diameter ...
but yes, they do seem to be flexible.

What has it done to the flavor/odor of the product?
If you can look at it under a microscope, you can tell for sure if it's
a fungus.

Do you have a digital camera?
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I wish my vinegar would do that! I's love to be able to throw
leftover wine into a bottle and have home made vinegar down the road.

We have ongoing cultures of Kombucha symbiont...
Brewed over sufficient time (2 weeks ore more), it makes vinegar.

Want some? It's a similar organism but symbiotic. It's a mix of bacteria
and fungus.

I know it makes a seriously good vinegar if you want to play with it. ;-)

I can't help but wonder if Kombucha and Mother are related.

Yes, thanks! I would imagine a little goes a long way... so it
shouldn't cost more than a regular postage stamp for shipping.
--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.

Quoted message said:

A batch of red wine vinegar, made in 2002, was recently discovered to
have large, tube-like growths inside ... the largest probably about
1.5" diameter, and nearly the length of the bottle.

Any idea what this could be?

It's a self pickling sea anemone. Very prized in Japan. You
could probably sell it on eBay for a couple hundred if it's the
size you describe.

-sw

In article <[email hidden]>,

sf said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

Quoted message said:

>
I wish my vinegar would do that! I's love to be able to throw
leftover wine into a bottle and have home made vinegar down the road.

We have ongoing cultures of Kombucha symbiont...
Brewed over sufficient time (2 weeks ore more), it makes vinegar.

Want some? It's a similar organism but symbiotic. It's a mix of bacteria
and fungus.

I know it makes a seriously good vinegar if you want to play with it. ;-)

I can't help but wonder if Kombucha and Mother are related.

Yes, thanks! I would imagine a little goes a long way... so it
shouldn't cost more than a regular postage stamp for shipping.

I'm not worried about the cost... and you know as well as I that a
smidgin of culture can make jars and jars. ;-)

Let me see if you are still in my computer roladex:

Your st, address number still 71????

E-mail me a reminder and I'll put you in my weekly shipping file.

I'm not kidding, dad has several gallon jars of cultures. It's an
obsession with him. <G>

I reserved 1/2 of our pantry space for his Kombucha setup when mom died
and he moved back in with me. :-)
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

In article <[email hidden]>,

Steve Wertz said:

Quoted message said:

A batch of red wine vinegar, made in 2002, was recently discovered to
have large, tube-like growths inside ... the largest probably about
1.5" diameter, and nearly the length of the bottle.

Any idea what this could be?

It's a self pickling sea anemone. Very prized in Japan. You
could probably sell it on eBay for a couple hundred if it's the
size you describe.

-sw

<giggles>

You are such a beast........

We must get together for lunch sometime, just for grins.
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

Forsch Komplementarmed Klass Naturheilkd.
2003 Apr;10(2):85-7.
Kombucha: a systematic review of the clinical evidence.
Ernst E.
Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School,
Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, UK.

AIM: Kombucha has become a popular complementary remedy.
The aim of this systematic review was to critically
evaluate the evidence related to its efficacy and safety.

METHODS: Computerised literature searches were carried
out to locate all human medical investigations of
kombucha regardless of study design. Data were extracted
and validated by the present author and are reported
in narrative form.

RESULTS: No clinical studies were found relating to the
efficacy of this remedy. Several case reports and case
series raise doubts about the safety of kombucha. They
include suspected liver damage, metabolic acidosis and
cutaneous anthrax infections. One fatality is on record.

CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of these data it was concluded
that the largely undetermined benefits do not outweigh
the documented risks of kombucha. It can therefore not
be recommended for therapeutic use.

J Gen Intern Med. 1997 Oct;12(10):643-4.
Probable gastrointestinal toxicity of Kombucha tea:
is this beverage healthy or harmful?
Srinivasan R, Smolinske S, Greenbaum D.
Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and Veterans Affairs,
Amarillo 79106-1797, USA.

Kombucha tea is a health beverage made by incubating
the Kombucha "mushroom" in tea and sugar. Although
therapeutic benefits have been attributed to the drink,
neither its beneficial effects nor adverse side effects
have been reported widely in the scientific literature.
Side effects probably related to consumption of
Kombucha tea are reported in four patients. Two
presented with symptoms of allergic reaction, the third
with jaundice, and the fourth with nausea, vomiting,
and head and neck pain. In all four, use of Kombucha
tea in proximity to onset of symptoms and symptom
resolution on cessation of tea drinking suggest a
probable etiologic association.

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

Let me see if you are still in my computer roladex:

Your st, address number still 71????

E-mail me a reminder and I'll put you in my weekly shipping file.

I'm not kidding, dad has several gallon jars of cultures. It's an
obsession with him. <G>

Okey dokey! Thanks
--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.

Quoted message said:

Any idea what this could be?

sell it on ebay

In article <[email hidden]>,

sf said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

Let me see if you are still in my computer roladex:

Your st, address number still 71????

E-mail me a reminder and I'll put you in my weekly shipping file.

I'm not kidding, dad has several gallon jars of cultures. It's an
obsession with him. <G>

Okey dokey! Thanks

Stored in the ebay file... :-)

Despite negative posts to the contrary, dad's been drinking his brew for
over 10 years and I think it really helps his immune system. He ferments
a variety of herbals along with the green tea and sugar.

I don't like to drink it simply because I don't like drinking things
that taste like vinegar as a beverage. ;-) I do keep some of the
stronger Kombu' vinegar on the stove for cooking tho'. I want to try
filtering some really well and making an herbal vinegar with it.
Dill/basil vinegar is excellent on fish.

Try to handle it in a sanitary manner. Kombu' that gets contaminated
turns odd colors and falls apart. A healthy culture has the texture of
rubber and a deep tan-ish color.
--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

We must get together for lunch sometime, just for grins.

Just grins?

I don't think dad likes me much since I was partly responsible for
scaring him away from Usenet a few ago. But drop me a line when
you're in town next.

-sw

In article <[email hidden]>,

Steve Wertz said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

We must get together for lunch sometime, just for grins.

Just grins?

I don't think dad likes me much since I was partly responsible for
scaring him away from Usenet a few ago.

He _needed_ to get scared away from usenet...
He does not have the personality to handle it, and being a persistant
net-kook that will not listen to anybody.... <sigh>

I love him but I have to bite my tongue a lot. ;-)

Quoted message said:

But drop me a line when
you're in town next.

I will. I have your e-mail.
Maybe we can go dutch at Kim Phungs or something.

Quoted message said:

-sw

--
Peace, Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

A batch of red wine vinegar, made in 2002, was recently discovered to
have large, tube-like growths inside ... the largest probably about
1.5" diameter, and nearly the length of the bottle.

Any idea what this could be?

I don't know, but there is a jar of formaldehyde containing Elvis Presley's
penis missing from the mantlepiece at Graceland. Are you a fan?
Lefty

Life is for learning
The worst I ever had was wonderful

Quoted message said: