Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Directions to Make Vinegar From Sugar
Ingredients
Directions
Dissolve 1½ pounds of sugar in 1 gallon of soft water.
Add 2 pounds of molasses dregs for each gallon of water.
Reduce sour small beer with water as needed.
Combine 2 gallons of cider with ½ gallon of water.
Add 2 quarts of yeast to every barrel.
Keep the mixture lukewarm and let it sit in a warm place.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + cidertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together470 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + cidertop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,308 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Provides fermentable sugar that yeast converts into alcohol, which later becomes acetic acid.
- Molasses dregs
- Adds fermentable sugars and minerals that feed the yeast and give the vinegar its color and flavor.
- Cider
- Supplies alcohol and sugars that the acetic bacteria turn into vinegar's sharp acidity.
- Yeast
- Starts fermentation by converting sugars into alcohol before the vinegar-making stage.
The step that matters
Keep the mixture lukewarm. Yeast works best at moderate warmth. Too cold and fermentation stalls; too hot and the yeast can die or spoil the batch.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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