Editing Mother of vinegar

{{Short description|Biofilm formed on fermenting alcoholic liquids}}
[[Image:Mother_of_vinegar.png|thumb|Mother of vinegar in a bottle]]
'''Mother of vinegar''' is a [[biofilm]] composed of a form of [[cellulose]], [[Yeast in winemaking|yeast]], and [[bacteria]] that sometimes develops on [[fermentation (food)|fermenting]] [[ethanol|alcohol]]ic liquids during the process that turns alcohol into [[acetic acid]] with the help of [[oxygen]] from the air and [[acetic acid bacteria]] (AAB). It is similar to the symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast ([[SCOBY]]) mostly known from production of [[kombucha]], but develops to a much lesser extent due to lesser availability of [[yeast]], which is often no longer present in wine/cider at this stage, and a different population of bacteria. Mother of vinegar is often added to [[wine]], [[cider]], or other alcoholic liquids to produce [[vinegar]] at home, although only the bacteria is required,<ref>{{cite book   | title = A Practical Treatise on the Manufacture of Vinegar and Acetates, Cider, and Fruit-wines | author= William Theodore Brannt |publisher = H.C. Baird & Company | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=oDBDAAAAIAAJ&q=mother+of+vinegar&pg=PA35 | date = 1889  | pages =  34–38 | access-date = 19 May 2016}}</ref> but historically has also been used in large scale production.

== Discovery ==
[[Herman Boerhaave|Hermann Boerhaave]] was one of the first scientists to study vinegar. In the early 1700s, he showed the importance of the mother of vinegar in the acetification process, and how having an increased oxidation surface allowed for better vinegar production. He called the mother a "vegetal substance" or "flower."<ref name=":1" />

In 1822, South African botanist, [[Christiaan Hendrik Persoon|Christian Hendrik Persoon]] named the mother of vinegar ''Mycoderma,'' which he believed was a fungus''.'' He attributed the vinegar production to the ''Mycoderma'', since it formed on the surface of wine when it has been left open to air.<ref name=":1" />

In 1861, [[Louis Pasteur]] made the conclusion that vinegar is made by a "plant" that belonged to the group ''Mycoderma,'' and not made purely by chemical oxidation of ethanol. He named the plant ''Mycoderma aceti.'' <ref name=":1" /> '''''Mycoderma aceti''''', is a [[Neo-Latin]] expression, from the Greek μύκης ("fungus") plus δέρμα ("skin"), and the Latin {{Lang|la|aceti}} ("of the acid").<ref>Fuchs, G. [Ed.] (2006) Allgemeine Mikrobiologie. 8. ed., Thieme press, Stuttgart</ref>

[[Martinus Beijerinck|Martinus Willem Beijerinck]], who was a founder of modern microbiology, identified acetic acid bacteria in the mother of vinegar. He named the bacteria ''[[Acetobacter aceti]]'' in 1898.<ref name=":1" /> In 1935, Toshinobu Asai, a Japanese microbiologist, discovered a new genus of bacteria in the mother of vinegar, ''[[Gluconobacter]]''. After this discovery, 12 genera and 59 species of bacteria were found to compose the AAB found in mother of vinegar.<ref name=":1" />

== Description ==
[[File:Vinegar.mother.jpg|thumb|Slab of mother of vinegar taken from a fermentation tank]]
Mother of Vinegar forms a grayish veil which can be fine or more solid depending on the conditions. The veil forms in conditions that include nutrients like proteins that are found in wine, limited acidity, and ideal concentrations of alcohol.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=This |first=Herve |title=Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2010 |isbn=9780231141710 |pages=190–191 |language=}}</ref>

=== Bacteria ===
The veil is nontoxic and is composed of cellulose and AAB. The raw materials and other manufacturing features determine what genus the bacteria that composes the AAB is from. [[Polymerase chain reaction|PCR]] fingerprinting revealed that ''[[Acetobacter]]'' genus was the most abundant in mother of vinegar resulting from apples, while ''[[Komagataeibacter]]'' genus was most dominant in mother of vinegar resulting from grapes. Mother of vinegar from apples had ''A. okinawenis'' as the most abundant species of bacteria. Grape vinegar and the mother had ''K.&nbsp;europaeus'' as the most dominant bacterial species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yetiman |first=Ahmet E. |last2=Kesmen |first2=Zülal |date=2015 |title=Identification of acetic acid bacteria in traditionally produced vinegar and mother of vinegar by using different molecular techniques |url=https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S016816051500152X?token=5787FA320911BECC6CB784692F25A24745E293FFDC5CCCC8CA637F5C093AF4A5E0EBA2388FA9A134C01B1AFD7918183F&originRegion=us-east-1&originCreation=20230424162359 |journal=International Journal of Food Microbiology |volume=204 |pages=9–16 |via=Elsevier Science Direct}}</ref>
[[File:Mère-de-vinaigre.jpg|thumb|Mother of vinegar that is composed of ''Acetobacter'']]
There are also many other bacterial genera that are in mother of vinegar. [https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/denaturing-gradient-gel-electrophoresis#:~:text=Denaturing%20gradient%20gel%20electrophoresis%20(DGGE,in%20a%20segment%20of%20DNA. Polymerase Chain Reaction Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis] (PCR-DGGE) was used to detect the bacterial components and genera in vinegar. These groups include: ''Acetobacter, [[Acidomonas]], Ameyamaea, [[Asaia]], [[Gluconacetobacter]], [[Gluconobacter]], [[Granulibacter]], Komagataeibacter, [[Kozakia]], Neoasaia, [[Saccharibacter]], Swaminathania, and Tanticharoenia.'' These bacteria are normally [[Gram-negative bacteria|gram-negative]] or [[Gram variable|gram-variable]] and have [[Polar bond|polar]] [[Flagellum|flagella]]. They also need an [[Aerobic organism|aerobic]] environment to grow and prefer an environment with a [[pH]] of 5–6.5 but can survive in pH of 3–4. They are non-[[spore]] forming bacteria. These bacteria are difficult to find in spontaneous fermentation. This is because they are in competition with other microbial groups during the time the mother of vinegar is in the viable but not culturable ([[VBNC]]) state.  The genera, ''Gluconacetobacter'' and ''Komagataeibacter'' produce high levels of bacterial cellulose, which is what mother of vinegar is composed of.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Milanovic |first=Vesna |last2=Osimani |first2=Andrea |last3=Garofalo |first3=Cristiana |last4=De Filippis |first4=Francesca |last5=Ercolini |first5=Danilo |last6=Cardinali |first6=Federica |last7=Taccari |first7=Manuela |last8=Aquilanti |first8=Lucia |last9=Clementi |first9=Francesca |date=2018 |title=Profiling white wine seed vinegar bacterial diversity through viable counting, metagenomic sequencing and PCR-DGGE |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168160518303908 |journal=International Journal of Food Microbiology |volume=286 |pages=66–74 |via=Elsevier Science Direct}}</ref>
[[File:Mycoderma aceti in vinegar. Wellcome M0008824.jpg|thumb|Bacterial culture of mother of vinegar]]
The amount of ''Gluconacetobacter'' and ''Acetobacter'' in the mother of vinegar is associated with the concentration of acetic acid in the vinegar. Vinegars with a concentration of acetic acid greater than 6% contained more ''Gluconacetobacter'', while those with a concentration of less than 6% typically see ''Acetobacter'' present. However, on an industrial scale, ''Acetobacter'' was seen in acetic acid concentrations of 11.5–12%.<ref name=":2" />

[[Lactic acid bacteria]] are also present in mother of vinegar to aid in the breakdown of [[carbohydrate]]s in the alcohol fermentation process. Lactic acid bacteria create [[lactic acid]], which results in a pH decrease in the final vinegar product. In Shanxi aged vinegar, there were seven species of three different bacterial genera present in its mother of vinegar. These species include, ''[[Limosilactobacillus fermentum]]'' (formerly ''Lactobacillus fermentum''), ''Weissella  confusa'', ''[[Lentilactobacillus buchneri]]'' (aka ''Lactobacillus buchneri''), ''[[Lactiplantibacillus plantarum]]'' (aka ''Lactobacillus plantarum''), ''[[Lacticaseibacillus casei]]'' (formerly ''Lactobacillus casei''), ''[[Pediococcus acidilactici]]'', and ''P. pentosaceus.'' These bacteria are all [[Gram-positive bacteria|gram-positive]], long [[Bacillus (shape)|rod-shaped]], or elliptical shaped. There were very few [[Coccus|cocci]] shaped bacteria present.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |date=2012-05-01 |title=Biodiversity of yeasts, lactic acid bacteria and acetic acid bacteria in the fermentation of "Shanxi aged vinegar", a traditional Chinese vinegar |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S074000201100195X |journal=Food Microbiology |language=en |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=289–297 |doi=10.1016/j.fm.2011.08.010 |issn=0740-0020}}</ref>

=== Yeast ===
Mother of vinegar is also composed of yeasts that ferment the sugars in the wine, cider, or other alcoholic liquids into ethanol. In the making of [[Shanxi mature vinegar]], the ''[[Daqu]]'' alcoholic [[fermentation starter]] mainly includes ''S.&nbsp;cerevisae'', ''[[Wickerhamomyces anomalus|P.&nbsp;anomala]]'', and ''Candida'' [[spp.|spp]].<!-- Original text is C. berkhout spp, which makes no sense, as Berkhout is the person who named Candida.--> As fermentation proceeds, ''[[Saccharomyces cerevisiae|S. cerevisae]]'' quickly becomes dominant for its tolerance to ethanol. Hence the acetic acid fermentation starts with relative few species of yeasts, mainly ''S. cerevisae''. (The actual mother of vinegar used in the making of Shanxi mature vinegar, ''Pei'', is not analyzed in this study.)<ref name=":3" />

== Applications ==
Mother of vinegar is used as an aid in the production of vinegar. There are some drawbacks. If the mother of vinegar does not penetrate the mass of the vinegar, then it disrupts the vinegar making process. This is because the mycoderms consume the oxygen in the wine, breaking it down. Having a thick layer of mother of vinegar can also destroy the odorant compounds in vinegar. A way to avoid these side effects is to only use the surface veil of mother of vinegar.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Vinegar with the mother.jpg|thumb|Store-bought vinegar with mother of vinegar at the bottom]]
Vinegar can be made on a mass scale. A system that utilizes mother of vinegar is called Orleans or French. It was named this since many wines were sold to vinegar brewers at [[Orléans|Orleans]], which is a port on the [[Loire]], in France. The system grows mother of vinegar on a big surface. The mother is fed with organic liquids that are rich in [[phosphate]]s and [[nitrogen]]. The mother is then placed on top of the wine in big shallow vats. The vat is then covered with another vat or just a cover. The mother acetifies the wine into vinegar.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Bourgeois |first=Jacques |last2=Barja |first2=François |date=2009 |title=The history of vinegar and of its acetification systems |url=http://www.unige.ch/sphn/Publications/ArchivesSciences/AdS%202004-2015/AdS%202009%20Vol%2062%20Fasc%202/147-160_05_Bourgeois_62_2.pdf |journal=Archives des Sciences |volume=62 |pages=147–160}}</ref>

Mother of vinegar is also used in the traditional production of [[balsamic vinegar]]. Balsamic vinegar is created by cooking down [[grape juice]] to create a concentrate. The concentrate is poured into a [[Carboy|demijohn]] and is left to sit throughout the winter. In the spring, the concentrate is transferred to a wooden barrel. By summer, mother of vinegar is used to start the vinegar fermentation. The concentrate and mother are then separated into different barrels of varying wood types. The vinegar is created over the course of 13 years.<ref name=":1" />

Mother of vinegar can also form in store-bought vinegar if there is some residual sugar, leftover yeast and bacteria and/or alcohol contained in the vinegar. This is more common in [[pasteurization|unpasteurized]] vinegar, since the pasteurization might not stabilize the process completely. While not necessarily appetizing in appearance, mother of vinegar is completely harmless and the surrounding vinegar does not have to be discarded because of it. It can be filtered out using a coffee filter, used to start a bottle of vinegar, or simply ignored.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mother of vinegar fact sheet |url=https://inspection.canada.ca/food-safety-for-consumers/fact-sheets/specific-products-and-risks/commonly-occurring-issues-in-food/mother-of-vinegar/eng/1593531803164/1593531803773 |access-date=13 Nov 2021 |publisher=Canadian food inspection agency}}</ref>

== Mother of kombucha ==
[[File:Kombucha culture.jpg|thumb|Kombucha mother]]
[[File:Essigmutter von apfelessig.jpg|thumb|Mother of vinegar taken from apple cider vinegar]]
Mother of vinegar and mother of kombucha share many similarities, but they are different. Kombucha mother is created from the fermentation of [[tea]], while mother of vinegar is created from the fermentation of wine, cider, or other alcoholic beverages. The fermentation process of tea creates [[SCOBY]]. The SCOBY creates a [[bacterial cellulose]] film, like that seen in mother of vinegar. The bacteria also oxidizes the alcohol to create acetic acid. The main bacterial genus involved in the mother of kombucha is ''Acetobacter'', which is also a main genus in mother of vinegar. Kombucha mother also has the bacteria genus ''Gluconobacter'', which is found in some vinegar types.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Coelho |first=Raquel Macedo Dantas |last2=Almeida |first2=Aryelle Leite de |last3=Amaral |first3=Rafael Queiroz Gurgel do |last4=Mota |first4=Robson Nascimento da |last5=Sousa |first5=Paulo Henrique M. de |date=2020-12-01 |title=Kombucha: Review |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878450X20301499 |journal=International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science |language=en |volume=22 |pages=100272 |doi=10.1016/j.ijgfs.2020.100272 |issn=1878-450X}}</ref> Both vinegar and kombucha mothers contain yeast, which ferments sugars to [[ethanol]]. After the fermentation process, the AAB oxidizes the ethanol into acetic acid.

The main difference between mother of vinegar and mother of kombucha is the acetic acid tolerance. Vinegar has a higher acetic acid concentration than kombucha, therefore the species in mother of vinegar needs to tolerate higher levels of acetic acid.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gomes |first=Rodrigo José 1 |last2=Borges |first2=Maria de Fatima 2 |last3=Rosa |first3=Morsyleide de Freitas 2 |last4=Castro-Gómez |first4=Raúl Jorge Hernan 1 |last5=Spinosa |first5=Wilma Aparecida 1 1 Department of Food Science |last6=Technology |first6=State University of Londrina |date=2018 |title=Acetic Acid Bacteria in the Food Industry: Systematics, Characteristics and Applications |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2112558130?forcedol=true&parentSessionId=TQaUkK4CZPrOhYLLI2SZd3jgLO1/jnGF2AOgRK5UMBc=&pq-origsite=summon&forcedol=true |language=English |pages=139–151 |doi=10.17113/ftb.56.02.18.5593|pmc=6117990 }}</ref> Due to the differences in the compositions of the mothers, mother of vinegar cannot be used to produce kombucha due to it not being derived from tea and its bacteria having different characteristics.

==See also==
{{commons category}}
* ''[[Acetobacter]]''
* [[Fulvic acid]]
* [[SCOBY]]
* ''[[Turbatrix aceti]]'' - vinegar eels
* [[Kombucha]]
* [[Bacterial cellulose]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Vinegar}}

{{portal bar|Food}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mother Of Vinegar}}
[[Category:Food science]]
[[Category:Vinegar]]