No. 3558 — Ordinary Vinegar for Pickling Salads
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 3558 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
For a barrel mix 7 garnetz spring water and 1 garnetz vodka. Coat an ordinary sheet of paper with 1 pound fresh unmelted honey containing its wax, roll into a tube and place in the barrel.
Prepare three such barrels. In a warm, dry summer place them in sun, or in winter in a warm room away from direct stove heat. Do not bung; cover with linen and leave untouched for about three months.
The author reports a folk belief that only one person, specifically a man, should tend the vinegar and that it should be started on a Friday at new moon.
When ready, a barrel is drawn from on a Friday at new moon before eating, without disturbing its 'nest' or mother. For every amount drawn off, add an equivalent amount of water and vodka in the original 7:1 proportion, but do not top up with vinegar.
Draw from the second barrel the following month and the third one after that, returning cyclically to the first so each rests three months.
A little honey may be added during replenishment, but the paper is added only once when first prepared.
If the vinegar mother does not develop, the historical text suggests puncturing both ends of a fresh chicken egg and lowering it carefully into the vinegar without spilling its white. It claims that a mother will grow around it within two or three weeks.