Mother of vinegar

Mother of vinegar is the slimy, gummy, jelly-like substance or layer of film that can mother of vinegar on the top of or in the liquid of apple cider vinegar. It can sometimes make the vinegar look cloudy.

Sometimes, it’s wispy and looks a lot like a little spider web. The mother is actually a cellulose substance made up of various Acetobacter, a very acidic strain of bacteria. The Acetobacter combine with the oxygen in warm air to cause fermentation in apple cider, wine, or other alcoholic liquids to produce vinegar. It is the mother that gives the vinegar its characteristic sourness. Some people use mother of vinegar externally to prevent dandruff or itchy scalp.