Apple Cider Vinegar

• Hard apple cider with an alcohol content of 5 to 6 percent is ready for distillation.Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
  
  Production of apple cider vinegar is a four-stage process. First, apples are pressed to obtain juice. The juice is then allowed to sit for two weeks. During this time, the apple juice becomes cider through the action of naturally occurring bacteria called acetobacter. Fermentation occurs after the cider sits for an additional two weeks. At this point, the cider has an alcohol content of 5 to 6 percent and is ready for distillation. The cider must sit for an additional 4 to 8 weeks until the alcohol is converted into acetic acid, and the end product is apple cider vinegar.
  
  

Acetic Acid

• Acetic acid, which is plain vinegar, can be distilled from glucose from a variety of different sources. According to Nellie Byrd, her grandmother made vinegar from the rinsings of syrup and jelly jars. Ms. Byrd says that her grandmother rinsed empty syrup and jelly jars with a small amount of water and poured the rinsings together into a 1/2-gallon jar, which she filled half full. Mother of vinegar would form in the jar and the vinegar would be strained off.
  
  

Malt Vinegar

• Malt vinegar is a condiment that often accompanies fish and chips.Ryan McVay/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  The process of distilling malt vinegar begins with soaking grain. Many different types of grains are used in the creation of malt vinegar, but barley is the most commonly used grain. To make malt vinegar, grain is left to soak in water until it begins to sprout. Water-soaked grain is called mash. At this point, sugars develop and the mash is ready to be fermented and distilled. Casks are partially filled, which allows the air to circulate and the natural bacteria inside the cask ferments the mash into vinegar.
  
  

Balsamic Vinegar

• Casks made from different types of wood add their own particular flavor to balsamic vinegar.NA/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
  
  Production of balsamic vinegar began in Modena, Italy where grapes were cooked and fermented and turned into a rich, sweet and sour vinegar. Balsamic vinegar is aged in a manner similar to the aging of wine and it is processed in wooden casks, which lend a distinctive flavor to the vinegar. During distillation, balsamic vinegar is moved from one cask to another as the vinegar increases in acidity.