Vinegar is easy to make and useful. To make vinegar you will need a SCOBY (symbiotic community of bacteria and yeasts), also known as a vinegar mother. As strange as it sounds to feed your mother wine dregs and as funny as it looks – they are truly remarkable things.

They form naturally from the air but most people get their vinegar mothers from a friend. If you don’t know anyone with a SCOBY there are community and Facebook groups that are happy to share their cultures. Otherwise, you can make yours from scratch. I recommend the book ‘Ferment’ by Holly Davis. It is a fascinating book and features excellent step by step instructions for “capturing” your bacteria, yeast and fungi that occur wild and free.

Cider vinegar is known to have beneficial health effects, is good for the digestion and can be used as a hair rinse. This is always the first of my stash to disappear as my kids use it as a cure-all.

Wine vinegars are a staple of French and Italian cooking, and once you have a good mother, you can keep her fed for ever. You could try sherry vinegar (if you like sherry), or champagne vinegar (if you ever have left over bubbles).