In the past, we have successfully removed water and acetic acid from vinegar by using the Rotary Evaporator. We did it with Minus 8’s original vinegar, and we did it with our concord grape kombucha. When Minus 8 started making a concord vinegar, it became apparent that we should use the rotary evaporator to make another vinegar syrup. We started with 700 ml of Minus 8’s Concord 8 vinegar. We set our bath temperature at 30°C and the rotation at 130 rpm. The vinegar took about 3 hours to reduce to a syrup. We ended up with roughly equal parts aromatic acetic acid and concentrated concord grape syrup. The acetic acid was sharp and had the floral notes of foxy grapes. The Concentr8 was sweet, sour, floral, and smooth on the palate. It still retained a concord aroma and vinegar acidity. They were rounded and smooth, a harmonious flavor profile, as if it had been aged for years instead of cold reduced in hours.
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