Definition

1. Noun:
   • Mother of vinegar: A substance composed of cellulose and acetic acid bacteria (Acetobacter) that forms on the surface of fermenting alcoholic liquids (like wine, cider, or beer) and converts the alcohol into acetic acid (vinegar) through oxidation. It is the starter culture used to produce vinegar.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • "Để làm giấm, trước tiên bạn cần có một miếng cái giấm." (To make vinegar, you first need a piece of mother of vinegar.)
  • "Cái giấm trông giống như một lớp màng dày, nhầy nhụa nổi trên bề mặt." (The mother of vinegar looks like a thick, slimy film floating on the surface.)

Advanced Usage

• "nuôi cái giấm": to cultivate/feed the mother of vinegar.
  • "Bà tôi thường nuôi cái giấm trong một hũ rượu nho cũ." (My grandmother used to cultivate the mother of vinegar in an old jar of wine.)

Variants and Related Words

• Giấm (n): Vinegar. The end product created by the action of the .
• Con giấm: A less common, colloquial term sometimes used interchangeably with , literally "vinegar child," referring to the bacterial culture.
• Màng giấm: Literally "vinegar membrane/scoby," another descriptive term for .

Synonyms

• Mẹ giấm: A direct, synonymous translation meaning "vinegar mother."
• Scoby (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast): While is a broader term often used for kombucha, it is functionally similar and sometimes used in modern contexts for vinegar mothers.

Related Phrases

• Lên men giấm: To undergo acetification/vinegar fermentation.
  • "Quá trình lên men giấm cần có sự hiện diện của cái giấm và oxy." (The vinegar fermentation process requires the presence of mother of vinegar and oxygen.)

Related Idioms

(Note: There are no common idioms in Vietnamese that use the specific term "cái giấm." It is a technical term for a biological substance.)

1. Mother of vinegar