Keepwell Vinegar is Fermented, Reinvented

When you reach into your pantry, chances are, you’re grabbing a kitchen staple that likely isn’t locally-sourced or produced. It might not be especially flavorful either.

Sarah Conezio and Isaiah Billington of Keepwell Vinegar want to change that.

“Some of the ingredients we make may not get a lot of thought by people on a regular basis, even though you may use vinegar or soy sauce on a regular basis,” says Conezio. “But we are happy to think about it. By us sourcing the ingredients from farms locally, we can close the loop there and fill a void.”

Making a Splash

The couple, now living in Harrisburg, met while working in the Baltimore restaurant scene more than 10 years ago. Actually, their paths crossed when Billington—a pastry chef—hired Conezio.

“We were working in restaurants at a time when everybody was more and more aware of where their ingredients were coming from during the farm-to-table movement,” Billington explains. “So how do we extend that approach to pantry items?”

The idea the couple hit upon led to the founding of Keepwell Vinegar in 2015.

“We basically decided to create a set of products that just didn’t exist,” says Conezio.

They spent the next two years building up an inventory of products. That’s because their primary product, vinegar, takes time to ferment.

“I describe myself as a fermentation nerd,” Billington says. “Most of our vinegars take three months to a year, or year and a half, to age.”

Vinegar 101

So what exactly is vinegar?

“Any sugar can be fermented into alcohol,” says Billington. “Basically vinegar is acetic acid— alcohol that’s been fermented further.”

The “sugar” is supplied by a wide variety of fresh produce primarily grown in the Susquehanna Valley—heirloom tomatoes, chanterelles, grapes, apricots, sweet cherries, and even persimmons.

“I’m endlessly happily surprised when I’m trying to source something locally,” Conezio says.

“Apples are 100% the place to start, since Adams and York Counties are one of the greatest apple-growing regions in the entire world,” says Billington. “They’re a significant portion of the reason we are right here.”

Keepwell Vinegars are literally well-kept, fermenting, on a friend’s farm in the Dover, York County area. And one of Keepwell Vinegar’s primary partners is Three Springs Fruit Farm of Adams County.

“Their wholesale manager will reach out and let us know what apples are in their Ploughman Cider blends and whether that’s a good one to jump on for our apple cider vinegar,” says Billington.

Much like restaurants base their menus upon readily-available in-season produce, Keepwell Vinegar continues creating and fermenting vinegars that bottle locally-harvested flavors. At any given time, they offer more than two dozen vinegar varieties. Additionally, they offer two vinegar-based sauces, Worcestershire and Black Walnut Bay Sauce.

Prior to the pandemic, Keepwell Vinegars supplied numerous top-tier Mid-Atlantic restaurants. While that business subsided and is now rebuilding, more people began cooking at home—and discovering Keepwell Vinegar.

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Well Beyond Vinaigrette

“It’s an exciting new ingredient for a lot of people, to help them elevate their cooking,” Conezio says.

Given the couple’s seasoned culinary backgrounds, they enjoy developing and featuring tantalizing recipes on their website and social media accounts to give their products “context” and “show people how to cook with them,” Billington adds.

Want to learn how to make Chimichurri? There’s a Keepwell Ramp Vinegar for that. How about an Alabama White Sauce for barbequing? Keepwell Sorhum Molasses Vinegar is the key. What about spicing up your grilled cheese with a little Turmeric Mustard Chutney? Keepwell Turmeric Vinegar to the rescue. Or, choose from a variety of vinegar-based cocktail, pasta or pastry recipes.

Black Garlic and Bitter Lemon are two of Keepwell’s most unique, best-selling vinegars. And while it’s hard for the couple to choose an ultimate favorite, it just might be Apple Cider Vinegar, made from Three Springs’ Fruit Farm’s York Imperial apples.

“After about 12 months of barrel-aging, that apple cider yields a really deep and mature vinegar with a subtle but so important honey sweetness and aroma,” Billington describes. “I might be biased, but it makes it almost drinkable.”