Facts about Vinegar
Known as “poor man’s wine” (posca) in ancient times, vinegar was often carried by Roman legionnaires; the Bible notes that Roman soldiers offered vinegar to Christ at the Crucifixion.
Wine vinegar tends to have less acidity than white or cider vinegars.
Vinegar is commonly used in food preparation, particularly in pickling processes, vinaigrettes, and other salad dressings.
High-quality wine vinegars are matured in wood for up to two years and exhibit a complex, mellow flavor.
Malt vinegar is made by malting barley, causing the starch in the grain to turn to maltose.
The first batches of vinegar produced by fermentation probably resulted from errors in the winemaking process.
Vinegar can be used as a herbicide, as shown by scientific trials reported by the United States Department of Agriculture in 2002 (Comis 2002).
Vinegar is a sour liquid produced from the fermentation of diluted alcohol products, which yields the organic compound acetic acid, its key ingredient.
Human creativity, in both advancing inner desire and external needs, has produced a wide variety of vinegars, with their own distinct colors and flavors.
White vinegar is used for culinary as well as cleaning purposes; it is a good choice for pickling because it will not alter the color of the vegetable being preserved.
Multiple trials indicate that taking vinegar with food increases satiety (the feeling of fullness), reducing the amount of food consumed (Ostman et al.
Using this method, vinegar of 15 percent acetic acid can be prepared in only 2–3 days.
The pH, salinity, and water levels of estuaries vary, depending on the river that feeds the estuary and the ocean from which it derives its salinity (oceans and seas have different salinity levels).
Vinegar has a density of approximately 0.96 grams per milliliter, depending on the acidity of the vinegar.
A crop of corn can be sprayed with vinegar at 20 percent strength without causing harm to the crop.
Most commercial white vinegars are five percent acetic acid solutions, and are made from grain (often maize) and water.
The flavor intensifies over decades, as the vinegar is kept in fine wooden casks, becoming sweet, viscous, and very concentrated.
Some of the more exotic fruit-flavored vinegars include blood orange and pear.
Each variety of vinegar has a distinctive color and flavor, depending on the material from which it was produced.
The trials showed that a number of common weeds could be effectively controlled using vinegar with five percent to 20 percent acetic acid (lower concentrations are less effective).
Rice vinegar is most popular in the cuisines of East and Southeast Asia.
Originally an artisanal product available only to the Italian upper classes, balsamic vinegar became widely known and available around the world in the late twentieth century.
Some older balsamic vinegar is added to the must to create a more complex and intricate taste, and to enhance acidity.
Popular fruit-flavored vinegars include those infused with whole raspberries, blueberries, or figs (flavorings derived from these fruits may also be used).
Herb vinegars are flavored with herbs, most commonly Mediterranean herbs such as thyme or oregano.
White vinegar, diluted with water, is often used as a natural household cleaning agent.
The commercial balsamic sold in supermarkets is typically made with red wine vinegar or concentrated grape juice mixed with a strong vinegar that has been laced with caramel and sugar.
Today, vinegar remains an important element in European, Asian, and other traditional cuisines of the world; it is often used in pickling and in the creation of marinades, dressings, and other sauces.
According to the Orleans process (named after a town in France where high-quality vinegar is still produced today), vinegar is made in 50-gallon barrels packed with an oxygenating substance, such as chips of wood.
A dilute alcohol solution inoculated with acetobacter and kept in a warm, airy place will become vinegar over the course of a few months.
The Japanese prefer a light and more delicate rice vinegar for the preparation of sushi rice and salad dressings.
White vinegar, which is actually transparent in appearance, is an example of a distilled vinegar.
Natural vinegars also contain smaller amounts of tartaric acid, citric acid, and other acids.
Acetic acid is not absorbed into root systems, so vinegar will kill top growth but perennial plants will reshoot.
High-quality vinegars, such as the balsamic vinegars prepared in Modena, Italy, continue to be produced via a slow process of fermentation, typically aging for years in wood barrels.
Wine vinegar, made from red or white wine, is the most commonly used vinegar in the cuisines of the Mediterranean countries and Central Europe.
Apple cider vinegar, otherwise known simply as cider vinegar, is made from cider or apple must, and is often sold unfiltered, with a brownish-yellow color.
Industrial vinegar-making methods accelerate this process by improving the supply of oxygen to the bacteria.
Various folk remedies and treatments have been ascribed to vinegar over millennia.
Balsamic vinegar is an aromatic vinegar manufactured from the concentrated must of white grapes (typically of the Trebbiano variety), which is then fermented via a slow aging process that concentrates the flavors.
Spiced vinegar, from the Philippines (labeled as spiced sukang maasim), is flavored with chili peppers, onions, and garlic.
Sweetened vinegar is made from rice wine, sugar and herbs including ginger, cloves, and other spices.
Crucially, vinegar must be derived from a sugar-containing source in a two-step process.
A crop of corn can be sprayed with vinegar at 20 percent strength without causing harm to the crop.
Vinegar can be made from any sugar-containing source that has been converted into alcohol.
An ale is then brewed from the maltose and allowed to turn into vinegar, which is then aged.
Rice vinegar is most popular in the cuisines of East and Southeast Asia.
Vinegar can be used as a herbicide, as shown by scientific trials reported by the United States Department of Agriculture in 2002 (Comis 2002).
Some older balsamic vinegar is added to the must to create a more complex and intricate taste, and to enhance acidity.
Given sufficient oxygen, acetobacter can produce vinegar from a variety of alcoholic foodstuffs.
Malt vinegar is made by malting barley, causing the starch in the grain to turn to maltose.
When it reaches the desired degree of acidity, the vinegar is transferred to an aging barrel and left to mature to a mellow smoothness.
Most vinegar today is made in submerged tank culture, first described in 1949 by Otto Hromatka and Heinrich Ebner.
The improved air supply in this process cut the time to prepare vinegar from months to weeks.
Can Drinking Vinegar Kill an Unborn Baby? ... Common vinegar, also known as acetic acid, is nontoxic and ultimately harmless during pregnancy. There are no known risks associated with drinking vinegar at any stage of pregnancy, and it may even offer health benefits to the expectant mother.Aug 16, 2013
Some popular health sources and practitioners of alternative medicine recommend consuming vinegar to help regulate blood sugar, among other purported benefits. However, the increased sensitivity of your body to ingested foods during pregnancy means that you may want to avoid drinking vinegar if you're pregnant.Jun 13, 2017
Eating while you're pregnant can be fraught with worry and fear, since certain foods are off-limits, and many more foods exist somewhere in the gray area between danger and complete safety. Rest assured that vinegar is safe to consume during pregnancy.Jan 17, 2014