The History Vinegar

We know that vinegar has been around for over 10,000 years.

The vinegar man and founder of the Vinegar museum donated by www.delsjourney.com

There was no need to invent vinegar as it invents itself. Any liquid that has sugar in it automatically turns to vinegar when exposed to air.

The Babalonians used it to preserve foods and as a seasoning for their food. We have record of the Greek using it to preserve foods and Roman soldiers made a beverage used as they traveled.

Not much has changed with our use of vinegar, we still use it to preserve foods and season with.

The name comes from the simple compounding of 2 words by the French and probably not uttered pleasantly. When a cask of wine got a crack in it and became exposed to air they most likely uttered ......vin ..aiger ....which means ..sour wine.

Some of the greatest hits of vinegar lore are;

Hippocrates (referred to often as the father of medicine) extolled the healing properties of vinegar.

Cleopatra won a bet that she could consume a fortune in one meal.
She disolved some pearls in vinegar and drank them.

Hannibal used vinegar to make his way over the Alps in his conquest of Europe. He disolved huge bolders by heating the rocks then pouring hot vinegar over them. They crumbled and he could then get through with his army that rode on elephants.

Vinegar became so popular that for the most part it was commercially produced as early as 2000 BC.

The International Vinegar Museum is located in Roslyn, South Dakota

The International VInegar festival is also held in Roslyn, South Dakota

What is Vinegar?
Vinegar makes itself when aerobic bacteria come in contact with the alcohol in a liquid while exposed to oxygen. It then makes acetic acid, and this is the acid that you find in all vinegars.

By simply letting a wine, fresh uncooked apple cider or other fresh juices stay uncorked you will get a batch of vinegar in a week or so.

Not all aerobic bacteria produce good tasting vinegar. If you want to make great vinegar purchase ready made vinegar started called a “mother” or make one properly.

Why is vinegar so special?

Vinegar is a totally natural food. In a bottle of vinegar there are no harmful chemicals or preservatives, indeed vinegar is a preservative itself. There are so many ways that you can utilize its virtues. It is not just for vinaigrette dressing. There are many healing functions you can use it for. It cleans and sanitizes almost as well or better than anything on the market, it deodorizes and is a natural way to get rid of ants, other insects, and unwanted weeds. Vinegar through history has also been a good way to preserve foods. It is of course used in pickling but also when you marinate meat it kills unwanted bacteria such as ecoli.

How is vinegar used for medicinal purposes?

Vinegar is an acid with a low ph. So many germs and virus are killed with it.

Michael Mullen a spokesperson for he Heinz corporation says that straight 5% vinegar will kill 80% of the germs and virus. Heinz says they can’t make the claim on the bottle that it kills bacteria because of the EPA laws. If you do the research though you will find that the claims are sound.

Here are some other ailments that people use vinegar to help heal.

Relieve mild arthritis pain, cure a stomach ache, dissolving warts, relieving itching from mosquito or bug bites, soothing sunburn pains, relieving a sore throat, jelly fish stings, these are only a few, there are hundreds of applications used by many even in the health field.

Some remedy recipes are;

Cure an upset stomach,
Drink two teaspoons Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar in one cup water..

Cough Suppressant
Mixed with equal parts of honey it makes a good cough suppressant.

Dissolve warts.
Mix one part Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar to one part glycerin into a lotion and apply daily to warts until they dissolve.

 

It is said that vinegar is very versatile for cleaning and sanitizing.

Keeping a spray bottle of straight 5% distilled vinegar is useful to clean and disinfect many things.
You can sanitize your cutting board and spray hard to clean kitchen appliances that have many nooks and crannies that come in contact with bacteria. Also spray on door handles, and all the bathroom fixtures to disinfect.
Its odor dissipates fairly quickly.
Buying distilled vinegar in a gallon bottle is very economical.

Toothbrushes can be boiled for a minute in vinegar to kill germs.

You can also kill molds and fungus. Spraying feet helps prevent athletes’ foot.

Is it worth it to make your own vinegar?

It is becoming more and more popular to make your own vinegar.
Good home made vinegar when made properly has a much better and more complex flavors that the store bought.

It is also fun just to see the process of nature at work.

What are the different types of vinegar?

You can basically make vinegar from anything that has sugar in it.
First the sugars must change to alcohol. Then airborne bacteria turn the alcohol into acetic acid.

You can make vinegar from sugar water or molasses.

Distilled or white vinegar is made from grains.

Malt Vinegar is made from sprouted barley, like an unhopped beer solution and aged before being bottled.

Rice Wine Vinegar is generally milder than other vinegars.
It is made from rice wine.

Balsamic Vinegar is different in that it is made from grape juice that has been boiled down and concentrated rather than wine.

There are many other interesting types of vinegar that are made from fruits like raspberries, peaches and even bananas.

 

Links

Susan's Daily Tips

http://vinegarman.com/Museum1.shtml

The Vinegar Institute

Vinegar Tips