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Vinegar (from Old French vinaigre "sour wine") is
a sour liquid made from the oxidation of ethanol in wine, cider, beer, or the like. Vinegar is typically 3-5% by volume acetic acid, and natural vinegars also contain smaller amounts of tartaric acid, citric acid, and others.
Production
Vinegar may be started by the addition of mother of vinegar to
wine or cider. The oxidation is carried out by acetic acid
bacteria, as was shown in 1864 by Louis Pasteur.
Usage in cuisine
Vinegar is commonly used in food preparations, particularly in vinaigrettes, and in the pickling
process. It is also used as a condiment.
Malt vinegar
Malt vinegar is made by malting barley,
causing the starch in the grain to turn to sugar. An ale is then brewed from the
sugar and allowed to turn into vinegar, which is then aged. A cheaper alternative, called 'non-brewed condiment', is a solution
of 4-8% acetic acid coloured with caramel.
The British and Americans commonly use malt vinegar on fish and
chips.
White vinegar
White vinegar can be made by distilling malt vinegar, or may be nothing more than a solution of acetic acid in water.
Balsamic vinegar
Italian balsamic vinegar, made around Modena in Italy from white Trebbiano
grape juice, is used in salad dressings, ice cream, marinades and drinking. It
is aged for several years in wooden barrels to give it a dark color and sweet flavour.
Rice vinegar
The Japanese prefer a more delicate rice vinegar and use it for much the same purposes as Europeans.
Usage against viruses
Vinegar is a folk medicine used in China to prevent the spread of virus such as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and
other pneumonia outbreaks:
- "On February 13, 2003 news of a
type of atypical pneumonia that appeared in six cities of south China's Guangdong
province has been brought under control, with no cases reported since Monday. According to press conferences held by the
Guangdong and Guangzhou governments, local governments at various levels have
taken emergency measures to control the prices of isatis root, vinegar and other related anti-virus medicines, which saw soaring prices due to their effectiveness in curing this disease." Source
Unknown
Vinegar along with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is used in the livestock industry to kill bacteria and
viruses before refrigeration storage. A chemical mixture of peracetic acid is formed when acetic acid is
mixed with hydrogen peroxide. It is being used in some Asian countries by aerosol sprays for control of pneumonia.
Usually of a 5% acetic acid and a 3% hydrogen peroxide is commonly used.
See also
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