Vinegar: Encyclopedia - Vinegar

Vinegar

Vinegar (from Old French vinaigre, meaning "sour wine") is a sour-tasting liquid made from the oxidation of ethanol in wine, cider, beer, fermented fruit juice, or nearly any other liquid containing alcohol. It can also be made by certain bacteria operating on sugar-water solutions directly, without intermediary conversion to ethanol (see acetic acid).

Vinegar - Production

Vinegar production may be started by the addition of mother of vinegar to wine or cider. Vinegar is a dilute form of acetic acid, ranging typically from three to five percent by volume for table vinegar and higher concentrations for pickling. Natural vinegars also contain smaller amounts of tartaric acid, citric acid, and other acids. It has been used since ancient times, and is an important element in Western and European, Asian, and other traditional cuisines of the world. The oxidation is carried out by acetic acid bacteria, as was shown in 1864 by Louis Pasteur. Modern systems work with vinegar bacteria at the liquid and bringing the air into the vinegar with a venturi pump system or with a turbine. These systems have a production time between 38 hours and 3 days to get the ready vinegar.

Vinegar - Culinary uses

Vinegar is commonly used in food preparations, particularly in in pickling processes, vinaigrettes, and other salad dressings. It is an ingredient in sauces such as mustard, ketchup, and mayonnaise. It is also often used as a condiment.

Vinegar - Types of vinegar

Vinegar - White

So-called "white vinegar" (actually clear) can be made by oxidating a distilled alcohol. Alternatively, it may be nothing more than a solution of acetic acid in water. It is used for culinary as well as cleaning purposes.

Vinegar - Malt

Malt vinegar is made by malting barley, causing the starch in the grain to turn to maltose. An ale is then brewed from the maltose 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 colored with caramel.

The British and Americans commonly use malt vinegar on fish and chips.

Vinegar - Wine

Wine vinegar is made from red or white wine, and is the most commonly used vinegar in Germany and other European countries. As with wine, there is a considerable range in quality. Better quality wine vinegars are matured in wood for up to two years and exhibit a complex, mellow flavor. Champagne vinegar is made from champagne, and Sherry vinegar, produced in Spain, is made from Sherry. These last two are correspondingly expensive.

Vinegar - Apple cider

Apple cider vinegar, sometimes known simply as cider vinegar, is made from cider or apple must, and is often sold unfiltered, with a brownish-yellow color. It is currently very popular, partly due to its alleged beneficial properties (see below). Some countries, like Canada, prohibit the selling of vinegar over a certain percentage acidity.

In terms of cooking, cider vinegar is not good for delicate sauces or vinaigrettes, but is excellent for use in chutneys and marinades. It can be used to pickle foods, but will darken light fruits and vegetables.

Vinegar - Fruit vinegar

Fruit vinegars are made from fruit wines without any additional flavouring. Common flavors of fruit vinegar include black currant, raspberry, and quince. Typically, the flavors of the original fruits remain tasteable in the final vinegar.

Most such vinegars are produced in Europe, where there is a growing market for high price vinegars made solely from specific fruits (as opposed to non-fruit vinegars which are infused with fruits or fruit flavors. Vinegars that are not actually made from fruit, but which are flavored with fruit or fruit flavors, are not true vinegars, but are instead classified as flavored vinegars.

Vinegar - Balsamic

Balsamic vinegar is an aromatic, aged type of vinegar manufactured in Modena, Italy. Its flavor is rich, sweet, and complex, with the finest grades being the end product of years of aging in a successive number of casks made of various types of wood (including chestnut, cherry, and juniper). Originally an artisanal product available only to the Italian upper classes, balsamic vinegar became widely known and available around the world in the late 20th century. Now it is very common.

Vinegar - Rice

The Japanese prefer a more delicate rice vinegar and use it for much the same purposes as Europeans, as well as for sushi rice, in which it is an essential ingredient. Rice vinegar is available in white, red and black variants, the latter of which is most popular in China. The latter may be used as a substitute for balsamic vinegar, though its dark color and the fact that it is aged may be the only similarity between the two products. Some types of rice vinegar are sweetened or otherwise seasoned.

Vinegar - Coconut

Coconut vinegar, made from the sap, or "toddy," of the coconut palm, is used extensively in Southeast Asian cuisine (particularly in the Philippines, a major producer of the product), as well as in some cuisines of India. A cloudy white liquid, it has a particularly sharp, acidic taste with a slightly yeasty note.

Vinegar - Cane

Cane vinegar, made from sugar cane juice, is most popular in the Philippines (where it is called sukang iloko), although it is also produced in France and the United States. It ranges from dark yellow to golden brown in color and has a mellow flavor, similar in some respects to rice vinegar, though with a somewhat "fresher" taste. Contrary to expectation, it is not sweeter than other vinegars, containing no residual sugar.

Vinegar - Raisin

Vinegar made from raisins is used in cuisines of the Middle East, and is produced in Turkey. It is cloudy and medium brown in color, with a mild flavor.

Vinegar - Beer

Vinegar made from beer is produced in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. Although its flavor depends on the particular type of beer from which it is made, it is often described as having a malty taste. That produced in Bavaria is a light golden color, with a very sharp and not overly complex flavor.

Vinegar - Honey

Vinegar made from honey is rare, though commercially available honey vinegars are produced in Italy and France.

Vinegar - Chinese black

Chinese black vinegar is an aged product made from rice, wheat, millet, or sorghum. It has an inky black color and a complex flavor.

Vinegar - Flavored vinegars

Popular fruit-flavored vinegars include those infused with whole raspberries, blueberries, or figs (or else from flavorings derived from these fruits). Some of the more exotic fruit-flavored vinegars include blood orange and pear.

Herb vinegars are flavored with herbs, most commonly Mediterranean herbs such as thyme or oregano. Such vinegars can be prepared at home by adding sprigs of fresh or dried herbs to store-bought vinegar; generally a light-colored, mild tasting vinegar such as that made from white wine is used for this purpose.

An East Asian variety of flavored vinegar known as sweetened vinegar is made from rice wine and herbs including ginger, cloves and other spices. It is an integral ingredient in the traditional Chinese postnatal health and celebratory dish of Pork Knuckles and Ginger Stew [1].

Vinegar - Non-culinary uses

Vinegar - Cleaning

Vinegar can be a potent, inexpensive and environmentally friendly cleaning agent. White vinegar is generally recommended when vinegar is being used as a cleaning fluid.

For example, a few tablespoons of white vinegar mixed with a few teaspoons of common table salt makes an excellent cleanser for cleaning badly-stained stainless cookware. Likewise, this vinegar and salt mixture will remove oxidation from copper clad cookware and make it shine with practically no rubbing required.

Likewise, one part white vinegar to four parts water (for a stronger solution, one part white vinegar to one part water works) makes a fine window-washing fluid, substituting for Windex. If windows appear streaky after washing with vinegar, add a half-teaspoon of liquid soap to the mix—this removes the waxy, streak-causing residue left over by commercial window cleaners.

Drains can be cleaned by using a combination of vinegar and baking soda. Pour one-half cup baking soda down the drain, followed by half a cup of white vinegar. Cover the drain while it works, then rinse with several gallons of water.

Vinegar also works well as a fabric softener; just add half a cup to the rinse cycle.

Weak solutions of vinegar or acetic acid in water are used for douches.

Vinegar - Medicine

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:

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. A mixture of five-percent acetic acid and three-percent hydrogen peroxide is commonly used.

Apple cider vinegar in particular is often touted as a medical aid, from cancer prevention to alleviation of joint pain to weight loss. [2] [3] [4] [5] These claims began in Biblical times; in 1958, Dr. D. C. Jarvis made the remedy popular with a book that sold 500,000 copies.

Claims that cider vinegar can be used as a beauty aid also persist, [6] despite the fact that apple cider vinegar can sometimes be very dangerous to the eyes. The acid will burn and the eyes will become red, but there are no damages to the eyes ever described. If the vinegar contains mother of vinegar the slime bacteria of the mother can make an ophthalmitis.

Cider vinegar is also claimed to be a solution to dandruff, in that the acid in the vinegar kills the fungus Malassezia furfur (formerly known as Pityrosporum ovale) and restores the chemical balance of the skin.

Vinegar - Miscellaneous

When vinegar is added to sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda, it produces a very fizzy and volatile mixture of carbonic acid decomposing into carbon dioxide and water. It is exemplified as the typical acid-base reaction in school science experiments. The salt that is formed is sodium acetate.

See also

• Food additive

The gas formed from the chemical reaction of vinegar and baking soda is called Carbonic Gas. If you fill a jar with water and drop some popcorn kernels then add some vinegar and baking soda the little kernels will go up to the surface because the bubbles carry them to the top(carbonic gas)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Vinegar", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki