Healthy, ethical, and sustainable food for all. Vinegar has been a kitchen staple for a long time but does balsamic vinegar go bad in a role as junior partner to salad dressing, with its buddy oil. These days, though, vinegar is having its moment in the sun. You can’t scan the supermarket checkout line magazine display without seeing a headline touting the miraculous healing power of vinegar in general, and apple cider vinegar, in particular.
Vinegar is a fermented liquid composed of acetic acid and water, made from almost any carbohydrate source that can undergo fermentation. The common sources are grapes and apples. The fermentation process can either be fast or slow. For quick methods, oxidation of the liquid occurs with agitation. And the bacteria culture is submerged into it. Traditional wine vinegars typically use a slow method.
And the fermentation process can take weeks to months. Different types of vinegar ferment for different lengths of time, which determines their flavor. Brief History of Vinegar Throughout history, humans used vinegar for culinary and medicinal purposes. Around 2,400 years ago, Hippocrates prescribed vinegar to treat wounds, coughs, and colds.
Historical culinary vinegar uses include flavoring and preserving food. The ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, Romans, and Hebrews discovered vinegar’s food preservation capabilities as a sour byproduct of making wine, which itself may have been discovered by some fortuitously forgetful person who left the grape juice out too long. Both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible mention vinegar. Depending on the variety, one tablespoon of vinegar contains anywhere from two to 15 calories. While vinegar doesn’t contribute many calories to your diet, certain kinds do contain trace amounts of vitamins and minerals, as well as amino acids and polyphenolic compounds. May help reduce the risk of heart disease. Some animal studies show the ability of vinegar to lower high blood pressure — a risk factor for heart disease — but its effect on humans isn’t known.