Vinegar History

VINEGAR comes from "vinaigre" in Old French, combining two words, i.e. "vin aigre" meaning sour wine.

Vinegar was discovered thousands of years ago when a cask of wine got a crack in it and became exposed to air. The bateria in the air transformed the alcohol into acetic acid that make the wine tastes sour.

Vinegar was so popular among everyone from conquerors,soldiers,doctors,cooks and
normal people in daily living.

Vinegar has been made and used by people for thousands of years. Traces of it have been found in Egyptian urns dating from around 3000 BC. According to Shennong's Herb Classic, vinegar was invented in China during the Xia Dynasty, around 2000 BC.

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

The Babalonians used vinegar to preserve and pickle food and as a seasoning for their food.
Greek used it to preserve foods.
Roman soldiers made a beverage used as they traveled.

Hippocrates (referred to often as the father of medicine) prescribed vinegar as a remedy for a variety of ailments.
He extolled the healing properties of vinegar.

Early Europeans used vinegar as a deodorizer.

Cleopatra won a bet by dissolving pearls in vinegar and drinking them to prove that she could consume a fortune in one meal.

Jesus was offered vinegar before he was crucified.

Hannibal in his conquest of Europe poured hot vinegar over huge bolders after heating them to crack them into small pieces, so that his army that rode on elephants can continue their journey across the Alps.

During the Bubonic Plague people poured vinegar on their skin to protect themselves from germs.

Caesar’s armies used vinegar as a beverage.

Helen of Troy bathed in vinegar to relax.

In 1864, Louis Pasteur showed that vinegar results from a natural fermentation process.

Sailors used vinegar as a food preservative during long voyages.

World War I medics used vinegar to treat soldiers’ wounds.

Today, people are still using vinegar in hundreds of different ways—from cooking, health, cleaning, beauty, cars, gardening, laundry and so on. More and more new usages and benefits are coming out from time to time.