Today vinegar is used in cooking, even by starred chefs, to give a particular taste to many dishes – here you will find some original recipes.

It is also used in the kitchen as a preservative or for marinating; but did you know that, since ancient times, it has had many other uses? Let's discover them together!

Vinegar: ancient origins and historical curiosities

Vinegar is one of the oldest products known to man, probably born by chance from the spontaneous fermentation of sugary liquids like honey or wine. Its history is intertwined with that of the great civilizations of the past, and its use has evolved over time, from a medicinal remedy to a gastronomic ingredient, until it became a symbol of culinary excellence.

Already in Ancient Egypt, vinegar was used, stored in jars, to preserve food; likewise the Babylonians, around 5000 BC, who also used it as a tonic.

In ancient Greece, the most common drink, the people's drink, was a mixture of water, vinegar, and honey called Oxycrat. Its use as a refreshing drink, mixed with water, is also mentioned in the Bible and was common in imperial Rome, where it was drunk by soldiers in the form of *posca*, a sour and thirst-quenching “poor man's wine,” or during meals of the wealthier classes to cleanse the palate between courses. It was said that posca gave strength, wine intoxication - Posca fortem, Vinum ebrium facit. A sponge soaked in posca was what a praetorian offered Jesus on the Cross. On the table at Roman banquets, the acetabulum was always present, a bowl full of vinegar into which each diner dipped pieces of bread to refresh the mouth between dishes, while also aiding digestion. Many of Apicius's recipes, the great Epicurean gastronome of the 1st century AD, were based on vinegar, starting with acetaria, mixed salads of meat and vegetables or just vegetables served as an interval between courses. 

In the Middle Ages, production techniques were refined, and the first guilds of acetai were born, true masters in the selection of raw materials and fermentation. With the Renaissance, wine vinegar became a fundamental ingredient in many recipes, such as the Roman *moretum* (a kind of salad with oil and vinegar) and *garum*, a fermented sauce with vinegar.

Well-being, Medicine and Hygiene

If already in ancient Greece Hippocrates recommended it to treat wounds and respiratory problems, and Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia recommends it for various ailments, stating that vinegar adds flavor and pleasure to life. Vinegar was widely used for protection during epidemics - the plague of the 1300s, the cholera of the 1800s: by holding it to the nose or continuously inhaling from a sponge soaked in vinegar, washing hands, fruit, and vegetables with vinegar to purify them. Indeed, recent studies (Franco Mecca - “Wine vinegar as a means of prevention in epidemics, particularly cholera,” Franco Angeli Publisher) show that vinegar has great disinfectant power, destroying both the cholera vibrio and a wide variety of intestinal pathogenic germs within one or two minutes.

It is now known that acetic acid has antibacterial and antifungal properties, and recent studies have also explored the role of apple cider vinegar in blood sugar control and appetite reduction, although further scientific confirmation is needed.

Among the alternative uses of vinegar are:

·         Eco-friendly cleaning: white vinegar is a powerful natural disinfectant, useful for cleaning glass, surfaces, and even removing limescale.

·         Hair care: a rinse with apple cider vinegar can make hair shiny and balance the scalp's pH.

·         Digestion and metabolism: some people take it diluted to aid digestion or as a natural remedy.

Production and types of vinegar

Louis Pasteur's discoveries in the second half of the 1800s paved the way for controlled production through acetic fermentation of an alcoholic beverage (wine, cider, beer, fermented rice), thanks to the action of bacteria of the genus Acetobacter, which transform alcohol into acetic acid.

So today we find many types of vinegar, developed in different countries and cultures:

Type of Vinegar	Origin	Main characteristics
Wine vinegar	Italy, France	Strong, aromatic, ideal for dressings and marinades
Balsamic vinegar	Modena, Italy	Sweet, complex, aged, perfect on cheeses and strawberries
Apple cider vinegar	International	Delicate, fruity, also used for health purposes
Rice vinegar	Asia (Japan, China)	Light, sweet, perfect for sushi and oriental dishes
Distilled white vinegar	International	Cheap, very acidic, excellent for household cleaning

If the most common types of vinegar, thanks to the development of chemical knowledge and technologies, can today be produced quickly and in large quantities, high-quality vinegars, such as the vinegar balsamic of Modena, continue to be produced slowly and aged in wooden barrels.

is Let yourself be surprised by the many taste pairings with balsamic vinegar

is Discover the recipes of starred chefs with balsamic vinegar 

is Go to Arswine.it offers of superior quality balsamic vinegar – also great as a classy gift for your gourmet friends

 

Image: Costume of the vinegar maker and seller, from the series of engravings of the Grotesque Costumes and Trades by Nicolas de Larmessin (1632-1694)