Vinegar, we love it at comment-economiser.fr!
It's a must-have staple!
But do you know how vinegar was invented?
In other words, what is its origin?
Know first that we were already talking about vinegar more than 5,000 years ago!
Yes, already at the time of the Babylonians, ancient testimonies on the use of vinegar have been found.
It is likely that vinegar was discovered at the same time as the first alcoholic beverages. Explanations:
From the time of the Pharaohs, paintings from the 11th and 13th dynasty, made in tombs, testify to the manufacture of vinegar by the Egyptians.
Later, vinegar was also part of Roman culture.
In the countryside of Rome, the vinegar called "Posca" was a refreshing drink. La Posca was made of water and vinegar.
In the Middle Ages, the use of vinegar was already widespread. It is not only a drink, but also a condiment.
It is used to preserve food or to wash.
Vinegar is also used to treat several diseases such as plague, leprosy, fever, snake bites...
White vinegar, cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, wine vinegar... there are a multitude of vinegars but they all have one thing in common.
All vinegars are the result of an identical fermentation process. To make vinegar, there are always 2 successive steps.
First of all, in contact with the air, the sugar is transformed into alcohol. Then, in a second step, the alcohol turns into acetic acid.
This is what happens when grapes turn into wine or apples turn into cider.
This first reaction transforms almost all fruits and even vegetables into alcoholic fermented drinks.
It is enough that fruits and vegetables contain sugar so that they can turn into an alcoholic drink.
It is only at the second stage that this alcoholic drink turns into vinegar.
We therefore understand that vinegar does not necessarily come from the fermentation of wine.
Also discover: How to Make Apple Cider Vinegar from Leftover Apples.
A priori, it was first necessary to discover the wine to then make vinegar. This sweet nectar that is wine was probably discovered by chance.
The men then worked to develop and then constantly improve this process.
Then one day, we realized that in contact with air, the wine became sour. Here's some wine - sour!
But we quickly understood that this “error” had a great future. It was therefore necessary to reproduce it and let the wine develop its acidity.
Anyway, in the past, it was very rare that anything was thrown away! And since we didn't throw anything away, we had to find a use for this "sour wine".
Eventually, the uses were so numerous that the manufacture of "sour wine" imposed itself.
This "sour wine" quickly went from being a by-product to a product in its own right.
To discover: How to Make Homemade Vinegar Easily?
There are few certainties about the origin of vinegar. Nor on its manufacturing process.
The wine is probably the cause. But we are not 100% sure.
Other hypotheses exist. It is perhaps the fermentation of an apple juice that is at the origin of the first vinegar.
The apple juice could have fermented and then acidified.
Another hypothesis:the fermentation of an Asian cereal may be the cause.
Moreover, Western Europe is neither the cradle of the apple nor of the vine. It seems that the vine originated in Central Europe or Asia Minor.
What we are sure of is that the grape is a fruit that grows on the shores of the Mediterranean.
Ancient texts prove that it was present among the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans.
It was the latter who spread its culture in Gaul. And it is there, in the end, that the best wines of Antiquity will be produced.
This sheds some light on the origin of wine vinegar. But what about other vinegars?
Their story is not much simpler. And if we are interested in their virtues, they have nothing to envy to wine vinegar.
Apple cider vinegar logically comes from the apple. This fruit is native to Central Asia.
Apple cultivation was widespread throughout Antiquity.
But unlike the vine, it reached the lands of the famous Vikings. And as we know, the Vikings were great travellers.
According to historians, the regions where Christianity developed would be more devoted to the cultivation of grapes (transformed into mass wine).
On the other hand, the regions where pagan civilizations flourished would be dedicated to the cultivation of the apple (the famous forbidden fruit).
To discover: 11 Incredible Uses of Apple Cider Vinegar.
All this is very beautiful. But what if the origin of vinegar came from even further afield?
Rice vinegar could well be the ancestor. Like other vinegars, it results from an identical process of acetic fermentation.
Vinegar can also be made from fermented rice or from wine or rice alcohol.
As a result, we can wonder about his age...
From the fermentation of white, black or red rice, so there can be white rice vinegar, red or black rice vinegar.
The taste differs slightly depending on the type of rice used. It will be more or less light or sour.
And beer vinegar, when does it date back? Well, that's another story!
