While some people know vinegar is a product of fermentation, even fewer know that bacteria, not yeast, is the essential agent. Acetic acid bacteria—the general term for vinegar fermenting bacteria—are present throughout our environment especially in fruits. They long ago evolved to survive not only by metabolizing simple sugars (i.e. glucose) but the alcohol ethanol. Acetic acid is a waste … Read More
MOOO! What is whey vinegar?
When you think of vinegar, apple cider, wine, balsamic, or spirit/alcohol/white distilled are likely the first to come to mind. However, with vinegar there are always so many possibilities since anything with sugar can ferment to alcohol and anything with alcohol can ferment to vinegar. It would shock many people to know vinegar can come from milk, but milk has … Read More
Giants of Vinegar History: Dessaux Fils of Orléans
Read the full book on the history of vinegar, Vinegar, The Eternal Condiment available on Amazon! The history of vinegar in France, Orléans in particular, has played a large role in the history of vinegar. The artisan vinegar makers of Orléans waxed large in the ancién regime but later began to fade as both free market liberalization and industrialization took … Read More
Jacques François Demachy and the ‘piss vinegar’ legend
Likely the first technically inclined manual on vinegar production was Art du Vinaigrier or “Art of the Vinegar Maker”, written in French by the French chemist Jacques François Demachy in the year 1780. At the twilight of the ancien régime, Demachy wrote a comprehensive treatise on vinegar incorporating both common practice from various countries, including France, as well as the … Read More
The Legend of China’s Shanxi Vinegar
An interesting video (Chinese audio, English subs) about the history of Chinese vinegar, Shanxi vinegar in particular, by Shanxi Zilin Vinegar
China’s “Four Famous Vinegars”
Part I on the history of Chinese vinegar Part II on the fermentation process of Chinese vinegar Read the full book on the history of vinegar, Vinegar, The Eternal Condiment available on Amazon! China has four famous vinegars that are renowned throughout the country and important for their respective regional cuisines. Here we discuss them. It is helpful to read … Read More
All about Sherry Vinegar (Vinagre de Jerez)
Read the full book on the history of vinegar, Vinegar, The Eternal Condiment available on Amazon! The vinagre de Jerez or sherry vinegar is a unique product of Jerez de la Frontera, a town in the Spanish province of Cádiz in the region of Andalusía. Like most of Europe, wine making in Spain extends back to Roman times, or perhaps … Read More
China’s Vinegar Culture: Making Chinese Vinegar
See part I on the history of Chinese vinegars here See part III on the “Four Famous Vinegars” of China here Read the full book on the history of vinegar, Vinegar, The Eternal Condiment available on Amazon! Like all vinegars, the basic path to vinegar is the fermentation of an alcoholic substance by vinegar bacteria. However, instead of using waste … Read More
China’s Vinegar Culture: A History of Vinegar in Ancient China
Read the full book on the history of vinegar, Vinegar, The Eternal Condiment available on Amazon! Like most things in China, vinegar has a long recorded history. The character for vinegar, 醋 or cù (pronounced ‘sooh’), is ubiquitous connoting both the condiment as well as a metaphor for a bitter life condition. Chinese civilization first arose primarily along the Yellow … Read More
The Global Trade in Vinegar 2015
A short overview of the global trade in vinegar in 2015 in a couple of graphs. First the exporters. Not surprising Italy is largest with a share of almost 50%, largely due to the popularity of balsamic. Spain has actually outpaced France and Germany, two traditional powerhouses, to become number three. Wine vinegar and sherry vinegar are a big part … Read More