The History of Vinegar Manufacturing: The Submerged Fermentation Process

Reginald SmithMaking Vinegar, Vinegar History, Vinegar Industry2 Comments

Early Frings Acetators

Read more about the history of vinegar in the book length history, Vinegar, The Eternal Condiment By the end of World War II, the original industrialized process for making vinegar, the packed generator quick process of Schüzenbach, had been the dominant mode of industrial production for over one hundred years. While relatively rapid compared to traditional methods, one to two … Read More

The Great Vinegar Regions of the World

Reginald SmithAll About Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, Chinese Vinegars, Regional Vinegars, Sherry Vinegar, Uncategorized, Vinegar History6 Comments

There are many great wine regions of the world from France to California to South Africa to Australia. Likewise, there are many great olive oil producing regions, many in the Mediterranean but also in California and other regions as well. What are the great regions for vinegar though? Vinegar is often mass produced but some regions retain a title as … Read More

The ‘Eternal Condiment’ arrives!

Reginald SmithAll About Vinegar, Vinegar History9 Comments

The first book length history of vinegar has now arrived! Available on Amazon the Eternal Condiment is a work almost five years in the making documenting the rise of vinegar from prehistory to the current crazes for balsamic and raw apple cider vinegar! Much of the historical information on this blog derived from research for this book. Get your copy … Read More

From Alegar to Sarson’s: A History of Malt Vinegar

Reginald SmithMalt Vinegar, Uncategorized, Vinegar History2 Comments

Read the full book on the history of vinegar, Vinegar, The Eternal Condiment available on Amazon! My article on the history of malt vinegar appeared in the 113th issue of Petits Propos Culinaires published by Prospect Books. Download below. Please cite as: Smith, RD (2019). From Alegar to Sarson’s: A History of Malt Vinegar. Petits Propos Culinaires, 113, 95-119. Additional … Read More

A history of the Canadian vinegar industry

Reginald SmithVinegar History, Vinegar Industry29 Comments

The following is taken in part from my book on vinegar history,  Vinegar, The Eternal Condiment available on Amazon! When people here in the US think Canadian vinegar one might have an amusing notion of a barrel of maple vinegar fermenting in some snowy, remote lodge in Northern Ontario. While Canada is obviously a leader in maple vinegar production (though … Read More

The History of Blacks in Vinegar Making

Reginald SmithVinegar History1 Comment

Read the full book on the history of vinegar, Vinegar, The Eternal Condiment available on Amazon! Vinegar has been made for millenia—surely as long as wine and beer. Vinegar is a dilute solution of acetic acid made by special bacteria that transform the alcohol into this new compound using oxygen. The first records are from ancient Babylon but later vinegar … Read More

Quickly Make Vinegar: The Semi-Quick Process for Making Vinegar (The Boerhaave Process)

Reginald SmithMaking Vinegar, Vinegar History15 Comments

Read the full book on the history of vinegar, Vinegar, The Eternal Condiment available on Amazon! Vinegar making is many things: fun, educational, delicious, healthy, and an ancient tradition. I have made many posts about making vinegar at home and the traditional process, often called the “slow process” makes the most flavorful and well-rounded vinegar. The downside is the time: … Read More

What does it mean to measure vinegar with ‘grains’?

Reginald SmithAll About Vinegar, Uncategorized, Vinegar History, Vinegar Industry13 Comments

Read the full book on the history of vinegar, Vinegar, The Eternal Condiment available on Amazon! As vinegar’s industrialization spread globally in the early 20th century industry terminology became standardized. In particular, it was found that the sale of vinegar was confusing without a standard nomenclature for the strength of the vinegar. Percent acidity is the commonly known term for … Read More

A short history of vinegar in pre-modern Korea

Reginald SmithKorean Vinegars, Regional Vinegars, Uncategorized, Vinegar History1 Comment

Read the full book on the history of vinegar, Vinegar, The Eternal Condiment available on Amazon! Korea has an old vinegar culture dating back over a thousand years. While Korean vinegar history has been less thoroughly documented, especially in English, there are many references to recipes and processes for manufacturing of vinegar as well as culinary and medicinal uses. The … Read More