Vinegar is one of nature's great gifts to mankind, and vinegar history shows us why. It is a truly natural product. Any alcoholic beverage, whether it is made from apples, grapes, dates, rice or plain white sugar, once exposed to air, will turn naturally to vinegar. It is the ever-present bacteria in the air that converts the alcohol in cider, wine, and beer, into acetic acid, which gives vinegar its characteristic sharp sour taste. So it is safe to say that man has been exposed to vinegar since before recorded vinegar history.

Peoples from many lands of the world have used vinegar in many different ways, for thousands of years.

Around 5000 BC the Babylonians were using the fruit of the date palm to make wine and vinegar to be used as food and a preservative or pickling agent.

Vinegar residues were found in urns from ancient Egypt and have been traced to 3000 BC.

The first written history of vinegar in China dates to 1200 BC.

1000 BC… In ancient Rome different types of vinegar were made from wine, dates, figs and other fruits and placed in bowls for the dunking of bread.

The making of rice vinegar in China goes back 3000 years.

During biblical times, vinegar was used to flavor foods, drunk as an energizing drink, and used as a medicine. It’s mentioned in both the old and new testaments. In the Book of Ruth (Ruth 2:14), after working hard gleaning barley in the fields, Ruth was invited by Boaz to eat bread and dip it in vinegar.

In ancient Greece, around 400 BC, Hippocrates, who is considered the father of modern medicine, prescribed apple cider vinegar mixed with honey for a variety of ailments, including coughs and colds.

Vinegar was used by the Carthaginian general Hannibal when he crossed the Alps with elephants to invade Italy in 218 BC. It was poured over hot boulders to crumble them, to allow his troops to march through.

The Japanese samurai believed drinking a rice vinegar drink would boost their strength and they drank it regularly.

Vinegar throughout history has been useful to everyday soldiers. Diluted vinegar has been used as a strengthening and an energizing tonic by the military throughout the ages. Roman soldiers called this refreshing drink posca. They used it regularly like the Japanese samurai. The addition of vinegar to their drinking water had the additional benefit of killing any infectious agents that might have been present.

In early Middle Eastern writings vinegar is mentioned as being used for medicinal purposes ranging from a digestive aid, an expectorant and even a clotting agent. It was also used to dress wounds. Besides its medicinal uses it was valued as a condiment.

Around 40 BC Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, dissolved costly pearls in vinegar so that she might win a wager that she could consume a fortune in a single meal. The wager was with Mark Antony.

In the Bible vinegar is mentioned as many times as wine. In the New Testament a sponge soaked in vinegar was held to the parched lips of Jesus to help ease his thirst when he was hanging on the cross

During the Black Plague, from 1347 to 1771 doctors rubbed vinegar infused with essential oils and herbs all-over their bodies, when tending to the contagious sick. They also used it inside their cloaks to inhale for their protection. Legend states that four convicted thieves, who attended the sick, survived by daily drinking large amounts of vinegar infused with garlic. Today vinegar steeped in garlic is sold as Four Thieves Vinegar.

During the Middle Ages vinegar, along with an abrasive material such as sand, was used to clean and polish flexible mail armor used at that time.

In 1394, a group of French vintners or winemakers developed a continuous method for making vinegar, which is called the Orleans method. In this method, oak barrels were used as fermentation vessels and the vinegar was siphoned off through a spigot at the bottom of the barrel. Approximately 15 percent of the vinegar was left behind, which contained the mother of vinegar and its concentrated bacteria floating on top. A new batch of cider or wine was then carefully added to the barrel, which was quick started by the remaining vinegar.

The French vintners formed a guild of master vinegar makers. By using the Orleans method, they were better able to supply the profitable vinegar market.

Throughout history the antiseptic nature of vinegar has been used to clean and disinfect the wounds of soldiers and; therefore, speed up wound healing. Apple cider vinegar was used to this effect during the American Civil War and as late as World War I. 

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