has been in use for thousands of years and its origins are untraceable. One of the earliest references is from the 5th century bc, where Hippocrates recommended its medicinal powers. However, then as now, its main use has been as a flavouring and preserving agent.
There was no need to invent vinegar as it makes itself without difficulties. When wine or any alcoholic drink is exposed to the air it turns sour. Aerobic (air-breathing) bacteria invade it and oxidize (combine with oxygen) the alcohol to acetic acid. Before the invention of the wine cork this was a constant and unwelcome phenomenon. Flasks of wine were sealed with clay and wax which often cracked and let in the air, so that the wine soon went sour. Indeed the word ‘vinegar’ comes from the French vin aigre, meaning sour wine.
Sour wine is not, however, the same as fine vinegar made by a controlled process. Not all acetic acid-producing bacteria give a satisfactory taste. Ideally one needs a culture mainly of Acetobacter aceti, of which there are several strains which coexist and cooperate. Other creatures have a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationship with these bacteria and assist the fermentation. These include a nematode worm, Anguilula aceti, known as the ‘vinegar eel’, as well as some flies, mites, and lice. Modern factory processes are designed to eliminate these so-called parasites; but some of them still help to produce a superior flavour in vinegar made by traditional methods.
The presence of the right bacteria is ensured by adding vinegar from a previous batch to the wine to be fermented. It is important that this starter should contain ‘mother of vinegar’, a gelatinous scum full of living bacteria which forms on fermenting vinegar.
The best wine vinegar may be made from either white or red wine, the latter having an agreeable mellow taste. Sherry also yields a particularly well-rounded flavour.
Wine vinegars of the finest quality are made by a simple and ancient method known as the Orléans process. This requires the maker not to be in a hurry (the process takes months); to use small barrels (from which the heat engendered by fermentation dissipates quickly); to use wine of good quality; and to provide access to the barrels for air (which will contain acetobacters, bacteria naturally present in the atmosphere). When the vinegar has developed the required acidity some of it is drawn off and more wine added. This sequence can be repeated for an indefinitely long period.
Important elements in the flavour of good vinegar are esters, substances formed in the reaction between acids and alcohols. These continue to form in vinegar, slowly, so that the vinegar matures with keeping. One very fine kind of vinegar—not a wine vinegar, since it is made from must, not from wine—is the true balsamic vinegar from Modena and Reggio in Italy; this is matured for decades, even centuries. Aged vinegar acquires an increasingly brown colour as enzymes discolour compounds from the original fruit.
Mass-produced wine vinegar is made from inferior wine, using techniques which save time but sacrifice quality.
Malt vinegar used to be called alegar which is a more appropriate name as it is made from an unhopped type of beer. It has a malty taste which may be disliked in salad dressing but appreciated in pickles. The natural faintly brown colour is usually darkened with caramel.
Malt vinegar may be distilled to make a very strong ‘spirit vinegar’ suitable, among other things, for pickling watery vegetables. This is usually left uncoloured, so may be called ‘white vinegar’. (Sometimes a similar product is made not from natural vinegar but from a mixture of synthetically produced acetic acid and water. However, by law in Britain, the USA, and some other countries, this may not be called ‘vinegar’; in Britain it is labelled ‘non-brewed condiment’.)
Cider vinegar has long been a speciality of the apple-growing areas of the north-east USA, and of apple-growing regions in Europe such as Normandy. Its popularity has spread, partly because of its supposed health-giving properties, its good flavour, and its relatively low cost.
Rice vinegar, used in Chinese and Japanese cooking, is commonly a clear, light-flavoured vinegar, always relatively mild and sweet. Mildness also characterizes red and black versions, and indeed most Chinese vinegars whether based on rice or millet or any of a score of other kinds of plant material. The very finest Japanese rice vinegar, genmai mochigome su, is made from unpolished glutinous rice.
Other vinegars are numerous. It is not essential to start with an alcoholic beverage. Any liquid containing sugar or starch can be induced to ferment first to alcoholic liquor then to vinegar. Starting substances include trimmings and rejects from the fruit industry, such as citrus fruit, pineapples, plums, pears, peaches, and even dates and persimmons. Besides rice other cereals are used; a sorghum vinegar made in Quemoy (the island off the coast of China) is said to be of exceptional quality. Molasses and other sugar products are also used. The vinegars which Parsis like best, from the cities of Navsari and Valsad, are made from sugar cane, dates, or toddy (see coconut) and impart a special taste to Parsi pickles and chutneys etc.
Flavourings may be added to vinegars. Wine vinegar is often flavoured with herbs such as tarragon and basil, or with chillies. Vinegar readily takes up any flavouring. A drink which still survives in some rural areas is raspberry or other fruit vinegar. The vinegar was much diluted, flavoured with fruit and sweetened. Raspberry vinegar, which enjoyed a vogue in the latter half of the 20th century, has a long history in Britain, and not just at wealthy or sophisticated tables; it has traditionally been eaten in Yorkshire, for example, with yorkshire pudding.
Vinegars vary in both flavour and strength, and are rarely interchangeable in recipes.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
