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Vinegar

vinegar (GB)
vinaigre (F)
aceto (I)
vinagre (ES)
vinagre (PO)
azijn (N)

A sour-tasting seasoning and preservative that has been around as long as wine. If not prevented, it always turns into vinegar in the end. It was used as a drink in ancient times, mixed with other ingredients. Hippocrates (460-377 BC) recorded its medicinal use for respiratory diseases and digestive complaints. The Roman author Columella (1st century) reports on the production of vinegar from figs, barley and wine in his work "De re rustica". Vinegar has played a role in many cultures.

Essig - Herstellung im Mittelalter Trinkessig und Weißweinessig mit Oregano

The Bible mentions vinegar as a staple food, the Egyptians had "hequa" (vinegar drink made from barley beer), the Babylonians used vinegar water as a refreshing drink, the Phoenicians made sour shekar from cider, the Greeks used it in sacrificial ceremonies, the Roman legionaries protected themselves from colds with posca (vinegar water) and in Japan, a raw egg is dissolved in traditional tamago-su (rice vinegar). In the Middle Ages, herbal vinegar was considered a remedy, as reported by Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) and Nostradamus. Plague vinegar was used against this plague.

Cause of vinegar formation

The causes of its formation were unknown until the middle of the 19th century. The French chemist Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier (1743-1794) claimed in 1793 that this was an oxidative process. The German botanist Friedrich Traugott Kützing (1807-1892) correctly named microorganisms as the cause in 1837. However, it was not until 1868 that the French chemist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) was able to prove this and identified bacteria as the cause. In the simplest case, "letting any alcoholic liquid stand" is sufficient. When such liquids are exposed to air, wild acetic acid bacteria often colonise automatically. This is also how the first vinegars were created by chance. Although the process is often referred to as acetic acid fermentation, it is actually a fermentative process because, unlike fermentation, oxygen is required. Many alcohol-containing liquids can serve as a base. These include beer, cider, malt brew, rice wine, grape must or wine.

Food law

According to the Austrian Foodstuffs Act, vinegar is a liquid suitable for human consumption, in particular for acidifying and preserving food, which is produced either by the process of double fermentation, namely alcoholic and acetic fermentation, or by diluting acetic acid suitable for consumption with water (acid vinegar). The total acid content calculated as acetic acid must be at least 5 g in 100 ml, in the case of wine vinegar at least 6 g in 100 ml. The alcohol content must not exceed 0.5% by volume, or 1.5% by volume in the case of wine vinegar. However, the quality of the vinegar depends not only on its acetic acid content, but also on the raw material and any additives, most of which alter the flavour. In addition to acetic acid, vinegar contains only those organic acids that originate from the raw material used or are formed during production.

Production process

The oldest process is called the open or Orléans process. In this process, the starting liquid is inoculated with bacteria. However, the bacteria would also colonise automatically from the air and can also be transmitted by the vinegar fly. The fermentation process is left to its own devices in open vats in a warm environment. After some time, a gelatinous, stringy film (also known as vinegar cream) of bacteria forms on the surface of the liquid. The acetic acid bacteria (Acetobacter) oxidise alcohol to acetic acid, whereby acetic acid ethyl ester (ethyl acetate) is also formed. The German vinegar producer Johann Sebastian Schützenbach introduced the rapid vinegar process in the middle of the 19th century. In this process, floating carrier material (wood chips or plastic pellets) is used to which the bacteria adhere. This allows more bacteria to develop and thus speeds up the process.

Depending on the technology, production takes two to three days in the Venturi process (mixing of liquids) or even within 24 hours in turbine systems. The starting product is fermented at 28 to 30 °Celsius and gassed with air. As a rule of thumb, the alcohol content of a wine also produces the same amount of acetic acid (12% alcohol content = 12% acetic acid). Table vinegar contains 3 to 10% acidity, while vinegar essence, which is only edible when diluted, contains 60 to 80%. Wine vinegar is a great enrichment in the preparation of dishes or for direct consumption. Sweet and sour drinking vinegars made from premium wines are served as an aperitif or digestif, mature sherry vinegars are used in the kitchen or the Italian speciality balsamic vinegar is used to enhance meat, cheese or desserts. However, the combination of vinegar in salads and wine is problematic and can lead to an "acid explosion" in the mouth. See also wine with food.

Further information

For information on the production of alcoholic beverages, see Champagne (sparkling wines), Distillation (distillates), Spirits (types), Winemaking (wines and wine types) and Wine law (wine law issues).

Image on the right: CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

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