The uses of vinegar through out history
Vinegar was accidentally discovered 10,000 years ago. If a bottle of wine is left uncorked for a period of time bacteria will turn it into vinegar (acetic acid). Vinegar is mentioned in both the old and new testaments of the bible. The word itself is from Latin, vinum means wine and acer means sour (sour wine).
Ancient civilizations have had many uses for wine over the years. In Babylonian times they made a vinegar from the fruit of the date palm and used it as a preventative. The Romans made their vinegar from grapes, figs, dates, and rye. They would drink it mixed with water at all meals. The Sumerians had many uses for vinegar from a condiment, a preservative, medicine, antibiotic and as a detergent. Hippocrates gave it to his patients and Aristotle used it too,
There is a story about Hanniable when he was marching on Rome. Apparently his elephants were having a heck of a time going over the mountain passes, so he had his soldiers cut branches from nearby forests and put them on the paths. The branches were then set on fire and when the rocks underneath were hot enough vinegar was poured on them. It made the rocks soft and crumbly. The soldiers could then break them apart and level and widen the paths so the elephants could pass through.
Leonardo Da Vinci invented a way to use vinegar. He would fill a small bottle with vinegar and wrap a secretly coded message around it. If the bottle broke the vinegar would dissolve the papyrus.
The Chinese made their vinegar out of rice water.
In the Middle Ages people drank it. They also used it to treat illnesses such as the Plague, Leprosy, Fever, and snake bites.
Early explorers used it to preserve foods for their travels. In Victorian times the people mixed it with different flavours and drank it. It was also used as a birth control by women of low virtue.
Louis Pasteur in 1865 was asked to find a way to keep wine from deteriorating during storing and bottling, He came up with what is known as pasteurization. It would be later used on milk as it is used today.
I'm sure a lot of you can tell I like trivia, I hope you enjoyed the post,
Ann
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Hi, Ray, thanks for stopping by and reading the post. There are sooo many uses for it. All the best.
Ann
Thanks Ann, I was half considering writing a small eBook on the the myriad of uses of vinegar,
And yet you have informed me on even more points, thank you.
Hi, Matry, you're welcome. I'd be interested in reading it when you're done. Thanks for reading the post. All the best.
Ann
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great history lesson
Hi, Davida, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading it. All the best.
Ann