The origins of vinegar

Men began to produce vinegar in ancient times. Tracing its discovery is not an easy task. As with many other inventions, one can imagine that the spontaneous fermentation of a certain food, perhaps honey, somehow gave birth to an early mother of vinegar. It is logical to assume that this stringy substance was later used to obtain more honey vinegar in a new amphora. And so on.

How was vinegar used in the past?

      

If we want to reconstruct the history of vinegar, we must remember that archaeological finds have been found in the Fertile Crescent which testify that the Assyrians and Babylonians obtained vinegar by letting the honey ferment naturally. The ancient Egyptians, about ten thousand years ago, transported it in vases and used it to store surplus food to be consumed when needed. The Bible speaks of vinegar, making known to us the practice of using it, mixed with water, to quench your thirst and reinvigorate yourself.

In Ancient Greece it was customary to obtain a refreshing drink by adding plenty of honey to the mixture of water and vinegar. Hippocrates (well-known Greek scholar, who is symbolically recognized as the paternity of medical practices) writes in his treatises that vinegar was used to heal wounds or to heal the respiratory tract compromised by disease.

Vinegar has many properties in addition to the gustatory ones, for example we point out the antimicrobial ones (dressing food, especially vegetables, with vinegar can reduce any bacterial load present), and antiglycemic (many works indicate how vinegar can reduce the peak glycemic when consumed with starchy meals).

What are you waiting for to try it?