Fruit Vinegars

The earliest known use of vinegar dates to more than 10000 y ago (Tan 2005; Johnston and Gaas 2006). Flavored vinegar has been produced and sold as a commercial product for approximately 5000 y. The Babylonians produced and sold vinegars flavored with fruit, honey, and malt until the 6th century. References in the Old Testament and from Hippocrates indicate vinegar was used medicinally to manage wounds. Sung Tse, who is credited with developing the field of forensic medicine in the 10th century in China, used sulfur and vinegar as hand washing agents to prevent infection (Chan and others 1993; Tan 2005). Early U.S. medical practitioners used vinegar to treat many ailments including poison ivy, croup, stomachache, high fever, and edema or “dropsy” as it was known in the 18th century (Tan 2005).

---  Functional Properties of Vinegar