History of Vinegar

             Vinegar is nothing more than an alcoholic beverage [containing less than 18% alcohol by volume] gone sour; coming from the French word vin, meaning wine, and airgre, meaning sour. Vinegar's history is long and, fortunately for us, hasn't changed since it was first discovered almost ten thousand years ago. The process of making vinegar occurs naturally, however the commercialization and consumer demands of vinegar has caused the introduction of foreign mediums, which produce a more pure substance in a shorter period of time. More recently in vinegar's history has been the introduction to a wide variety of vinegars made from various alcoholic flavored bases. Even though vinegar was first discovered and produced as a drink, it wasn't until recently that vinegar became a food preparation enhancement. Today vinegar is used as an ingredient in recipes, in industrial products, as a disinfectant, and a multitude of other medicinal and household uses.
             Vinegar has been a part of history for over ten thousand years. The Bible mentions vinegar several times in both the old and new testaments and in the Book of Proverbs. The Nazarites were forbidden to drink vinegar, "And The Lord said to Moses, "Say to the people of Israel, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to The Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink" (Numbers 6:1-4). Vinegar was twice offered to Jesus Christ as he was being crucified. The first offering came when Jesus and Simon, the man helping to carry his cross, reached Golgotha, "And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means the place of a skull, they offered Him wine to drink, mingled with gall; but when He tasted it, He would not drink it" (Matthew 27:32-35). The second offering of vinegar came just before Jesus gave up his life, "After this ...

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History of Vinegar. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 18:59, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/19979.html