Chapter 6 - Vinegar

Abstract

This chapter reviews vinegar manufacture. The word vinegar comes from the French words vin (wine) and aigre (sour). Early records indicate that vinegar had many uses other than as a food or food preservative. The idea of making vinegar by trickling the liquid through packing materials such as branches and stems dates back to early 18th century and is credited to both H. Boerhaave and Kastner; was improved upon by J. S. Schüzenbach in 1823. Thereafter, another process was devised and developed for commercial use in 1949 called submerged culture process. The most widely used generator for large-scale commercial preparation of vinegar is of the Frings type. The vinegar eel (Anguillula aceti), a nematode, is a frequent source of trouble during vinegar manufacture, occurring more commonly in trickling generators than submerged culture operations. Vinegar produced by the submerged process is extremely turbid. Subsequently, there are numerous types of vinegar on the market, including many with added spices and flavors. Some popular types of vinegar are—white distilled vinegar, cider vinegar, wine vinegar, and malt vinegar. The processing of vinegar comprises of filtration and clarification, bottling, and concentration of vinegar.