Vinegar: Love to the Mother
Can something that removes limescale be edible? It’s acidic enough to dissolve hard water deposits, but vinegar is indeed edible - and healthy to boot. See below for a great vinaigrette recipe.
Vinegar itself is not nutritious, but it is healthy. It only contains trace amounts of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and amino acids. The health benefit comes from the same component that cleans your faucet so well: acetic acid. During digestion, acetic acid increases your body’s ability to absorb minerals from the food you eat. It’s a tasty mineral booster.
Thousands of years ago, winemakers discovered vinegar when they realized why some of their wine was going sour. Fermentation converts the sugars from grapes or other fruit into alcohol. When wine undergoes a second fermentation, it becomes vinegar. This second acid fermentation occurs when bacteria called acetobacter convert the wine’s alcohol into acetic acid. Any liquid that contains alcohol can be converted to vinegar with this second fermentation.
Mother Vinegar
Acetobacter, and the cellulose it creates, forms a jelly-like substance called Mother of Vinegar. While the mother looks filmy, slimy, and unappetizing, it is perfectly harmless. All vinegar is created by the mother. Today, makers tend to filter and pasteurize vinegar to prevent mother from forming while the product is on the shelf. They are avoiding the Ick Factor. Unfortunately this filtering is thought to also remove healthful properties. If you notice mother floating in your vinegar, consider yourself lucky, not cursed! There is no need to remove it. If it is unappetizing, simply strain it through a coffee filter. Your flavor will not be affected whether you remove the mother or ignore it.
If you are interested in making your own vinegar, finding mother is indeed lucky. Mother can also be purchased directly. Cultivating mother of vinegar is an art in itself; commercial vinegar makers prize their high quality cultures.
Vinegar and other solutions for Nail Fungus:
- That Unsightly Nail Fungus
Nail fungus is a fungal infection that is more common in toe nails than fingernails but can be found in both. It is an unsightly infection that distorts the nail, making it yellow in color and can become very...
You may notice a bottle of colored vinegar gradually become cloudy. Bottles may even develop sediment in the bottom given enough time. This is natural; it does not mean your vinegar has spoiled. Because it is so highly acidic, vinegar is used to preserve foods - and it preserves itself. It’s shelf life is indefinite and it never needs refrigeration. Unpasteurized vinegar may begin to grow a wispy, spiderweb-like substance: this is the mother! It is safe; use it with confidence.
Vinegar health benefits
While it is a benefit to your diet, vinegar also has other healthy perks. Apple cider vinegar in particular is used in many home remedies. Drink a cup of water with a couple tablespoons of ACV to settle an upset stomach and relieve a low-grade fever. Add a cup of vinegar to your bathwater to tackle a yeast infection. Mix one quarter cup of ACV with one quarter cup of honey and drink a few times each day to ease the symptoms of your cold.
For conditioning, shampoo your hair with a mixture of one cup ACV to one quart water. This strengthens hair, removes waxy build up from hair styling products, and offers relief to dandruff sufferers. Use vinegar in place of commercial denture cleaners for better results. Vinegar will help whiten dentures and also teeth- just give your toothbrush a dip. Apple cider vinegar will even remove warts.
Vinegar cleaning tips
White vinegar is best for cleaning. Its high acidity dissolves, degreases, and deodorizes. The list of things that vinegar will clean is endless. It is especially helpful for streak-free glass, dissolving rust and limescale, and cleaning your microwave without any toxic leftovers.
Commercial cleaners have fumes and residue that are flat out poisonous. Don’t mix cleaners, be sure to wear gloves, use adequate ventilation... they stop just short of telling you that you may be accidentally making a bomb. Vinegar safely mixes with water, lemon juice, or ammonia. The famous “vinegar and baking soda volcano” science experiment from elementary school works beautifully to unclog and deodorize a slow drain.
THE Vinaigrette
Olive oil is top-shelf healthy. Mix it with vinegar and you’ll have a classic dressing for drizzling your salad and bread.
Since oil and water do not mix, vinaigrette is a very unstable mixture. It should be made fresh. It doesn’t store well. The best ratio of oil to vinegar is 3:1. Don’t spare on quality here- break out your extra virgin olive oil.
Add lemon juice, herbs or spices. Honey will aid the mixing and help hold the dressing together longer.
Don’t refrigerate, and be sure all ingredients are room temperature before you begin. Cooler oil is much more difficult to blend with the vinegar.
When making vinaigrette, do not use an aluminum bowl. Glass is best. The acidic vinegar will react with the metal and leave a bad taste.
Here is the base recipe:
- 1½ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ½ cup white wine vinegar
- 1½ tsp Kosher salt
- ½ tsp ground pepper
Wisk until combined. A blender is a nice option here, but shaking the dressing in a glass jar is also a common method.
Enjoy!
© 2009 wyanjen at HubPages
Vinegar: Love to the Mother
