Vinegar :: essays research papers fc

Vinegar Chris Nacey Writing 101 Final draft 2-19-1997 When I was a child, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my mother. She liked to cook and so did I. Because of this, I learned my way around the kitchen. I knew the place for everything, and I knew the uses of most everything. There was only one paradox, in my knowledge of the kitchen: vinegar. My mother had one bottle of vinegar for as long as I can remember. She never used it in cooking, or taught me how to for that matter. Our bottle of White Wine Vinegar sat in our cupboard: on the bottom shelf, enigmatically, untouched, detached. I knew that my mother wouldn't have it without reason. It was in the kitchen, so I concluded that it must be some sort of, rarely used, cooking staple. I would never have guessed then that vinegar had so many uses. Just the other day, I was in the mall visiting a friend that works at Frankincense and Myrrh. While there, I happened upon some bottles that caught my eye. They were attractive looking ornamental bottles. Each one was filled with mysterious, colored liquids: the colors varied from red to brown to yellow. In the liquids were berries', sprigs of herbs, and things of the such. I thought they looked interesting, so I picked up a bottle that I recognized as having sage in it. I took a look at the label. On the label were listed the ingredients: sage, rosemary, and southernwood leaves. When I read the front of the bottle, I was surprised to find that I was looking at an herbal vinegar hair rinse. Before this I never knew that such a thing existed. After my experience at the mall, I became aware that vinegar didn't just belong in the kitchen. This intrigued me. I decided to find out more about vinegar and its uses. Nobody knows the exact origins of vinegar, but there are many stories and beliefs surrounding this strange liquid.(Oster 3) The Roman Army was recorded to have mixed vinegar with water to make a sort of Gatorade for the soldiers. In the eighteenth and nineteenth century United States, similar drinks known as "shrubs" or "switchels" were made by field laborers. To make these drinks, they mixed either fruit juices or water, with sometimes salt, and fruit-flavored vinegars.(Oster 4) The earliest recorded use of vinegar, however, was in Babylonia around 5,000 B.C. There, it was typically made from dates, and commonplace as a medicine.(Oster 3) Throughout history, vinegar has been used medicinally.