Vinegars of the world

Abstract

The history of vinegar production, which dates back to around 2000 BC, has taught us a great deal about microbial biotransformation. However, vinegar has been always considered a 'poor relation' among fermented food products: it is not considered to be a 'food', it does not have great nutritional value, and it is made by the transformation of richer and more nutritive fermented foods. Vinegar is used as a flavouring agent, as a preservative and, in some countries, also as a healthy drink. It can be made from almost any fermentable carbohydrate source by a two-step fermentation process involving yeasts as the first agent, followed by acetic acid bacteria (AAB): the most common raw materials are apples, pears, grapes, honey, syrups, cereals, hydrolysed starches, beer and wine. © 2009 Springer Milan.