The Química of Vinegar

In order to learn and to understand chemistry, sometimes we only need to look through all those things that is necessary for daily routine or life. So, related to this we are going to explore about vinegars. I guess almost everyone knows what is a vinegar and some common uses and purpose of vinegar. What is the relation between vinegar and chemistry? Has anyone try making vinegar? What solely make up the vinegar that we used in kitchens??

Various type of flavored vinegar 

What makes this long lasting ???

Commonly found in Malay & Chinese restaurant

Pickles

There are various type of vinegars in the stores such as apple cider, balsamic, cane, date , distilled, fruit, kombucha and so on. These various type of vinegar consist of various type of usage and purposes. What is the composition of vinegar?

The 3D structure of Acetic acid

The structure of acetic acid

Basically, vinegar is a liquid that consist of Acetic acid (CH₃COOH) + water. How is the acetic acid being produced? It is produced by the fermentation process of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria (AAB). AAB is a kind of bacteria that derives their energy from the oxidation of ethanol to acetic acid during fermentation. Currently, vinegar is being used in cooking as ingredients and food industry but before this vinegars are also used in medical industry and domestic uses .

The acetic acid fermentation process

Production of Vinegar

Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. In general, slow methods are used with traditional vinegars and fermentation proceeds slowly over the course of months or a year. The longer fermentation period allows for the accumulation of a nontoxic slime composed of acetic acid bacteria. In fast production processes, vinegar is produced in a period ranging from 20 hours to three days. With those fast processes, commercial vinegar contains residual alcohol.

Why not try making your DIY vinegar at home?