Vinegar In Thailand

[xen]

The other Day i was looking at vinegar in Big C . I use it for both cooking (Pad Thai for example ) and for cleaning .I normally use the best value/price but somebody told me a lot of vinegar inThailand is actually sourced from a petroleum product , not from grape or appple or other plant sources. Is this the artifical vinegar that is on the shelves and how do you tell the "real vinegar" from the petroleum based stuff without tasting it there in the supermarket. What is the Thai for genuine " fair dinkum" vinegar ?

[AyG]

It's not just in Thailand that you find petroleum-based "vinegar". What is euphemistically referred to as "non-brewed condiment" is what passes for vinegar in many a British fish and chip shop.

[transam]

It's not just in Thailand that you find petroleum-based "vinegar". What is euphemistically referred to as "non-brewed condiment" is what passes for vinegar in many a British fish and chip shop.

Yep, but Tesco's sells various Heinz vinegars including Malt.

[Fozfromoz]

From Villa I bought Bragg organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar. All genuine no preservatives.

Edited August 12, 2012 by Fozfromoz

[Ulysses G.]

From Villa I bought Bragg organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar. All genuine no preservatives.

I usually for Heinz apple cider vinegar. It is not organic, but it is natural and half the price.

[msg362]

Vinegar is acetic acid!! typically 5%. What's the problem? I use it to soften towels that have hardened from too much softener. Chemically there is no difference between 'natural' acetic acid and 'non brewed' Others may have more flavour if made from natural ingredients.

[xen]

Thanks for the replies , I realise vinegar is a generic term for an acidic type product - acetic acid i now know ,thanks msg362.

However the gist of my question is how do you tell the difference or am i i to assume that Artificial Vinegar is petroleum based along with all the other vinegars on the same shelf and are suitable for the many hosehold uses i use vinegar for and for cooking i should buy the imported Apple cidar or malt vinegars if i want a non petroleum product ?,

I may have answered my own question ,

[msg362]

Thanks for the replies , I realise vinegar is a generic term for an acidic type product - acetic acid i now know ,thanks msg362.

However the gist of my question is how do you tell the difference or am i i to assume that Artificial Vinegar is petroleum based along with all the other vinegars on the same shelf and are suitable for the many hosehold uses i use vinegar for and for cooking i should buy the imported Apple cidar or malt vinegars if i want a non petroleum product ?,

I may have answered my own question ,

I tend to use the 'nonbrewed' just as a chemical, for softeneing towels or if I need to make something slightly acidic. For salads/ cooking, I try to use 'naturally fermented', but, if push came to shove I wouldn't worry about using the 'artificial' in cooking. Yes, buy malt vinegar ( made by fermenting malt!) or apple cider vinegars, again, made by fermentation I think.

[NanaFoods]

in Thailand, I believe "distilled vinegar" must be of fermented origin, whereas "artificial vinegar" is derived from other means. Both are acetic acid solutions (usually 5%).

Not a huge price difference.

[tampasailor]

It's very easy to make your own fermented vinegar.

Make a cheap rice wine and let a fruit fly "vinager fly" innoculate it and the alcohol will turn to vinegar in time and a blob called a mother will form in the container. You can use this mother of vinegar to make more vinegar from rice wine. If you use sweetened tea instead of wine and a Scoby Mother "Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast" it will trurn to vinegar in a few weeks. If you stop the ferment when it tases good and not too sour, then add a bit of fruit juice and cap it in a bottle and put it at room temp a couple of days and then in the fridge, you will get a secondary ferment fizz when you open it and you will have a pleasant probiotic drink. Take it easy at first, maybe two oz per day for a week and see if your gut likes the new bugs then you can increase to maybe 8-16 oz per day. Google Kombucha and you will see lots of info on this Manchurian Mushroom as the Scoby is sometimes called.

If you are not aware, do some searching~! I usually have a few gallons brewing. Then look up Keifer~! Yogurt has similar bugs in it, if you can find it live and unpasturized. All have health benifits. Last time I had Kombucha in Thailand was in Pai in the Sky and it was made in a healthfood hangout. Mine is better 555.

These processes are aerobic so need air to work. The secondary ferment is used to turn some sugar left to alcohol and CO2 fizz and is anerobic.

Distilled Vinegar us usually fermented sugar water turned to alcohol then to vinegar, then distilled to concentrate the acetic acid to a higer level than can be obtained from fermentation alone. This also pasturizes it so it is dead acid water with no probiotic life. The apple cider vinegar you hear about is live and un distilled. Also easy to make if you have apple juice.

Thai Rice Vinegar

Edited September 4, 2012 by tampasailor

[MrRed]

Don't say vinegar say Sarsons.