Vinegar drinks, step by step

1. Vinegar as a drink

Before lemonade, people working in the fields in summer drank water with a little vinegar and honey.

1. Sour, sweet, water — All these drinks share the same base: a little sour, a little sweet and plenty of water. They differ in what gives the sweetness and the scent.
2. At least 1 : 10 — Vinegar is only drunk diluted, at least 1 : 10 with water. For an everyday drink, dilute it 1 : 20 to 1 : 30.
3. Cider vinegar, 4–6 % — The best vinegar for drinks is cider vinegar at 4–6 %. Below 3 % it spoils easily, and over 7 % it’s too sharp to drink.
4. Shrub, raspberry, hot — Shrub is drunk 1 : 6 with water, raspberry vinegar 1 : 6 to 1 : 8. In winter, a spoonful of honey and a spoonful of vinegar go into a mug of hot water.

Why: A drink like that quenches thirst better than plain water and doesn’t spoil in the sun. All vinegar drinks are made without cooking or with brief heating and contain no alcohol, so they suit guests who don’t drink too.

• The method for making vinegar, the mother and measuring strength are covered in detail in H44-06 Fruit vinegar.
• Shrub and raspberry vinegar are high in sugar. Anyone watching their sugar should choose posca: 1 part wine vinegar to 15–20 parts water.

2. Teeth, stomach, vessels

Vinegar has a pH of roughly 2.4–3.0, more acidic than lemon juice.

1. Straw and water — Drink with a meal or through a straw, then rinse your mouth with water. Don’t brush your teeth for 30 minutes after an acidic drink.
2. Who should drink it rarely — Anyone with heartburn, acid reflux, an ulcer or an inflamed oesophagus should drink vinegar drinks rarely or not at all.
3. Good vessels — For vinegar, use glass, stainless steel, food-grade plastic and a small wooden cask. Replace a metal cap with a plastic one: vinegar eats through it in a few months.
4. Never metal or glaze — No aluminium, galvanised metal, copper or brass. Acid draws lead out of old glaze of unknown origin, and you can neither see nor taste it.

Why: In a diluted drink it’s mild, but neat or strong it erodes tooth enamel, the oesophagus and the stomach. “A spoonful on an empty stomach” is not a healthy habit but a risk.

• Large amounts of vinegar every day can lower potassium in the blood. Anyone taking diuretics (water tablets), digoxin or insulin should ask a doctor before drinking it regularly.
• Older children can have the drink diluted 1 : 30, with a meal. Honey drinks are not given to children under one year.

3. Homemade vinegar · Locked

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4. Shrub 1 : 1 : 1 · Locked

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5. Oxymel: vinegar and honey · Locked

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6. Switchel and the larder · Locked

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