31.9 Is vinegar just acetic acid?
Description
This article is from the Chemistry FAQ, by Bruce Hamilton B.Hamilton@irl.cri.nz with numerous contributions by others.
31.9 Is vinegar just acetic acid?
Most countries have food regulations that permit the use of acetic acid as
clearly-labelled "synthetic white vinegar". Most vinegars are actually malt
vinegars ( fermented ), and synthetic acetic acid is not allowed to be sold
as Malt Vinegar. Most natural, unfortified, malt vinegars are appropriately
labelled. The classification can get rather messy when bulk suppliers dilute
malt vinegar concentrates with acetic acid, which itself could either be
synthetic, or from another fermentation process. Regulations usually require
any addition of acetic acid to be clearly marked on the label, and the
product is not normally legally sold as pure "malt vinegar". The amount of
acetic acid in "natural" malt, cider, or wine vinegars usually ranges from
4% - 6%, but some examples can have up to approximately 20%. Vinegar is
produced by the exothermic aerobic bacterial oxidation of ethanol to acetic
acid via acetaldehyde.
Continue to:
My Books
