National Vinegar Day

Most people don’t give much thought to vinegar, so they might be surprised that there’s actually a holiday that celebrates it. This holiday is called National Vinegar Day and it’s observed annually on November 1st. It’s a day on which people can celebrate this aqueous solution of acetic acid that may or may not contain additional flavorings. After all, without vinegar, we couldn’t be able to enjoy pickled foods, salad dressings, or a wide variety of other different dishes. Sounds like a good reason to us to celebrate this holiday with your favorite type of vinegar.

The History Of Vinegar

Unable to locate the people or organizations who are responsible for creating National Vinegar Day, we decided to go ahead and research the history of vinegar instead. And what we discovered is nothing short of amazing. If you have ever wondered when people started making vinegar, then you’re going to want to come along with us as we lay out its history.

According to historians, vinegar is as old as civilization. Ancient scrolls dating back to the Babylonians have been found and in those scrolls were recipes for vinegar. That makes vinegar at least 5,000-years old, but it’s probably even older than that. In Ancient Rome, Romans walked around with what they called posca—or drinking vinegar. Posca was a byproduct of winemaking and can be thought of as a slightly acidic wine. Vinegar was also used to keep armies hydrated during ancient times because groundwater was often contaminated.

All throughout history, vinegar has been an important ingredient for cooking and food preservation. It’s always been used to add flavor to dishes or for pickling foods. It’s also been traditionally used as a household cleaner—a practice that still occurs to this day. The name vinegar comes from Middle English and is derived from Old French words for vyn (sour) and egre (wine). These words would be changed into the words vinum (wine) and acer (sour). It would eventually be shortened to vinegar in modern English.

A Quick Rundown Of Different Vinegar Types

Although we can’t list all of the different vinegar types, we can list some of the ones that we think are the most widely used and list them below. With that said, below are some of the most common kinds of vinegar used today.

Observing National Vinegar Day

This day can be observed by taking the time out of your day to learn a little bit more about vinegar. You can dig down deeper into the history of this ingredient, or you can learn new recipes that utilize the versatility of vinegar. While you’re buying and using your favorite types of vinegar, don’t forget to use the hashtag #NationalVinegarDay on your social media accounts to spread the word about this holiday to the world.

When is it?
This year (2024)
November 1 Friday
Next year (2025)
November 1 Saturday
Last year (2023)
November 1 Wednesday
Topic
Food & Drinks