Vinegar

Vinegar is alcohol’s natural sequel — acetic acid bacteria use oxygen to metabolize ethanol into acetic acid, a far more potent antimicrobial agent than alcohol itself. The French name says it plainly: vin aigre, “sour wine.” Our ancestors discovered wine and vinegar together, since fermented plant juices naturally sour on air exposure; the major winemaking challenge for millennia has been delaying this transformation. Babylonians were making vinegar from dates, raisins, and beer by ~4000 BCE. Pliny considered it unmatched as a seasoning.