Mike Mozart / Flickr / 2014 / CC BY 2.0
The 1st of November is Vinegar Day.
A day to celebrate an ingredient that we all take for granted — vinegar!
On Vinegar Day, you can hold a vinegar tasting, or make a vinegar pie, or put vinegar on your chips (French fries.) Countries in which vinegar on French fries is considered a given include England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
An old British fable, “The Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle”, tells the story of a woman who lived in a vinegar bottle who wished for and who was granted a better and better house to live in, but got no happier.
In late June, the town of Spilamberto, (near Modena, Emilia-Romagna) in Italy, holds a Balsamic Vinegar Day to promote the locally made balsamic vinegar as part of its St John the Baptist celebrations.
Vinegar for home canning
Pro safety tip: When you are using vinegar for home pickling for shelf-stable storage, be sure that the vinegar strength is 5 % or higher, and in general, that the vinegar / water ratio of the brine never has less than 50% vinegar in it unless you are using a modern recipe from a reputable source that has been lab-tested to be safe with a lower amount of vinegar. For more information, see the 50/50 rule.
#VinegarDay
See also: Vinegar, Vinegar Pie
History
The 1st of November appears to have the most recognition and backing as being Vinegar Day.
Various newspaper mentions put Vinegar Day on the 16th of June [1]”Today is National Vinegar Day.” — Fremont, Ohio: The News-Messenger. Wednesday, 16 June 2021. Page 2A, col. 4. and on the 31st of December [2]Andersen, Erin. Make a toast to the end of food holidays. Lincoln, Nebraska: Lincoln Journal Star. Page D1, bottom, col. 5 . Leading internet holiday sites, however, place it on the 1st of November. It’s not clear why, or when or how this was decided.