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Behold the wonder of vinegar

Vinegar bookMy strongest memory involving vinegar (if one can have more than one memory that involves vinegar) is one of my older brothers dipping his french fries in it. He loved it, though I never saw the appeal.

But vinegar has many other uses too, both as food and in other ways, as explained in Vicki Lansky's book Vinegar: 400 Various, Versatile, and Very Good Uses You've Probably Never Thought Of. For example, did you know you can add a teaspoon of vinegar to a recipe that's too salty? Or that you can use it to clean countertops and fireplace bricks and also get rid of ants?

It also says that you can rub vinegar on the cut end of uncooked ham to prevent mold. I never really knew that was a problem, but I'm glad there's a solution for it.

Filed Under: Science, On the Blogs, Did you know?
Tags: did you know, uses for vinegar, vinegar, vinegar book

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 5)

Laura

11-12-2007 @6:23PM Laura said... I loooove Vinegar - I like dipping my fries in both malt and apple cider vinegar. I even love the smell!
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RobynT

11-12-2007 @7:00PM RobynT said... my humidifier says to clean it with vinegar. i like the idea of a non-toxic cleaner!

halfassfoodie.blogspot.com
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Donna

11-12-2007 @7:17PM Donna said... It's also great to use to get rid of hiccups.
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Sylvia

11-13-2007 @12:05AM Sylvia said... Plain old white vinegar can rid your toenails of some ugly nail fungus' too. Soak your toenails for 15-20 minutes a day until the new nail has grown completely out. You have to be consistant and do it every day. You should see healthly new nail growing out in 4-6 weeks, don't stop soaking your nails till the new nails have grown completely out or the fungus will come back, it worked on my sister's toenail fungus.
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Deuz Augustine

11-13-2007 @1:36AM Deuz Augustine said... Here in Canada, fries with vinegar is very, very common. I don't eat it much, but sometimes I get a craving ...
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RAYNELLE

11-13-2007 @9:17AM RAYNELLE said... HOW DO YOU USE VINEGAR TO GET RID OF ANTS?
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Ima Wurdibitsch

11-13-2007 @10:49AM Ima Wurdibitsch said... I clicked on the link to see the rest of the article. It's interesting that the majority of the comments prove the fallacy of several of the authors claims. Seems Ms. Lansky didn't really research much of her book. Perhaps she got all the information from email fwd:fwd:fwds?

http://wordybitch.blogspot.com
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Lydia

11-13-2007 @1:43PM Lydia said... Seeing as how even many of the critical "comments" regarding the referenced blog entry were erroneous in and of themselves, I doubt I'd put much faith in them either (vinegar + baking soda is chemistry, not physics...and there are more)

I personally use vinegar as an all-purpose non-toxic cleaner at my home, sometimes coupled with baking soda, sometimes alone, and it works wonders. Granted, it may not work as effectively as "lime-away" but it doesn't eat my flesh off when I use it either. Vinegar does have many uses, but I'm sure there are a number of those in the 400 that hinge on old wives tales.

Like just about anything, you can't always believe what you read!
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Patricia

11-13-2007 @2:13PM Patricia said... The best use I have for vinegar is to clean the toilet ring. I wet toilet paper in vinegar and place it on the ring. A couple hours later the ring can be brushed and it is gone.
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Thomas J Gassett

11-13-2007 @2:13PM Thomas J Gassett said... Vinegar is a great weedkiller. It changes the PH of the soil and kills and prevents weeds from returning.
I used vinegar to kill off water plants that had taken over a large pond/pool. I drained the pond, but it would never dry out completely. I had to kill the remaining weeds and didn't want to use some nasty chemical to do so, as they would eventually end up in a lake I use to fill the pond. Someone recomened vinegar. I used it and in a few days the weeds were dead, and I could refill my now weed free pond.
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manpie2000

11-13-2007 @2:15PM manpie2000 said... It does wonders for sunburns, even if it doesn't smell great. Put it into a spray bottle or mix it into a bath. Instant (and cheap!) relief!
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JPETTITTW

11-13-2007 @2:22PM JPETTITTW said... WORKS WONDERS FOR BALANCING THE PH IN YOUR BODY,APPLE CIDER VINGER THATB IS,BALANCED PH IS SO VERY IMPORTANT TO FIGHT OFF ALL THE NASTY LITTLE BUGS IN OUR LIVES
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serg

11-13-2007 @2:27PM serg said... VINEGAR IS VERY GOOD FOR HURT BURN ONE TEASPOON AND IS GONE FOR A FEW DAYS, OR JUST TAKE IT BEFORE YOU EAT ANY OF THOSE FOODS THAT GIVE YOU HURTBURN. AND FORGET ABOUT THOSE PILLS
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jaymi

11-13-2007 @2:32PM jaymi said... You can dab vinegar on wringworm, maybe three times a day, and will go away! It stings a little though.
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Judy Wright

11-13-2007 @2:47PM Judy Wright said... I used white vinegar to kill fleas on newborn puppies. I dabbed a cottonball into it and pretty much washed the puppy with it,then placed them under a heat source until dry. The fleas just fell off and their fur was so soft and smelled good and Momma didn't seem to mind licking them and feeding them afterwards.
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Michelle D

11-14-2007 @11:06PM Michelle D said... My daughter Ashley puts vinegar on EVERYTHING!!!!! It must the reason her teeth are soooo white!!!!
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Beth

11-13-2007 @3:56PM Beth said... I have always used vinegar on sunburns My Moms cure all.
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Michelle

11-13-2007 @3:10PM Michelle said... Vinegar is also good for getting rid of those pesky fruit flies. Pour some vinegar in a cup mix with dish detergent and wala! It attracks them to it and they eventually go inside the cup and it kills them.

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Michelle

11-13-2007 @3:19PM Michelle said... Vinegar is also good for those pesky fruit flies. Mix some vinegar with dish detergent into a cup. Wala! It attracks them and they go inside the cup and it gets rid of them!


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95 Comments / 5 Pages

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