Podcast #266 – Vinegar on the Farm


When my friend Chuck Till posted about vinegar, it reminded us of how much we have used vinegar in just the past few days here on the farm. So we decided to use today’s podcast to think through all the good things vinegar does for us.


One of the questions Chuck asked was how many kinds of vinegar we have on the farm. We came up with six:

  • 20% – scary strong
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Red wine vinegar
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Fig vinegar
  • White vinegar

We probably use 10 times as much of the clear white vinegar as we do everything else combined. It’s our go-to household chemical.

Listen – 18:01

Here’s Chuck’s post about vinegar that got us thinking about all of this.

Here’s the book Amanda was describing during our conversation: Vinegar, by Vicki Lansky.

And here are the three books Lansky recommends (none of which we have seen or read) that Amanda called out during the podcast:

  • Antol, Marie Nadine, The Incredible Secrets of Vinegar (Avery/Penguin Putnam, 1999)
  • Diggs, Lawrence, Vinegar (iUniverse.com, 1989, 2000)
  • Thacker, Emily, The Vinegar Book (Tresco Publishers, 1994)
This is my tea mug before I used the vinegar on it. Dingy brown stains inside, although the mug is clean as it can be.

This is my tea mug before I used the vinegar on it. Dingy brown stains inside, although the mug is clean as it can be.

I mixed a solution of two tablespoons of white vinegar and two tablespoons of salt to form a soft paste.

I mixed a solution of two tablespoons of white vinegar and two tablespoons of salt to form a soft paste.

Using one of our all-purpose shop towels, I applied a little elbow grease.

Using one of our all-purpose shop towels, I applied a little elbow grease.

The mug looks much better now. Still some scratches and discoloration, but the vinegar took care of the ugly brown cast and the worst stains.

The mug looks much better now. Still some scratches and discoloration, but the vinegar took care of the ugly brown cast and the worst stains.

The Longleaf Breeze Perennial Farm Calendar

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