Vinegar: Snake oil, magical cure-all … or somewhere in between

Sunomono is a Japanese cucumber salad dressed with soy sauce, sesame seeds, and rice vinegar. Tastes good, but good for the heart? Photo: Getty

The good old Babylonians, were probably the first to discover the use of vinegar as a food preservative. That was around 5000 BC.

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, (460-377 BC) used vinegar to clean ulcerated wounds. He was also keen on using oxymel, composed of honey and vinegar, as a treatment for persistent coughs.