Vinegar has been made and used by people for thousands of years. Traces of it have been found in Egyptian urns from around 3,000 BC.

Balsamic vinegar is from Italy and is made from concentrated grape juice. Apple cider vinegar is made from apples. Vinegar made from beer is produced in the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. Sugar cane vinegar is popular in the Philippines and made in France, the United States, Brazil and India. Coconut vinegar is used extensively in Southeast Asian cuisine. Vinegar made from honey is rare, although commercially available honey vinegars are produced in Italy, France, Romania, and Spain.

White vinegar is often used as a household cleaning agent. Vinegar has strong antibacterial properties and it has been found that 5% vinegar is 90% effective against mold and 99.9% effective against bacteria. The active ingredient in vinegar, acetic acid, can effectively kill mycobacteria, even highly drug-resistant strains. Acetic acid could therefore be used as an inexpensive and non-toxic disinfectant against drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) bacteria.

Vinegar is ideal for washing produce because it breaks down the wax coating and kills bacteria and mold. Vinegar is one of the best ways to restore color to upholstery like curtains and carpet. Vinegar is effective in removing clogs from drains.

Applying vinegar to common jellyfish stings deactivates the nematocysts; however, placing the affected areas in hot water (113 °F) is a more effective treatment because the venom is deactivated by heat. Using vinegar does not apply to the Portuguese man o' war stings as vinegar intensifies the stinging affect.

Vinegar dissolves mineral deposits from glass; for instance your coffee pot. Malt vinegar with newspaper is a method of cleaning grease-smeared windows and mirrors. Vinegar is effective at polishing silver, copper and brass.

Vinegar is an excellent solvent for epoxy resins and ungluing sticker-type price tags. Vinegar can help remove wallpaper when the paper is coated with a mixture of vinegar and boiling water, it breaks down the glue for easy removal.

Salt and Vinegar (Malt) is a must have on your Fish and Chips!

Vinegar is one of the key ingredients in Ranch Dressing which is excellent with Buffalo Wings.