RE: [CH] is it possible to extract vinegar

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Is it possible to extract vinegar (from sauces)?

Not without some pretty expensive equipment.

The question turns out to be:
How much saltier (sodium acetate, NaAc)
do you want your sauce?

Or, in short, read the label and find a sauce
that has any kind of citrus juice (instead of the
cheaper vinegar) as the acid component.

I prefer lime juice.

~~~

If you go to
http://www.chemfinder.com/

And fill in acetic acid,
you'll see its Water Solubility> miscible
[which means you can't really separate it out
either by distillation, BP> 117.9C
(water's BP> 100C)
or by freezing, MP> 16.6C
(water's BP> 0C)]
[If I remember rightly,
glacial acetic acid
- acetic at its most concentrated -
is 98% acetic, 2% water.]

And fill in sodium hydroxide
(to neutralize that vinegar taste)
you'll note it's also corrosive.
Strong lye (or any alkali/base)
is slimy, oily and gradually
eats your skin, but near instantly
cauterizes your mucous membranes:
put it on your lips and they'll fuse together.

Concentrated, either is bad news
in the hands of the unwary.

Vinegar diluted down to 10% (also
called 20 points) and 10% lye are both
pretty innocuous. Put small amounts of
them together and you'll get a little
exothermic reaction heat.

Sodium acetates (262) are approved
food additives down under:
http://www.hawkesbury.uws.edu.au/~skurrayg/code.txt

And are in wide use in food in the U.S.:
http://www.phys.com/b_nutrition/03encyclopedia/02terms/s/sodiu_ace.html

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