My in laws drink honey & vinegar water every morning for 80 some odd years.
I have been liking into fire cider & am wondering if vinegar may be cheaper, easier to make & better for my health then alcohol.
I want your honest opinion, is it better for some things, but not as good for other or is it lift up to a choice of an individual?
Dose one keep better than the other?
I am looking forward to others chiming in with their answers, but until then, here are my areas of expertise and experience with vinegar tincturing:
Vinegar tinctures do work but are not especially noted for long, long-term storage. Alcohol tinctures work best for that purpose. I try to use up my vinegar tinctures within a year but some herbalists, such as Rosemary Gladstar, have found the tinctures can last for much longer than a year.
This bit is taken from my personal notes:
Gladstar states that most of the herbal literature warns that vinegar tinctures have a shelf life of only six to eight months, but she has found that vinegar tinctures stored in a cool, dark place can last for many years. For best results, use undiluted vinegar containing five to seven percent acetic acid. Adding water to a vinegar tincture in any proportion or using fresh herbs that are too moist will cause fermentation and spoilage; so be sure to let succulent fresh herbs wilt and partially dry before using them in a vinegar tincture.
I think it is a good idea to look into making and using vinegar tinctures now because alcohol may someday be in short supply (as in the midst of disasters and other interruptions of supply). This is precisely why I am interested in gaining more experience with vinegar tinctures so that I can better gauge the properties of vinegar tinctures and at what dosage, as compared to alcohol tinctures or water-based teas and decoctions.
Vinegar is very easy to make from scratch and there are lots of tutorials on the internet.
Also, don't underestimate DRYING herbs. As a rule, they store better than vinegar tinctures. Depending upon the herb, dried plant matter can remain potent for many months up to a few years.
Keep in mind that some properties of some herbs are best extracted with water, others are best extracted with alcohol, and some with oils.
But that is a whole 'nother topic.