Expert: George Maxwell - 9/7/2007

Question
Hi, I'm trying to do a titration on vinegar but I'm a little bit stuck. as to which acid is in my vinegar. It's called 'Distilled Vinegar', and in the ingredients it says 'Barley Malt Vinegar'.

I've looked on google but I have been completely confused by the variety of vinegar.

Thanks,
Kris

Answer
Thanks for your question.

All vinegar, no matter what the name is, is a dilute solution of acetic acid (modern name = ethanoic acid), the normal concentration being about 4%.

The "Distilled" refers to removing impurities from the vinegar by distillation, and the "barley malt" refers to the source of the acid: usually it's just ethanol that has been oxidised.

The chemical structure of ethanoic acid is CH3COOH

Hope this helps, thank you again.