Brenda, a fellow Mary Jane Farm Girl, shared with the rest of us her exciting discovery of using vinegar in the dishwasher. She said that when she tried it, her dishes came out sparkling clean. Of course, you know that I had to try it and so I poured 1/2 cup into the bottom of my dishwasher and was stunned to find my washed glasses sparkling like fine crystal and the stainless pots and pans showing my face like mirrors. I was hooked. Do you know how many things there are that you can do with vinegar?? Well, I’m going to give you a few that I use plus some I found on the Internet.

Place a tblsp or two of vinegar



and milk into a glass container



and microwave for 30 seconds for buttermilk substitute


I love buttermilk for use in pancakes, waffles, biscuits and many other breads and cakes. However, because I use so much buttermilk, I frequently run out. Not to worry. I just put 1-2 tbsp of vinegar into the bottom of a glass measuring cup, add the equivalent of sweet milk for buttermilk, pop in the microwave for 30 seconds and ‘voila’, I have curdled milk with the same properties as buttermilk.





Mr. Fix-It has a lot of trouble with indigestion from meals and so we have found that 1/4 cup (with each meal) of the refrigerated mixture of 24 oz concord grape juice, 32 oz of apple cider with the “mother”, 1/4 cup of local honey and 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar with the “mother” keeps him from having tummy trouble. And it tastes good too!





Want to rid yourself of an odiferous garbage disposal? Just freeze vinegar in ice cube trays and throw the ice cubes into the disposal to grind up.





How about that glass you found on your corner table in the living room, left there two weeks ago by the child who was told, “No drinks in the living room!”? Yep, there’s that telltale ring of a water stain. Just take equal amounts of olive oil and vinegar and rub into the stain to remove it.





According to the Vinegar Institute, (they have a place where you can graduate with a degree in pickling agents?) vinegar has many uses, not the least of which is as an ant repellent. Just wipe your counters with distilled white vinegar and no ant will come within a mile of your home (because of the smell, I’m sure). I daresay that might work on the busybody relative variety of aunt as well. And add 2 Tbsp of the apple cider version of vinegar to ½ quart water, 2 Tbsp. sugar and a couple of drops of dish soap and you can lure fruit flies to a certain “death by a really disgusting substance.”





Figure this one out: You can pour straight vinegar on the weeds that line your sidewalk, repeating until they die (pickled dandelions anyone?) but add a cup of vinegar to a gallon of water for a perfect solution to soak your azaleas and will have them thanking you for the acid – well not literally.





Cut flowers stay fresher longer if you add 2 Tbsp of vinegar and 2 Tbsp of sugar to a quart of water to fill the vase. If you change the water every 5 days, the flowers will stay perky.



Our little Ellie (Long-haired Miniature Dachshund)


I got a chuckle out of this vinegar application according to the Institute – tackling smelly dogs: “Wet the dog down with fresh water. Use a mixture of 1 cup white distilled vinegar and 2 gallons water. Saturate the dog’s coat with this solution. Dry the dog off without rinsing the solution. The smell will be gone!” Right. And now they will smell like vinegar. Good trade.





Vinegar will remove that bumper sticker for the candidate for whom you voted and who wound up having an affinity for bribes and women. It will soften paint brushes, clean radiator vents and leather shoes and even fix DVDs that occassionally stick on one frame. Most amazing of all is that according to the winner of the 2007 Online Vinegar Use Competition (what is amazing is that there is such a contest and that people actually entered), you can immerse your gold jewelry in one cup of apple cider vinegar for 15 minutes and it comes out sparkling like it is real!! No need for expensive jewelry cleaning!!





Vinegar has many more uses that you can find at the website of the Vinegar Institute. Yes, it is a weird and smelly liquid, but evidently, it is nature’s miracle substance! Go out and buy a couple of gallons! I’m buying stock!




Happy Vinegaring!


MB