Hi Mao...
I worked in the honey business for a couple of years, and
I would submit that this concept comes from the Islamic
scriptures, in which you will find such maxims as:
"Anger spoils Faith as much as vinegar spoils honey."
http://al-islam.org/flowers/76.htm
...or:
"Bad manners spoil action just as vinegar spoils honey."
http://www.balagh.net/english/ahl_bayt/ali_bin_musa_al_rida/16.htm
See the search results below, for "vinegar spoils honey".
I would suggest that this simply means that the acetic
and sour taste of vinegar ruins the supreme sweetness
of honey by overpowering it and competing with it,
since the taste buds for experiencing sourness are
different than those which experience sweetness.
Mixing the two at the same time results in competing
sensations, with neither being fully appreciated.
As a metaphor, this makes perfect sense.
Of course, these are modern times, when a little of
every unique taste bud experience (salty, sweet, sour,
and bitter) combined into a dish is considered good
cuisine. Consequently, sweet and acid are often
combined as a salad dressing in the form of honey
and lemon juice and, yes, honey and vinegar.
As far as actually spoiling honey, this just isn't
possible. Honey itself doesn't go bad, as is evidenced
by edible honey being found buried in the pyramids,
thousands of years after is was placed there.
What's interesting is that honey, as produced by the
bees, is sometimes much thicker than other times, due
to the lack of water in the plants at the time the
honey is produced. It's tempting for a rookie in the
business to suggest adding water in order to make the
honey easier to pour and more consistent in thickness
from one batch to the next.
But a professional will be quick to inform them that
this cannot be done. Why? Because if you add water
artificially to the honey, *it* can turn to vinegar.
By introducing water which was not present when the
honey was harvested naturally by the bees, the
additional water can create the perfect environment
in which vinegar can grow from the bacteria which
create it. The simple formula is sugar + water +
the bacteria which create vinegar = vinegar.
So the truth is actually that water can spoil honey
and turn it into vinegar, but the metaphorical ideas
I noted above are the more likely source of what you
have heard.
Perhaps if you add vinegar to honey, plus additional
water, eventually the whole mixture will turn to
vinegar, and maybe it would even do this without the
addition of more water, but I wouldn't know, since
this particular combination never stays in storage
for long, being that it tastes so good on salads.
Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that
the answer cannot be improved upon by way of a dialog
established through the "Request for Clarification" process.
sublime1-ga
Searches done, via Google:
"vinegar spoils honey"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22vinegar+spoils+honey%22
vinegar mother
://www.google.com/search?q=vinegar+mother |
