# Rice vinegar gone south (brown). Need Help Fast!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-vinegar-gone-south-brown-need-help-fast/476511>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 10, 2008, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-vinegar-gone-south-brown-need-help-fast/476511 "2008-12-10T04:49:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-vinegar-gone-south-brown-need-help-fast/476511/1 "2008-12-10T04:49:46Z")

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OK, so I went down to the O.C. to visit my aunt and brother and I went to Westminster to gorge on Vietnamese food. I had banh mi at Lee’s and pho at two different places. So, when arriving back home, I had to go and try to make some banh mi. My rice vinegar has gone south, turning a brown color. It tastes super vinegary. Isn’t vinegar already wine that has gone bad? Will this kill me or are there any deleterious effects due to vinegar that has one even more sour?

I’m probably going to eat the sandwich anyway because I hardly ever get food poisoning.

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**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-vinegar-gone-south-brown-need-help-fast/476511/2 "2008-12-10T06:41:40Z")

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It’s not going bad, it’s just having growing pains. Vinegar is a live substance and after awhile, starts to grow it’s own mother. Vinegar darkens, then starts to form fronds or webs, which eventually turns into a gelatinous mass.

It’s harmless, and infact desireable, just poke vinegar mother into e-bay.

If it really bugs you you can filter it out with something like a coffee filter, but I generally leave them alone.

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**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-vinegar-gone-south-brown-need-help-fast/476511/3 "2008-12-10T20:27:34Z")

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Thanks, I woke up this morning and I’m not dead. Yet! Hell, I’m going to have another one for lunch. Unfortunately, the BBQ pork came out mediocre, I think I’ll use a fattier cut of meat next time.

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**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-vinegar-gone-south-brown-need-help-fast/476511/4 "2008-12-11T00:13:43Z")

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Yeah, I hear it’s the shits to wake up dead. Glad you survived.