[Sca-cooks] New 'invention' of medieval food?

[Terry Decker]

Hoorde's Dyetary (1542), is the earliest listed reference in English 
according to the OED.  The various primary sources specifically 
differentiate between vinegar and alegar.  The generalized use of the term 
vinegar for all of these products appears to arise from the understanding 
that they are all acetic acid based in the early 19th Century, but the 
evidence is sketchy.

Bear

> Actually, I have seen references to Middle English uses of the word
> "alegar" (albeit only in secondary sources about brewing; haven't
> chased down any references) - but I'm quite certain it was more
> commonly referred to as a vinegar, even back then.