Vinegar has different uses, benefits

Los Angeles: From helping in making a refreshing drink to cleaning your vegetables -- as a versatile ingredient, vinegar can be used for multiple things.

* Make a refreshing drink: Guzzling vinegar may sound like a recipe for a bellyache, but it's been prized as a revitalising, thirst-quenching ingredient since ancient Roman times. To make your own tart refresher, dilute one part drinking vinegar in four to five ounces of soda water and liquor.

* Bake a sweet pie: Are you up for a slice of vinegar pie? This classic pioneer-era dessert contains its namesake ingredient, but the finished product is a sweet custard creation with a slight tang, encased in a golden, buttery crust. The beauty of this dessert, which dates back to the 1800s, is that you can whip up a satisfying sweet with little more than pantry staples.

* Use up your herbs: Dry your extra herbs or make olive oil ice cubes with them, but you can also use them to dress up your vinegar. Start with fresh herbs that have been washed, patted dry and placed in a glass jar. Cover with a good-quality vinegar and let infuse in a cool, dark place for a minimum of one day and up to a week, until the desired flavour is achieved. Strain through cheesecloth into a clean jar and seal with a cork.

* Poach a better egg: Hate those floaty streamers you get every time you try to poach an egg? Add a teaspoon or two of simple white vinegar to the poaching water. The vinegar helps the white set more quickly by lowering the pH of the water, reducing any pesky feathering.

* Clean your produce: Produce is healthy. All the little microorganisms that live on it, not so much. Make a DIY (Do It Yourself) produce wash with natural disinfecting properties by mixing a cup of water, a cup of white vinegar, a tablespoon of baking soda and a tablespoon of lemon juice. Briefly soak produce in the solution or spray it on, then rinse and rub your bounty under cold water and pat dry. Clean and green.