this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2026
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Apparently apples were primarily used for making booze right from the start of the country, which does indeed make Johnny Appleseed's story feel rather different.
Washington was a big fan of apple jack, which is what you get when apple cider is freeze distilled.
Much of the US is experiencing prime weather for apple jack actually, though it's a little late to get a mash started in time for this weekend's weather.
Probably not primarily booze, but vinegar. Prior to refrigeration and canning, food preservation was massively important. This meant salting, smoking or pickling. Apples that weren't good for eating were important as a source for producing vinegar.
It was for cider. They drank a staggering amount of beer, cider and rum on a daily basis in the early 1800's. Cider consumption per capita in the was around 15 gallons/year. They drank even more beer and rum. They were also drinking around 5 gallons/year of distilled spirits.
Most people were what we would classify as functional alcoholics today.
It should be noted that a lot of the beer they drank was βsmall beerβ with 1-2% alcohol, which youβd have to really try to get drunk off of and was more of a nutritional source than anything. Liquid bread.
15 gallons per year comes out to about 6 pints per week. Not exactly staggering amounts, but combined with the spirits (and Iβm sure they were drinking other stuff as well), it would definitely qualify for alcoholism today.
Primarily for cider. Of which you can make vinegar, but that was not the primary reason. It was cider, which was the most popular drink in colonial/early US.
If you know what brewing with apples and not having access to modern equipment, sanitation and yeast is like then I highly doubt they were in short supply of vinegar.
Yeah, that's... that's what they're saying.
No they are saying that it was intentionally made into vinegar as it's primary purpose. That just simply isn't true, it's primary purpose was hard cider, vinegar was a byproduct of failed batches that few people would be in short supply of.
For alcohol, just deny it oxygen once it just gets going. You don't have to prevent exposure to acetobacter.