Summit, SD

Here we are in beautiful Summit, SD.

The campground was a nice campground... just in the middle of nowhere. I'll give you an idea how small this town is, I walked around the entire town in two walks, but I could have done it in one. 

This is the oldest building in the town, it was the Summit Bank, built in 1915. Today there is an addition, and is operated by Minnibank.

Residents and visitors can still get ice cream in the little town, all one needs to do is walk up to the ice cream truck parked in front of the campground. It's not a Baskin Robbins by any means, but they did have about 8 selections.

We took a drive into Watertown one morning to visit the Veteran's Memorial. Watertown was a 30 mile drive from Summit. Watertown is where we needed to go shopping.

It is a bit surprising how many small towns have memorials. I believe they still have the patriotic spirit that is lacking in most of our bigger cities. The theme throughout most of the memorials we have visited is..."Freedom isn't Free, Thank a Veteran".

The flags that fly over this memorial represent either fallen servicemembers, or organizations that have Veteran membership.

This memorial park was dedicated in August of 2006. 

The back walls have all the names of the fallen servicemembers from this area, and there were a lot. The black granite walls are filled with names on both sides

These are just some of the walls celebrating all those that serves in the regular military services, reserve units, and Merchant Marines.

Several location at the memorial contain a small inscribed piece of black granite, and it reads... "THE STORY OF THE CHAIN... A granite base, rough cut undone reminds us that no conflict is won, and incomplete is the memorial of war, until all souls missing are accounted for. A chain of iron forever binds their uncertain fate to our seeking minds, to we the living, in our hearts must remain, the tool to finish, and the linking chain. This flag someday, to the center set. These chains removed, this granite etched. May this be the goal of all who set their feet upon this memorial, now incomplete. Several of the sections have links of chain attaching them the ground, reminding us that we are linked to all those still not home from battle.

While visiting the memorial Carol noticed some RVs parked nearby. We took a walk over, and discovered a city park campground. After we walked around it we stopped and talked with camp hosts for a bit. One thing led to another, and we reserved an open spot for the remainder of our stay in the area. After making the reservation Carol and I scooted back to Summit, broke camp, and moved down to the Stokes-Thomas Lake city park in Watertown.

Our site is close to the water, which is nice until the site next to us is filled.

SHORT WALK TO THE WATER

This guy was my welcoming committee at the storm shelter.

The shelter is pretty good sized, and that's because there are about 50 sites on the side we are located at; there is a total of about 70 sites in the entire campground.

This park also has little cabins available for rent...

That's me trying to take the picture through the glass door, into the spacious sleeping quarters. At the bottom right is a table that could probably seat four comfortably.

This was one of our evening sunsets. Like most of the sunsets in the Midwest, they are colorized thanks to Canadian fires.

While in Watertown we made good use of our time. Surprisingly there were several attractions to visit, both of which we had planned to visit while parked in Summit, because it was closer to the attractions.

I am going to put a sour look on your face with the first attraction... The International Vinegar Museum (https://www.internationalvinegarmuseum.com).

The museum was an after thought of Lawrence J. Diggs. Originally he moved to Roslyn, (population of 251), to write and research his favorite subject... vinegar.

1998 rolls around and Mr. Diggs and the community are looking for ways to improve the quality of life, and attract new businesses to their community. When it was evident that outside businesses were not interested, they turned inward to their own strengths. When it was first suggested to Mr. Diggs that he open a museum, he was reluctant, but did come around to the idea. The museum was created in an unoccupied building on main street.

The museum is an exhibition that ranges from the beginning of known uses in the ancient world, to home uses for vinegar. so lets step inside the world of vinegar.

The collection that is displayed is mostly Mr. Digg's personal collection, and there is approximately 200 on exhibit. 

Mr. Diggs is/was a consultant to vinegar manufacturers, wrote a book entitled Vinegar, and today works in a down-state prison, preparing inmates for the outside world after their release.

Anyway, back to the museum. Turning to your left, we start with a description of the process for making vinegar: a starch (grain, root crops, etc.) is turned to sugar by malting, molds, enzymes, and hydrolysis → sugar (fruit, roots, tree saps, grass juices, etc.) converted to alcohol by yeast → alcohol converted to vinegar by Acetobacter Aceti → vinegar then aged to improve flavor and mouth feel → vinegar packaged and shipped.

Vinegar is not anything new, in fact, it reaches all the way back to biblical times.

Let's talk a little about an important man in the vinegar world,

Louis Pasteur, who is best known for the process of pasteurization, and debunking the theory of spontaneous generation. In his day in France, he was also known for saving French wines. In the process he learned how to greatly improve the production of vinegar. He describes his method of fermentation, which is called "Orleans method", also known as the "let alone method". This method is used to create deep aromas and flavors from the fruits used to make vinegar.

This method uses a barrel filled with wine and starter culture with the vinegar bacteria added to it. The barrel has holes in it to allow air in, which the bacteria uses to turn the wine into vinegar.

Orleans, France (which the process was name after) was once filled with vinegar makers, however, when the cities river dried up, so did vinegar business.

The last Orleans vinegar maker is the Martin Pouret Vinegar Company.

The area in France where vinegar was made was once called "Street of the Vinegar Makers". The street is located in Paris, France, and is the last bit of history left of the French vinegar makers era.

I know it is hard to see, but the vinegars on display are from different regions of the world.

Each pin on the map represents a country that produces vinegar, some countries produce more that one vinegar. Some of the countries making vinegar include China, Japan, Korea, Columbia, Europe, even Antarctica.

Lets take a closer look at the wall of vinegars.

Top row: fruit vinegars, such as black currant, lemon.

Middle row: apple cider, pear, and coconut vinegars.

Bottom row: wine vinegars.

Have you ever wondered why one vinegar costs more than another, it might be because you are buying a grain vinegar vice a fruit vinegar.

Did you just ask what a grain vinegar is? Well it could be a malt vinegar (usually used with fish and chips), a corn vinegar, or a rice vinegar. Unlike fruit vinegars which do not have to convert their sugar, grain must convert their starch to sugars, making them more expensive. 

The first step to converting starch to sugars is accomplished through the action of malting, acids, or enzymes (usually from molds). The sugars are then fermented to alcoholic spirits using yeast. The ethyl alcohol is turned into acetic alcohol by vinegar bacteria. If molds are used to convert the starches to sugar, it becomes a triple fermentation process.

Let's talk about the different kinds of grain vinegars.

Malt Vinegar: originally it was made from sour beer. So you may be asking... what is a sour beer? a sour beer is deliberately brewed to achieve a high level of acidity. The acidity delivers a predominantly sour flavor to the beer, as opposed to the bitter and sweet flavors found in standard ales and lagers. Because the science of brewing has improved the process, it is tough to find sour beer today. Don't worry, the vinegar manufacturers have found a way to simulate sour beer... a specially prepared WORT. A wort is an infusion of sugars from starchy grains in water, prepared by mashing, but before fermentation to an alcohol.

Corn Vinegar: the corn sugar is obtained via treatment of the corn starch.

Rice Vinegar: predominately made in countries with lots of rice. The conversion of its starches to sugar in the natural process uses a mold called Aspergillus oryzae. The enzymes produced by the mold turn the starch into sugar. There is a commercially made enzyme for those that do not want to use the mold. The powder is easier to use.

There is a great misconception by many people regarding rice vinegar. Many folks outta touch, call rice vinegar, "rice wine vinegar", but it is not made from fruits.

What about Balsamic vinegars.

Balsamic vinegars are something a bit more special. Tribbiano grapes are crushed, and the juice is removed and boiled in copper kettles. The juice is then poured into many barrels. These barrels are made from various woods. As the vinegar ages, and reduces, the barrel reduces in size. Each of the wood barrels adds its unique flavor to the vinegar during aging. As the vinegar ages, it becomes the consistency of maple syrup. Finally, it has to pass one of the world's strictest quality control process to receive the highest label known as "Traditionale".

This little bottle of balsamic vinegar carries the "Tradionale" label, made in Italy, and costs $200.00 a bottle. Now you are probably wondering why it costs so much, well... good balsamic vinegars take a minimum of 12 years to age. This little bottle of Extra Vecchio on display was aged for over 25 years. This "legendary" balsamic is experienced by very few people today.

There are a quite a few imitation balsamic vinegars on the market, but they do not compare to the real stuff, which is in short supply. The "good" imitations have one advantage over the "real stuff", they can be used in cooking; imitations are good for BBQ sauces. The "Tradionale" is best experienced at mouth temperature. The flavors are lost when "Traditionale" are used for cooking.

Korea has the longest and most developed history in making vinegar, using vinegar for over 700 years in their cooking.

China is another country with history in vinegar. Shanxi Province is in the northern portion of China. The people have been making Lao Chen (aged) Shanxi vinegar for over 3,000 years. Shanxi vinegar is the only known vinegar that is made from all natural ingredients, which include, sorghum, barley, and peas. Since it is made naturally, no extracts, sugars, preservatives, or colorings are used. The vinegar is tended to daily while fermenting in the sun for over a year. This vinegar is rich in amino acids, magnesium, potassium and iron, exceeding nutritional values of other vinegars on the market today.

Japanese vinegar production is similar to the other Asian countries, with the exception of the use of rice. the Japanese method of vinegar production uses mold (koji), known as Aspergillus oryzae, that turns the starch into sugar, then yeast converts the sugar to alcohol, the vinegar bacteria turns the alcohol into vinegar, and stored in vats. Scientist have said that the three processes must take place separately, however, the Japanese vinegar makers do them all together.

I did mention malt vinegar, so lets talk about how it is manufactured. In the early days, while most of Europe was making wine and wine vinegar, England was producing malt vinegar. We all know that alcohol made from grain becomes beer, malt, or ale. The British vinegar was known as malt vinegars, or alegars. Belief it or not, malt vinegars can have a smoother and superior taste than their cousins, the fruity ones. There is a large quantity of malt vinegars used today, thanks to "Fish and Chips".

ITEMS CONTAINING VINEGAR

Something we have not yet talked about... aging... I'm referring to vinegar. When vinegar is first produced, it has a very harsh taste, so to reduce the harshness, it is aged in wooden barrels. American, French, and Russian oaks are used, with the American Oak being the most popular. These types of wood impart an additional flavor to the vinegar, while smoothing the existing flavors. Without aging, the vinegar would only be tolerable for work around the house.

Speaking of other uses for vinegar. When I was a kid many eons ago, my mom use to stick me in a "vinegar bath" when I was sunburned. No, I was not doused with a bottle of vinegar and told to sit in a corner for awhile. Mom would add vinegar to my bath water, usually lukewarm, and I would just lay back and relax... or fall asleep. Mom can in periodically to check on me.

Here are some other uses for vinegar: mosquito bites (Carol and I have first hand experience with this one), head lice, pseudomonas infection (bacterial infection), genital warts, and box jellyfish stings (if applied quick enough after sting). Some people have said taking a teaspoon a day of apple cider vinegar helps digestion.

How can vinegar help around the house you ask, I will answer that one for you. Dirty windows... equal parts distilled vinegar and warm water, and a soft dry cloth will help your windows shine. What, you have dried paint on your shiny glass windows... hot vinegar will help you remove that nasty paint. 

Planning a party and your drinking glasses look embarrassing... 1/2 cup of distilled vinegar in a gallon of water will remove the film from those glasses, and they will shine at the party.

Something not right about the taste of your morning coffee... fill the coffeemaker reservoir with vinegar, and run it through a brewing cycle, this will remove the mineral build-up in the coffeemaker. Make sure you rinse the coffeemaker thoroughly with fresh water after the brew cycle is finished.

For the folks out there dying their own fabrics... add a cup of distilled vinegar to the last rinse cycle, this will lock in the colors.

For you folks that have sensitivity to laundry detergents, try this... add a cup of white vinegar to the last rinse cycle; the acid in the vinegar is not strong enough to damage clothes, but dissolves the alkalis in the soaps and detergents.

Finally, for those folks that still use bread boxes... after cleaning the bread box, wipe it down with a cloth containing distilled vinegar to keep it smelling sweet.

SYMBOLS FOR VINEGAR

So you think we are all talked out on vinegar... WRONG.

Lawrence Diggs, "The Vinegar Man", experimented with vinegar in pottery, and paper making.

This art was made with microbial cellulose, popularly known as "Vinegar Paper". Other papers are produced from the cell wall of plants, but not this paper. For this paper, the molecular cellulose fibers are produced and woven by the same bacteria that makes vinegar.

I did mentioned pottery too, yes.

"The Vinegar Man" started making pottery while he was creating containers to hold his vinegars. The different colors were derived from adding different metals to the vinegar. I know this process from the days when I would add steel wool to my vinegar, creating a black tint for staining wood.

Here we are at the end of this tour... vinegar tasting... and it was good. Sorry you missed it.

This is a lot for one post, so I'll continue this Watertown adventure in the next  go round.