Pyroligneous acid (acetum lignorum) was investigated by German chemist
Johann Rudolph Glauber. The acid was used as a substitute for vinegar. It was also used topically for treating wounds, ulcers and other ailments. During the
United States Civil War it became increasingly difficult for the
Confederate States of America to obtain much needed salt. Curing meat and fish with pyroligneous acid was attempted by cooks to compensate for this deficiency, but it was insufficient. In the nineteenth century, pyroligneous acid was used to prepare an impure
aluminium sulfacetate mordant for use with cotton, but the resulting mixture imparted a burnt odor to the cotton, and Ganswindt recommended its use be abandoned in favour of purer preparations in 1899. In 1895, pyroligneous acid was first marketed under the brand Wright's Liquid Smoke, a
liquid smoke product intended to impart the flavor and some of the preservative effects of
wood smoking to meats and vegetables. In the early 21st century, concerns about the carcinogenic effects of components of wood smoke decreased the production of heavily smoked foods in favor of lighter smoking and liquid smoke for foods. == References ==