When Benjamin Morrell dedicated his memoir to the Secretary of the United States Navy, he made a curious recommendation. The early 19th-century captain recommended that all long-voyage ships be provisioned with plenty of molasses and vinegar. Captain Morrell, though reputedly a teller of tall tales, certainly knew how to provision ships for success. His travels took him from Antarctica, all through the South Seas, up and down the Pacific, and to the West African coast, and he took the care and keeping of his men seriously.
Molasses and vinegar, combined with ginger and water, make switchel—a sort of sweet-sour drinking vinegar that the Captain lauded for its beneficial effects on maintaining his sailors’ health. The drink was thought to keep scurvy at bay (it doesn’t), help make questionable water safer to drink (it doesn’t), ease digestive complaints (possibly), and give hard-working men energy (certainly)….