We use tamer vinegars, like white wine or sherry, liberally, but you have to be careful with white vinegar. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20) and Your California Privacy Rights. White vinegar is kind of a miracle ingredient, and although you might have hated the smell as a kid or think it’s only good for scrubbing gnarly pans, a bottle of the stuff is definitely a necessity in your kitchen. It's the result of a fermentation process where tons of little microorganisms eat and process alcohol (ethanol), dispensing the tart, pungent liquid we know as vinegar. Restaurant recommendations you trust. To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Soaking chopped vegetables for as little as an hour or two in a jar of white vinegar leaves you with a tangy, acidic, ready-to-go version of whatever ingredient you were looking at an hour ago. Don’t let this newfound respect for the most basic of vinegars change how you use it though. You can make vinegar out of anything that has alcohol in it—wine, hard apple cider, and even beer—and white vinegar is made from a vodka-esque spirit distilled from grain. But what's the deal with this stuff? White vinegar is comprised of acetic acid (about 5-10%) and water (about 90-95%), which yields a vinegar with an incredibly clean, crisp, strong taste. Really though, we love white vinegar for making pickles, especially when we don’t have a lot of time to really go crazy and ferment them. To revisit this article, select My Account, then View saved stories. Other types of vinegar, such as wine vinegar and rice vinegar are gluten free. It seems strange that you can dye eggs and kill weeds with the same ingredient. Aggressively…awesome. Acetic acid doesn't just fall from the sky though (hopefully). White vinegar is comprised of acetic acid (about 5-10%) and water (about 90-95%), which yields a vinegar with an incredibly clean, crisp, strong taste. Taste-wise, white vinegar is the sharpest stuff around, so being careful when you're cooking with it is important. Brightening up something like salsa verde or even a pot of chili is also an option. Ad Choices. Microorganisms get drunk, and we get vinegar. White vinegar made from alcohol distilled from grain has less than the gluten threshold amount of 20 parts per million, but it may still be a concern for people with celiac disease who are extremely sensitive. Bon Appétit may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. And how are we supposed to use it in cooking? If we were looking to top larb or curry or pizza with some quick-pickled shallots or onions, white vinegar is our trusty companion. Cooking advice that works. When it comes to marinades, you can use white vinegar only if you’re working with a recipe that calls for a lot of sugar. It’s still good for cleaning pans, windows, showerheads, and whatever else you dirty up in the comfort of your own home, just as long as you dilute it with some water. Recipes you want to make. All rights reserved. White vinegar is the most aggressive vinegar out there, but there's more to do with it than clean your windows. And as pickle lovers, by the transitive property, we are also white vinegar lovers. But trust us, you can. The aggressive acid from the vinegar needs to be balanced by sweetness, so things like barbecue sauce and chicken adobo are natural parings. © 2020 Condé Nast. White distilled vinegar, known outside the US and UK as “spirit vinegar” or “alcohol vinegar”, originated around the 1860s, most likely in Germany. What is white vinegar made of, anyway? Cool. Because again, it’s aggressive. With the advent of a new manufacturing process (the quick process) for vinegar that allowed it to be industrialized, options expanded beyond the traditional slow fermented vinegar from grape wine or hard cider. But you can also balance that assertiveness with other flavors, like herbs and spice. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.