There are a few types of vinegar widely available in supermarkets, so many actually that some people out there own quite the collection.
And how could anyone claim not to like vinegar? Just think about eating a salad or pickles that don’t have vinegar in them. Would it taste better? It’d taste different. But better? Probably not.
And if you’re one for using lemon juice instead of vinegar, chances are there’s still a bottle of that sour liquid somewhere in your pantry. If not, it should definitely find its way there, or otherwise, friends whom you invite into your kitchen will think you never cook.
Vinegar is a staple ingredient that has so many uses in cooking and preparing foods. But knowing which vinegar is best at something will make a world of difference, as will knowing the different types of vinegar that exist. Let’s start with the most common.
White distilled vinegar is the most commonly found vinegar in American households. It is also used in the food industry a lot, and it is the type of vinegar added as a base to mustard and ketchup.
White vinegar is produced from distilled alcohol, which should give you an idea of how strong it is, meaning very, the reason for it being good at cleaning appliances such as the microwave, dishwasher, and ovens. It performs amazingly at removing harder-to-clean stains of anything in the kitchen including sinks.
White distilled vinegar has an acetic acid level of 5 percent, and of all types of vinegar, this one is the least nutritional, and thus more often used for cleaning purposes rather than cooking.
Red Wine Vinegar is used for culinary purposes but has also served as folk medicine for centuries. People all over the world use this type of vinegar to control the buildup of fat in the body and obesity with positive effects.
History tells us that soldiers in the past drank a mixture of red wine vinegar and water for endurance and to ward off the effects of extreme weather, believing that red wine vinegar boosted the immune system. Studies today support the idea that two compounds found in red wine vinegar – acetic acid and resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant are indeed health-positive.
In the kitchen, red wine vinegar is best used as meat and fish tenderizer. Because it has a level of acidity of 4 percent, it is strong enough to break down tough meats but not that strong that your fish becomes mushy if you forget it in the marinade longer than recommended.
White wine vinegar is made from white wine but can vary in shades, and it is lighter in flavor than red wine vinegar, which means it’s perfect for when you want your salad just a little bit tangy and not too strong flavored.
This type of vinegar is also good for recipes that require preserving the color of the food. If you used red wine vinegar in such recipes, you’d get red shaded food because of the pronounced color. Some pickle recipes, for example, ask specifically for white wine vinegar while others require vinegar made from red wine.
The concentration of acetic acid in white wine vinegar varies from 5 to 7 percent depending on the produce used to make the vinegar. This type of vinegar can be used to obtain buttermilk. The ratio is one tablespoon per eight ounces of milk.