5 Must-Have Vinegars in Your Kitchen and How to Use Them

Are you looking to pickle those fruits or vegetables that are lying uselessly in your kitchen? Does your food taste a bit too flat and you want to make it all nice and flavorful? Have you been trying to get rid of that weird smell in your refrigerator but it just doesn’t seem to go away? Well, worry not as all your troubles will be taken care of with one little bottle of Vinegar. To add to its inexhaustible benefits, did you know that Vinegar is great for your health too? No wonder this liquid that looks much like water, is so popular around the globe!

From times immemorial this magic potion known as Vinegar has been being used in different ways for cooking- sometimes as a preservative or as an acid. Its use in cooking can be compared to that of wine, cheese, yogurt, and tomatoes. How? Vinegar is made up of a bunch of microorganisms that combine together in order to ferment sugars and eventually turn them into acetic acid.

Vinegar has been known to cure a variety of health problems, ranging from controlling diabetes, blood pressure, ameliorating acid-alkaline balance of the body etc. It is also said to contain Hydrogen Peroxide, which makes it an excellent antimicrobial, and thus have a potential to control cancer. Moreover, vinegar helps to get rid of oral bacteria and also serves as a first aid for stings of jellyfish.

There is an amazingly vast range of vinegars to choose from, but if you were to choose just five, you must choose these ultra cool types of vinegars for your pantry. The below-mentioned vinegars are the most wanted throughout the world and have several benefits. Let’s take a sneak peek at them one by one.

 

1) Apple Cider Vinegar

 

Being the most popular amongst its types, Apple Cider vinegar is said to have a multitude of health benefits. People who are health conscious and always looking to eat fit and be fit claim Apple Cider Vinegar to be their holy grail.

It is basically apple juice, which is turned into alcohol when the added yeast reacts with the fruit sugar – this process is known as Fermentation. The alcohol is then turned to acetic acid as the bacteria starts to react. The sourness in apple cider vinegar and the strong smell comes from this process only.

Apple cider vinegar has been used for various home remedies since a long time, from varicose veins to curing hiccups to alleviating cold symptoms, you name it and Apple Cider Vinegar can help you get rid of it. However, science has not yet supported all these claims completely. Nevertheless, lately, some researchers have been studying APV closely to learn more about its benefits.

A lot of people swear by the fact that Apple Cider Vinegar has helped them with serious health problems like diabetes, cancer, heart problems, high cholesterol, and weight issues. Additionally, it is also considered as one of the ancient folk remedies as well as has been used for a multitude of household and cooking purposes.

How to use it?

Apple Cider Vinegar can be used in cooking, baking, salad dressings, and as a preservative. There’s a whole lot of acid in it, so consuming vinegar directly isn’t encouraged. Having too much of It isn’t a good idea as it can cause severe health problems.

Another famous manner to feature this terrific, whole-frame health vinegar to your food regimen is through making beverages with apple cider vinegar, like a morning smoothie. Include to two tablespoons in your morning smoothies for an added power boost, however, be careful — it has a quite sturdy flavor, so simply add a bit at a time. Interestingly, if you take so much as one tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar in a fruit juice before every meal, you will find yourself eating less than you usually do. At the same time, this will stimulate the fat burning process of proteins in your body.

 

 

2) Red Wine Vinegar

 

Red Wine Vinegar that is, as the name suggests, made out of red wine a natural oxidant and used in a variety of ways. Basically, Red Wine is fermented to the point it turns all strong and sour.   In the end, the vinegar is strained/bottled/aged. According to its producers, the flavor becomes stronger with the passage of time.

Red wine vinegar is full of antioxidant anthocyanin compounds. It may help in decreasing blood pressure, controlling levels of cholesterol, enhancing the absorption of calcium, and bettering your weight control plans. Added with food, it could lessen the post-meal spike in blood sugar. You may additionally blend it with witch hazel and rose water to make astringent pores and skin toner. Red Wine Vinegar is also said to help in digestion.

20 different anthocyanin compounds combine together to form red wine vinegar. These help restrict damage that is caused by free radicals in your body that are naturally made during the process of metabolism. They are also found in alcohol, environmental toxins, and processed food. These free radicals can lead to damaged DNA and cells, they are said to be one of the reasons for early ageing. Additionally, they also play a part in diabetes, heart diseases and are carcinogenic.

Some time back a group of researchers found out through an animal experiment that red wine vinegar, when mixed with grape juice can control the heart rate and thus palpitations. They were unable to tell what actually helped control the palpitations but were sure that ingredient had to do with the vinegar used in the experiment.

How to use it?

Red wine vinegar is particularly used in the central and Southern Europe. it is utilized in a spread of dishes to stabilize the flavors and to give an additional burst of taste. Following are the few culinary uses of red wine vinegar:

Marinades: Red wine vinegar, because of its acidic nature, denatures proteins and tenderizes the beef and it gives an extra flavor to the dish.

Salad dressings: Red wine vinegar, because of its acidic nature, emulsifies easily with oil and forms a decadent salad dressing. Red wine vinegar additionally provides a fruity flavor that simply stimulates your taste buds.

Pickling: Whilst veggies are pickled in red wine vinegar, it gives a bittersweet tang to them and helps tenderize the greens.

Baking: Red wine vinegar may be introduced in meringue to make it fluffier. Red wine vinegar enables the bread to rise when added to the dough.

 

 

3) White Vinegar

 

As it turns out, White Vinegar is the most common vinegar of all. Every family has at least one bottle of White vinegar in their pantries. There are two ways of making white vinegar, it can either be produced from grain-based ethanol or it can be produced from laboratory made acetic acid followed by dilution with the help of 95% water.

White vinegar is famous for being a beneficial household cleanser and a flavor-enhancing ingredient in recipes, however, vinegar also carries vitamins, and has been used for treating illnesses and pores and skin conditions for hundreds of years. Vinegar is largely “sour wine”; cider vinegar is crafted from apples and has a mellow taste, on the other hand, white vinegar, crafted from grain, possesses a stronger flavor. Common white and cider vinegar have a five percent acidity, that’s why they make powerful cleansers and home remedies. Due to its acidic nature, it is best to seek a consult before consuming white vinegar in large quantities for health and fitness purposes.

White vinegar consists of 90-95% water and 5-10% Acetic Acid. It carries a strong taste and is crisp and clear.

White vinegar can also help relieve itching and ache. White vinegar poured at once on bee stings or jellyfish stings can soothe the itching and burning. Some spoonfuls of white vinegar poured into bathtub water enables relieve dry, itchy skin. White vinegar may be placed on a washcloth and lightly applied to sunburn to alleviate ache. However, remember to consult with your physician before applying white vinegar directly to your skin.

White vinegar is known for stabilizing cholesterol levels in the blood and for fighting higher glucose levels. But consuming too much of white vinegar may cause severe complications in your digestive tract.

How to use it?

White vinegar cooking uses:

You can make a real spicy sauce by adding pepper and onions to white vinegar and leaving it in the fridge for 24 hours. However, you should only try this sauce if you are a big fan of hot sauces.

You can keep boiled eggs from cracking merely by adding a tablespoon of white vinegar to the water.

While baking a cake if you add one teaspoon of vinegar in your batter, it will keep your cake nice and moist.

White vinegar household uses:

You can get rid of odors from cooking or different household odors throughout the house via sitting one to 2-ounce bins of white vinegar across the house.

If you add two to three drops of vinegar in your fish before cooking it, it will help you get rid of the fish odor.

You can also get rid of yellow stains from your clothes by applying a bit of vinegar to those areas and letting it sit for 24 hours before washing your clothes.

 

 

4) Balsamic Vinegar

 

This dark brown to maroon colored vinegar originating from Italy is crafted from grapes that are crushed, fermented and aged. Its sugary, smelly flavor and mellow acidity makes it a condiment for salad dressings and marinating. Balsamic vinegar is likewise nutritious, imparting most effective 14 calories, no fats and trace quantities of numerous vital minerals consistent with 1 tbsp. serving. Moreover, balsamic vinegar consists of different healthy substances, which include antioxidants, which defend cells inside the human body from oxidative harm related to specific illnesses.

For weight loss:  Recent studies suggest that balsamic vinegar is rich in calcium, iron, manganese, and potassium, which enhance the human body’s functioning as well as weight reduction abilities. As it is much low in calories, it additionally facilitates in reducing the body’s urge for food and hampers overeating while extending the total time of time it takes for the belly to drain.

Enabling better blood circulation: The antioxidants balsamic vinegar comprises of antioxidants in balsamic vinegar can that can assist in restoring the harm due to free radicals, produced via the oxygen utilized in our bodies. Balsamic vinegar incorporates polyphenols, antioxidants that may shield the body from cardiac disorders and carcinogens.

Improvement in immunity: The grapes, which are used to make balsamic vinegar, are comprised of antioxidants that combat in cellular damage and enhance the body’s immune system while providing greater flexibility to the blood platelets.

Regulation of blood sugar: Balsamic vinegar can enhance insulin sensitivity for diabetics, making an allowance for a less complicated blood sugar regulation of blood sugar and lowering unpleasant facet outcomes from diabetes.

Facilitates digestion: This vinegar is extremely good for digestion in human body’s digestion. It boosts the task of pepsin, an enzyme that breaks protein down into smaller amino acids that could be much more effortlessly absorbed by the body. Pepsin additionally facilitates the body in improving metabolism the body’s metabolism.

How to use it?

For delicious Soups and Sauces: Just a dash of balsamic vinegar to your soups and sauces to add a fresh and crisp flavor to them.

Decreased to Syrup: You can decrease balsamic vinegar to crisp syrup in order to splash it on a yummy scoop of vanilla ice cream with strawberries on them. I

For Marinating Meat and Tofu: Balsamic vinegar can be added on to a steak or tofu to give it a super tasty flavor!

In Soda and Cocktails: Balsamic vinegar compliments certain cocktails and sodas just perfectly!

 

 

5) White Wine Vinegar

 

As the name suggests, White Wine Vinegar is a dilute solution of acetic acid that is acquired with the help of the process of natural fermentation of white wine. Its color ranges from transparent white to faded yellow. To get superb quality white wine vinegar, you have to age it for several months in wooden barrels; this gives it the best optimum taste.

Light colored dressings demand light colored vinegar, for instance, Red Wine Vinegar can ruin the color of a Hollandaise dressing. Its cases like these wherein White Wine Vinegar comes to save the day. White wine vinegar gives a mellow and a tad bit sour taste for a number of meals.

Ethanol along with certain sugars is fermented and then aged in order to get a mildly acidic form of standard vinegar. White Wine Vinegar has been being used by people in an assortment of dishes and in a variety of ways. It is also used as a household cleaner. Many people swear by the fact that White Wine Vinegar has a lot of health benefits; contemporary research also supports few of such beliefs.

White Wine Vinegar helps in reducing weight, controlling blood pressure and enhancing flavors.

How to use it?

Even though people might not like its taste as much as other vinegars, it is great in a way that it lightens the dressing without overshadowing the true taste of the dressing.

What’s great about White Vinegar is that it is less acidic as compared to the rest of the vinegars and thus can be used more in salads, dressings, and marinades.

It can be used generously in pickles, sweet and sour meals, tangy marinades, sauces, and chutneys.

 

 

Other Vinegars to Consider

The versatility of vinegars does not end here. As mentioned at the start of this blog, the benefits are inexhaustible and so are its magnificent kinds!

So if you’re huge vinegar fan, you might also like to stock up your pantry with some other vinegars like:

Sherry Vinegar: Sherry vinegar is loaded with an assortment of nutty flavors you might not feel in its counterpart vinegars. And its eighty wonderful aromatic compounds translate into amazingly exciting salad dressings and loopy-wonderful accents in soups and pan sauces.

Champagne Vinegar: This vinegar crafted from Champagne. It has a faded shade and a light flavor. They’re hard to find, however, it’s alternative white wine vinegar can be used in its place to make yummy citrusy salads.

Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar has a mellow taste and is very much used in Asian-style dishes such as sushi rice etc. It helps in weight control, restricting sodium consumption etc.

Black Vinegar: Also known as Chinkiang vinegar, this vinegar is much deeper in shade and taste, and has a wonderful smell and nearly smoky flavor.  Its flavor is milder and less sour than ordinary rice vinegar. It is said to lower cholesterol, reduce sugar or glucose levels in the blood, improve digestion etc. It is also mostly used in Asian cuisine.

The best part is that you don’t need to worry about these vinegars being spoiled; most of them can stay in your pantry forever and still be good to use! Of course, a great set of elegant oil and vinegar container surely will flavor up your table. So whatever recipe is on your mind, smartly add a tad bit of any of these vinegars to it and Voila, your meal will be made much more exciting and flavorful!