Ready to use
Colorless white vinegar poured into a clear measuring cup, showing its complete transparency.
Demonstrates the defining visual characteristic of white vinegar — total colorlessness — distinguishing it from apple cider, balsamic, and other vinegars.
Vinegars
White Vinegar
Sharp, clean acidity for pickling, brightening, and cleaning
Bracingly sour and colorless, distilled white vinegar pickles vegetables and sharpens a dressing without adding flavor of its own. Shelf-stable practically forever at room temperature.
White (distilled) vinegar is the kitchen's sharpest, cleanest acid — a clear, colorless solution of acetic acid in water, made by fermenting distilled alcohol. Its taste is bracingly sour and flavor-neutral beyond that, which is exactly why it's so useful: it brightens and preserves without adding color or character. It's the backbone of quick pickles and many condiments, and pulls double duty as a natural household cleaner.
- Measured in
- ml
- Storage
- Room Temperature
Find it in
Types & varieties
The standard culinary strength.
Stronger, sold for household use — not for cooking.
A higher-strength European version used in pickling.
Bright, mild wine vinegar for vinaigrettes, beurre blanc, hollandaise, and quick pickles where you want acidity without the harsh bite of distilled white vinegar.
Pale, delicate vinegar made from Champagne-grape wine, lighter and more floral than red or white wine vinegar. Ideal for fine vinaigrettes, beurre blanc, and seafood mignonette.
How to use
Use it where you want pure acidity with no flavor footprint — quick pickles, brines, and as the acid that activates baking soda. Its neutrality also makes it ideal for poaching eggs (it helps whites set) and for cutting grease.
- Quick refrigerator pickles
- Brines and marinades
- Activating baking soda in cakes
- Poaching eggs
How to store
It needs nothing special — a capped bottle in the pantry lasts indefinitely. Cloudiness or harmless 'mother' sediment doesn't mean it has spoiled.
Common uses
Tips & pitfalls
- Use it for quick pickles when you don't want any added color or flavor.
- A splash helps egg whites coagulate when poaching.
- Pair with baking soda for lift in cakes — the fizz is the reaction working.
- Too sharp to drink straight — always dilute or balance with sugar and salt.
Nutrition
Energy
75 kJ · per 100 g
Where the calories come from
Protein
0g
0% DV
Carbs
0g
0% DV
Fat
0g
0% DV
Fiber
0g
0% DV
Sugars
0g
of which
Sodium
2mg
0% DV
Source · USDA FoodData Central · Vinegar, distilled
View on FDC →In the shops
Matched grocery products
€1.99BORGES Sherry Vinegar
BORGES · l · Bonpreu
€1.49Sherry Vinegar
BONPREU · l · Bonpreu
€1.35BORGES White Wine Vinegar
BORGES · l · Bonpreu
€0.49White Wine Vinegar
BONPREU · l · Bonpreu
€0.65White Wine Vinegar
BONPREU · l · Bonpreu
€1.24White Wine Vinegar
BONPREU · l · Bonpreu
Good to know
- Flavor
- Sharp, clean, aggressively sour
- Acidity
- ~5% acetic acid (culinary grade)
- Color
- Clear and colorless
- Best for
- Pickling, brining, baking reactions, cleaning
- How to store
- Room temperature, capped — essentially forever
- Shelf life
- Indefinite; acidity self-preserves
Substitutes
- Apple cider vinegar — Same ~5% acid with a fruity note; fine for most cooking.
- Rice vinegar — Milder; use a bit more for the same punch.
- Lemon juice — For brightness in cooking, not for pickling that needs to keep.
Also called
distilled vinegar · vinagre blanco · vinagre
Appears in these dishes
Related
Balsamic Vinegar
Dark, syrupy vinegar with sweet-tart depth for glazing
Apple Cider Vinegar
Fruity, mellow vinegar for dressings, brines, and slaws
Red Wine Vinegar
Bold, tangy vinegar for vinaigrettes and marinades
Rice Vinegar
Mild, slightly sweet vinegar for sushi rice and dressings
Chinkiang Black Vinegar
Malty, smoky aged Chinese rice vinegar with low sharpness; the tang behind dumpling dips and red-braises—stir in at the end so its mellow aroma is not boiled away.
Sherry Vinegar
Barrel-aged Spanish vinegar, nutty and rounded with raisin notes; brightens gazpacho, pan sauces, and vinaigrettes without the harsh bite of plain wine vinegar.
White Wine Vinegar
Bright, mild wine vinegar for vinaigrettes, beurre blanc, hollandaise, and quick pickles where you want acidity without the harsh bite of distilled white vinegar.
Malt Vinegar
Dark, malty barley vinegar with a robust toasty tang — the classic splash for fish and chips, chip-shop chips, and British pickled onions and chutneys.