5 Essential Vinegars for Your Pantry

It’s easy to fall in love with those beautiful vinegars that have been made with exotic fruits, infused with herbs, aged in special barrels, or are otherwise irresistible. But we think that there are really only five vinegars that we would consider actually “essential” for a home cook’s pantry. Here’s our list — do you have all of these in your pantry too?

This is a great all-purpose vinegar to have around. We use it in salad dressings, marinades, and to give soups a little twang! at the very end of cooking. It can be used as a substitute for cider vinegar in most recipes.

• Tomato Salad with Red Onion, Dill and Feta
• Red Cabbage and White Bean Salad
• Frisée Salad with Red Currants

We use balsamic almost exclusively in salad dressings and marinades, but we also sometimes simmer it into a thick syrup for desserts! Nothing quite matches the exact flavor of balsamic.

• Recipe: Chicken Thighs with Balsamic Vinegar
• Recipe: Braised Shredded Beef in Tomatoes & Red Wine
• Recipe: Peppered Beef Shank in Red Wine
• 5 Ways to Use Balsamic Vinegar Every Day (Other Than Salad Dressing!)

We use cider vinegar when making barbecue sauce and other homemade condiments. It can also be used in some salad dressings or to finish a soup, and can usually work in place of red wine vinegar if you’re out.

• Ingredient Spotlight: Apple Cider Vinegar
• Recipe: Fire Cider
• Recipe: Slow-Cooked Cider Beans
• Recipe: Apple Cabbage Salad with Cider Vinaigrette

As you might imagine, we keep rice wine vinegar in our pantry for when we’re doing Asian cooking. It’s essential for most dipping sauces and has a lighter, sweeter flavor than other vinegars.

• What’s the Difference Between Rice Vinegar and Seasoned Rice Vinegar?
• Recipe: Braised Radishes
• Recipe: Korean Mixed Rice with Sashimi
• Recipe: Korean Seaweed and Rice Rolls

White wine vinegar is different from harsh distilled white vinegar. While it isn’t as flavorful as its red counterpart, it lightens and brightens rich sauces and vinaigrettes without overpowering the other flavors in the dish.

• Scallops with White Wine Beurre Blanc & Lemon Orzo
• How To Make Quick-Pickled Red Onions

All these vinegars will keep in your pantry almost forever, so don’t worry about needing to use them up very quickly. Invest in a bottle of each of these vinegars, and you’ll be set for almost any recipe that comes along!

What other kinds of vinegar do you like to have on hand?

Updated from a post originally published in January 2010.