Acid concentrations: Apple cider vinegar contains about five to six percent acetic acid, while white vinegar contains five to ten percent. This higher acid concentration makes most white vinegars more acidic than their apple-based counterpart.
White vinegar is stronger than apple cider with a higher percentage of acetic acid. Reach for apple cider vinegar when you want to add flavor to salad dressings and sauces. Choose distilled white vinegar when you want to pickle foods or add acidity without imparting any extra flavors.
Apple cider vinegar can cause side effects. For example, applying undiluted vinegar to the skin for long periods can lead to burns and irritation. Regularly consuming large quantities of the vinegar, especially in an undiluted form, may cause digestive issues, damage the teeth, and affect potassium levels.
Spirit vinegar: The strongest of all vinegars, this is used almost exclusively for pickling. It differs from distilled vinegar in that it contains a small quantity of alcohol.
White vinegar substitute: If you need a different vinegar to substitute for white vinegar, use apple cider vinegar or malt vinegar. You could also swap in lemon or lime juice, depending on your recipe. When you're canning or pickling, there are no comparable substitutes.
White vinegar, also known as distilled vinegar or spirit vinegar, is made by fermenting grain alcohol (ethanol) which then turns into acetic acid. Water is then added to the vinegar, so white vinegar is made of five to ten percent acetic acid and ninety to ninety-five percent water.
10% Vinegar: Contains 10% acetic acid, doubling the strength of regular vinegar. It's potent enough for tougher cleaning jobs yet still manageable for careful household use. 30% Vinegar: With 30% acetic acid, this vinegar is six times stronger than household vinegar.
Rice Vinegar
Popular in China and Japan, this delicate vinegar is made by fermenting rice wine. You can find plain rice vinegar or seasoned rice vinegar in stores, the latter of which often contains added salt and sugar. What It Tastes Like: Sweet and very mild, it has considerably less acid than other vinegars.
Sometimes it's standardized to acidity, with concentrations ranging from 4% to 8%. But the amount of each component of apple cider vinegar may vary from product to product.
If you have low potassium levels (hypokalemia), too much ACV could make the condition worse. That's because large amounts can reduce potassium levels. Avoid overusing ACV if you have kidney disease, since your kidneys might not be able to handle high levels of acid.
White vinegar may be beneficial for short-term treatments on more resistant skin types. However, its higher acidity and lack of additional nutrients make it a harsher choice. Those with sensitive skin or prone to dryness are especially advised to avoid using white vinegar on the face.
White vinegar
Ideally, you'd use another type of vinegar to replace ACV as they also contain acetic acid. White vinegar makes a great replacement for apple cider vinegar as it has a neutral flavour profile. This means it shouldn't affect the flavour of your final bake, compared to if you'd used ACV.
"Cleaning vinegar generally contains a higher acetic acid concentration than regular white vinegar," says Sokolowski. "While white vinegar typically contains around 5 to 7 percent acetic acid, cleaning vinegar might have an elevated concentration, sometimes reaching 6 to 8 percent."
The only real side effect from leaving vinegar to its own devices is that its acidity will gradually decrease over time, making it less potent. This is why a "best by" date can be found on the bottle, but it's still perfectly fine long past that — it isn't an "expiration date," by any means. Vinegar does not expire.
Household vinegar is generally 5% acetic acid. Some herbicidal vinegar products are 20% or 30% acetic acid. In general, 20% or 30% acetic acid is more effective because it more completely kills young leaves and growing points.
Now, don't confuse distilled with basic white vinegar, which is stronger and has up to 25% acetic acid. That vinegar is sold exclusively for cleaning purposes and is not a good idea to ingest. However, beyond cooking, distilled white vinegar can be used for many of the same household chores.
Diluted with water to about 5 percent acidity, distilled white vinegar is hailed as a natural, nontoxic cleaning marvel, killing some household bacteria, dissolving hard-water deposits, and cutting through grime at a fraction of the cost of brand-name cleaning products.
Apple cider vinegar and white vinegar make good substitutes for one another in most cooking applications, but the former is significantly more tart. In many cases, you can also use these vinegars as substitutes for other types of vinegar.
Continue the vinegar fermentation by adding alcohol. By adding alcohol to a fermenting vinegar the final acidity of the fully fermented vinegar will be increased.