A few things I don't recommend

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

my aunt did pickled watermelon rind in the 60's....

Some people ate, drank, and especially smoked some strange things in the 60s.

 

[GotGarlic]

Apple cider vinegar is always going to taste of apples - or cider - so you have to think of the flavour profiles. Same goes with Sherry vinegar, or malt vinegar.

If you use white vinegar or wine vinegar, you´re not going to miss the mark by much,although I´d say RED wine vinegar could be a little invasive.

Invasive? Such an, um, interesting adjective I love red wine vinegar and I think malt vinegar is overpowering. It's all a matter of taste

 

[taxlady]

I really like malt vinegar. We use it for French fries. I have never tried it for anything else. It's really hard to find and I have only ever found small bottles. If I ever find it in a one litre bottle, I might try it for other things.

 

[karadekoolaid]

Invasive? Such an, um, interesting adjective I love red wine vinegar and I think malt vinegar is overpowering. It's all a matter of taste

Hahaha! Invasive because if you aren´t careful, it overpowers the other ingredients.
And don´t get me wrong - I love any vinegar you care to give me - especially malt vinegar, which I can´t buy in Venezuela

 

[Roll_Bones]

I absolutely agree!!! I completely ruined my BBQ sauce with that stuff and I never drink alcohol so beer is out. When I did try it, it was awful. I hated hops and malt both. Couldn't stand those malted milk ball as a kid and malted milk either. YUK!

I serve all the dishes I make with beer or wine or liquor and not one person has ever said "beer wine?". They only compliment and in many cases want to know the secret. If alcohol is apparent in your cooking I suggest you revisit the recipe as you may have used to much. Or you do not use it properly. I use no water or stock in a couple braised dishes. Just beer. Any beer on hand. Wine is excellent in many braised dishes to.
I love beer alone or in cooking as with wine. In fact I drink wine or beer while I cook. And with each evening meal. Its tradition around here. Everyone is offered wine, beer or cocktail with dinner.

Ok I give in. I won't discount it yet. Maybe a few more tries before I make a decision.

Try a BBQ sauce recipe. Its rare to find one without vinegar of some sort.
In fact there is a sauce I make that includes nothing but vinegar and spices. Mustard based BBQ sauce in the south is mostly vinegar, mustard and spices.
I also make an old recipe I got from the Frugal Gourmet that is called a wash. Its vinegar, water, white wine, just a very little ketchup and mustard and several spices. Its very thin and I use it as a finishing sauce in the kitchen.
Supposedly it was invented in Arkansas "everyone has a gallon jug of it under their sink" as Jeff Smith described it. Works excellent in a bloody Mary.
I took the wash and renamed it Devil Wash. I have two quart jars in my fridge right now. I make a batch each year.

Some people ate, drank, and especially smoked some strange things in the 60s.

I can attest to this. Especially the smoking.
Even today we find it one of the best pain medications available without prescription. I live in SC after all. Always behind the rest of the country and the world.

I really like malt vinegar. We use it for French fries. I have never tried it for anything else. It's really hard to find and I have only ever found small bottles. If I ever find it in a one litre bottle, I might try it for other things.

I love malt vinegar as well. I use it with fried crispy fish and chips.
Frenches makes it and what they use at Long John Silvers. Its available in the grocery store. Several brands are readily available here.

 

[taxlady]

...

I love malt vinegar as well. I use it with fried crispy fish and chips.
Frenches makes it and what they use at Long John Silvers. Its available in the grocery store. Several brands are readily available here.

It used to be easy to find at just about any supermarket here. I don't know why it's hard to find now. I just checked online. The two supermarkets I usually get deliveries from only have search results of malt vinegar potato chips. A different supermarket that delivers does have some "No Name Malt Vinegar". It's pretty cheap. I have been reluctant to order from a supermarket that I haven't ordered online from before. It's stressful enough when I know the ins and outs of the ordering process. I haven't really been up for learning that for a third place. I think it's time to bite the bullet and place an order with them.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Originally Posted by Sir_Loin_of_Beef

Some people ate, drank, and especially smoked some strange things in the 60s.

I can attest to this. Especially the smoking.
Even today we find it one of the best pain medications available without prescription. I live in SC after all. Always behind the rest of the country and the world.

If you can remember the sixties, you weren't there!

 

[KatyCooks]

Malt vinegar is readily available in the UK. Though really, only to be used on Fish and Chips. (Just IMO)

If a recipe says use "Red wine vinegar", I use that, and if it says use "White wine vinegar" I use that. Etc etc So I end up with all of them and usually have some sort of vinegar to use in a recipe in a pinch. So if it said "white wine" I might well use Cider vinegar if that is what I had to hand.

I also keep a bottle of cheap vinegar under my kitchen sink as it is wonderful for cleaning off limescale.

 

[GinnyPNW]

Malt vinegar is readily available in the UK. Though really, only to be used on Fish and Chips. (Just IMO)

If a recipe says use "Red wine vinegar", I use that, and if it says use "White wine vinegar" I use that. Etc etc So I end up with all of them and usually have some sort of vinegar to use in a recipe in a pinch. So if it said "white wine" I might well use Cider vinegar if that is what I had to hand.

I also keep a bottle of cheap vinegar under my kitchen sink as it is wonderful for cleaning off limescale.

I've recently switched to Citric Acid. Works quicker with less hassle. But, one needs to wear gloves!

 

[taxlady]

Malt vinegar is readily available in the UK. Though really, only to be used on Fish and Chips. (Just IMO)

If a recipe says use "Red wine vinegar", I use that, and if it says use "White wine vinegar" I use that. Etc etc So I end up with all of them and usually have some sort of vinegar to use in a recipe in a pinch. So if it said "white wine" I might well use Cider vinegar if that is what I had to hand.

I also keep a bottle of cheap vinegar under my kitchen sink as it is wonderful for cleaning off limescale.

Same here.

The bottle of vinegar I keep under the sink is referred to as "cleaning vinegar". Definitely useful for getting rid of scale in kettles, etc. I also use it to get rid of beet or red cabbage stains on hands and cutting boards. I actually have a bottle of white vinegar that I consider food. Here in North America, most white vinegar is made from alcohol made from petroleum products. The one I have for food is made from grain alcohol and actually costs a bit more than the other kind of white vinegar. It doesn't get used often. It's a 4 litre jug that I bought four or five years ago and it is still over half full. I wouldn't have bothered to buy it if I lived alone, but DH actually wants it once in a while.

 

[karadekoolaid]

15 years or so ago, when I started my Conserves company, the vinegars available in the market were:
1) White vinegar
2) White wine vinegar
3) red wine vinegar
4) Apple cider vinegar
The first chutneys/pickles I made were with white vinegar, and I thought they lacked that acidity that good vinegar provides. Then I tried with white wine vinegar only - way too strong.Finally, I worked out that 75% white wine vinegar and 25% white vinegar was what worked for me.
I´m not saying that´s the perfect combination, but it´s what worked for me - just the right balance.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Malt vinegar is readily available in the UK. Though really, only to be used on Fish and Chips. (Just IMO)

I remember malt vinegar being a mainstay at English style fish & chips places like Arthur Treacher and H. Salt. In Canada, when you order French fries at places like McDonalds, you get a little packet of Heinz apple cider vinegar along with the little packet of Ketchup.