Vinegar

Vinegar is a sour liquid whose useful acid, in the kitchen, is acetic. It is not lemon juice, and it is not the lactic sour of fermented cabbage.

NCHFP’s pickling hub: pickled products are the blending of spices, sugar, and vinegar with fruits and vegetables ¹. That is a class of foods, not a single jar. Fresh-pack pickles depend on the vinegar’s acidity; fermented pickles make their own acid and are a different method. Cucumber is the usual vegetable. The preserving methods are Pickling and Vinegar.

Canning line. NCHFP: acidity of a food may be increased by adding lemon juice, citric acid, or vinegar; acid foods (pH 4.6 or below) include pickles and sauerkraut as well as most fruits and jams ². Vinegar is a control, not a splash for luck. Do not “fix” a low-acid canned vegetable with a capful unless you are on a tested pickled recipe. See Canning and Acidity.

What to notice. Smell clean sour, not nail-polish-remover harshness from a forgotten bottle. Taste sharpness separate from the spice. Cabbage in sauerkraut is lactic fermentation, not vinegar pickling — do not merge those sours.

Homemade wine vinegar’s acidity varies. Use the vinegar named by the tested process.