Coconut vinegar is commonly used for baking or Asian cuisine and may not be readily available. The best substitute we can recommend is homemade coconut vinegar. It comes from the water or juice of the coconut fruit instead of the coconut sap.
Do You Know?
The coconut tree is the most versatile plant overall. You can use every part of the coconut tree for many purposes.
You can use leaves for thatching, the sticks as brooms, the husks to make ropes and use as scrubs, the shells to design something or steam food, the wood as fire, and the roots as medicine.
Read on as we share more about this interesting ingredient and its substitutes.
18 Best Substitute For Coconut Vinegar
Coconut vinegar is made from the nectar extracted from the sap of coconut blossom and then fermented for around 8 to 12 months. It has a cloudy, whitish appearance and a sweet, round, tangy flavor with a hint of nuttiness.
Coconut vinegar can help reduce weight. According to studies, the acetic acid found in coconut vinegar helps reduce hunger pangs and fat storage, resulting in increased metabolism. The fermented coconut sap also gives rise to probiotics beneficial to gut health.
It also helps fight bacteria and viruses. Coconut vinegar is good in fighting against E.coli bacteria that cause food poisoning. A study showed that using vinegar to clean food could reduce bacteria by 90% to 95%.
Coconut vinegar contains a rich amount of potassium that helps reduce blood pressure. It reduces LDL cholesterol and triglyceride.
You can use many substitutes for coconut vinegar, but our best choice is also made from coconut.
1. Coconut Water Vinegar
Our top choice alternative is coconut water vinegar because it comes from coconut.
Coconut water vinegar is made from the water or juice of the coconut fruit. Sap coconut vinegar is all-natural nectar of coconut sap, fermented to produce the vinegar. Coconut water vinegar is made from coconut water, yeast, sugar, and vinegar mother. The vinegar mother will give rise to the acetic acid during fermentation.
It has the same sweet, mild, tart flavor as sap coconut vinegar. It also provides health benefits similar to sap coconut vinegar. However, it may not be as healthy as sap coconut vinegar because of the addition of white sugar.
Vinegar can be made using many ingredients other than coconut. Here are a few substitutes you can choose.
2. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is made from fermented apples. It is close to coconut vinegar when used in many dishes. It has a tart-like, tangy flavor and a natural sweetness from the apples. It is pale yellow in color and has a dry, subtle taste.
It provides similar health benefits to coconut vinegar, including weight loss and anti-bacterial protection.
It is an excellent alternative for recipes that call for coconut vinegar, including marinades, stir-fries, stews, chutneys, pickles, dressings, and beverages.
3. Balsamic Vinegar
Balsamic vinegar is a favorite salad dressing. Its process involves the darkening and thickening of aged grape vinegar until it reaches a deep flavor.
It has caramel and molasses-like properties. Balsamic vinegar has a subtle, sour, sweet taste and a slight fruit aftertaste, making it a popular substitute for coconut vinegar.
You can also use balsamic vinegar in soups, marinade, and cocktails. You might consider doubling the amount when using it as a substitute for coconut vinegar to obtain the same result.
4. Malt Vinegar
Malt is a dried and processed germinated cereal grain like barley, primarily used in beverages like beer. Malt vinegar is made from the same malted barley used in making beer.
It has a sour flavor balanced with its nutty, toasty, lemony, and subtle caramel taste. Malt vinegar comes in distilled, dark, and light varieties. Choose the Light Malt Vinegar variety to substitute for coconut vinegar. It is often used for marinades, sauces, salad dressing, and dishes that require a mild yet tangy flavor.
5. Cane Vinegar
Cane vinegar is made from the fermented syrup of crushed sugar cane. It is a common ingredient in Asian cuisine preparation.
Its color ranges from dark yellow to golden brown with a smooth, mellow, mildly sweet flavor with hints of freshness.
It is often used in sauces, salads, deglazes for meats, and vinaigrettes.
6. White Vinegar
White vinegar is made by fermenting grain alcohol. The solution intended for culinary use consists of around 93% to 96% water and 4% to 7% acid. Those with higher acetic acids are for cleaning or agricultural use.
White vinegar is commonly distilled using neutral grain alcohol like vodka. The resulting flavor is plain, sharp, and acidic.
White vinegar is clear in color with a sour smell.
Rice wine is made from fermented rice starches using lactic acid, yeast, and fungi to produce the alcohol. Its main difference from rice vinegar is that rice wine is primarily an alcoholic beverage and is secondly used for cooking.
7. Chinese Rice Wine (Huangjiu)
Yellow rice wine or huangjiu is Chinese alcohol made from grains. It is considered one of the three ancient alcoholic beverages alongside wine and beer.
Today, huangjiu is more than an alcoholic beverage. Some varieties of huangjiu are used in cooking, including the lower grade Mijiu, Liao Jiu, and the popular Shaoxing Jiu.
8. Sake
Sake is well-known Japanese rice wine. It is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented polished (to remove the bran) rice.
Sake has a mild, umami, and sweet taste with hints of fruity aroma. It adds flavor to meat marinades and seafood dishes.
9. Mirin
Mirin is another Japanese rice wine that is primarily used for cooking. It has a sweet, tangy, umami flavor and amber color.
It is sweeter and contains less alcohol compared to Sake.
Rice vinegar is also made from fermented rice starches like rice vinegar. It is combined with the vinegar mother to produce the acetic acid and a small amount of rice wine to turn the sugar into alcohol.
10. White Rice Vinegar
Rice vinegar is often used in Asian dishes and has a subtle, crisp, sweet, mild flavor similar to coconut vinegar. White rice vinegar is colorless with high vinegar content. White rice vinegar is akin to regular vinegar but milder and less acidic than white wine vinegar.
The presence of glutinous rice gives it a hint of sweetness similar to coconut vinegar but is more acidic than coconut vinegar. It is often the favorite choice for pickling vegetables, dipping sauces, and cooking sweet-and-sour dishes.
11. Black Rice Vinegar
Black rice vinegar is yet another variety of rice vinegar. It is made from sweet rice or glutinous rice (though some use sorghum or millet). It has the darkest color in the varieties of rice vinegar.
Its taste is almost smoky and deep, but lighter and sweeter than the red and white varieties. Its aging process contributes to its unique fragrance and robust flavor.
Black rice vinegar is a good substitute for coconut vinegar in soups, sweet-and-sour dishes, stir-fries, stews, salads, sushi rice, dressings, vegetable seasonings, and slaws.
12. Red Rice Vinegar
Red rice vinegar is also a variety of rice vinegar like white rice vinegar. It is dark in color but slightly lighter than black rice vinegar. It has a perfect balance of sweetness and tartness in flavor.
Red rice vinegar tastes tangier than coconut vinegar. However, it can be an ideal alternative to add a delicious flavor to noodles, seafood dishes, soups, and dipping sauces.
Wine is an alcoholic beverage fermented to turn the alcohol into acetic acid and produce vinegar.
13. White Wine Vinegar
It is important to note that white wine vinegar is not white vinegar. White wine vinegar is made from white wine either left to oxidize or fermented using mother vinegar.
It has a delicate, slightly fruity, light white wine flavor and an acidic, neutral taste.
It is a milder alternative to coconut vinegar that can balance out the sweetness of some ingredients and add a depth of flavor to your meat. It is excellent to use in hollandaise sauce.
14. Red Wine Vinegar
If you do not favor white wine, you can ferment red wine to replace coconut vinegar. Red wine has a more robust flavor than white wine.
Red wine vinegar has a punchy, tangy taste that provides depth to your marinades, Italian salad dressings, and vinaigrettes.
It adds boldness and a slightly smoky, robust grape taste to your marinade, pickled vegetables, dips, and sauces.
15. Champagne Vinegar
Fermented champagne has a mild, delicate, sweet, yet subtle tangy, sharp with a slightly vanilla, fruity flavor.
Champagne vinegar adds a sweet, acidic flavor to any dish that balances the flavors of other ingredients. It is often drizzled on salads or vegetables.
Almost all dishes in Asian cuisine add some spice to their recipe.
16. Sushi Vinegar
Sushi vinegar is a spicy alternative to coconut vinegar.
Sushi vinegar is rice vinegar seasoned with spicy and savory flavor. It is rice vinegar, so it still carries a subtle sweetness and sourness from the acetic acid.
This is your best choice for sushi preparation to prevent spoilage.
You can also substitute the sourness of coconut vinegar without using fermented ingredients.
17. Lemon Juice
Lemon juice has a natural tanginess that can match coconut vinegar. It does not have the mild, sweet taste of coconut vinegar, but it can add flavor to your sauces, dressings, dips, and marinades. Just use less than what you use for coconut vinegar.
18. Tamarind Paste
Tamarind paste is the sour, dark, sticky fruit found inside the pods that grow from tamarind trees. This is another good substitute for coconut vinegar and is sweeter than lemon juice.
Tamarind paste has a similar texture to molasses, with a slightly tangy and sour flavor. Its taste has a hint of caramel, smokiness, and citrus, resulting in a subtle sweetness.
Tamarind paste is often used in Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, Latin, and Caribbean cuisines in curries, sauces, and cooked dishes.
Tamarind paste is also essential in making Worcestershire sauce.