8 Ways to Crush Your Cooking Game with Vinegar
And without making salad dressing or pickles!

Humans have touted the virtues of vinegar for millennia. Ancient Romans dunked their bread in it. Islamic scientists prescribed it for burns, rashes, and digestive ailments. King Louis XIII brought barrels of it to the battlefield to clean and cool the cannons of his warring armies. Early colonists figured out how to preserve food with it to survive harsh New England winters. The Victorians used white vinegar to polish their windows and gave it to prostitutes to fight venereal disease. Emma Bovary, the 19th century’s desperate housewife, slurped bottles of “sour wine” to stay thin.
Vinegar’s cultural significance is huge, but what about its culinary possibilities? Some home cooks dismiss it as a cheap condiment stashed away in the pantry, unearthed only for the purposes of salad dressing or pickles. That’s a shame, because vinegar is nothing short of magic. Vinegar, in its endless varieties, coaxes bright, fresh flavors from food. Whether your cooking game is on point or suffering the winter doldrums, now is a good time to take an (acetic) acid trip.
Hot and Sour Soup
A steaming bowl of hot and sour soup, a classic Sichuan dish, relies on vinegar for its addictive tang. While the list of ingredients is long, recipes for this warming soup leave plenty of room for improvisation. Food & Wine has a roundup of nine variations here.
Spicy Relish
At 101 Cookbooks, Heidi Swanson’s Magic Ancho Chile Relish combines apple cider vinegar with dried ancho chiles. It takes five minutes of work to throw together and lasts for weeks in the refrigerator. Assertively smoky, sweet, and sour, it’s like Mexican chutney. Try a few spoonfuls swirled into white beans or soft scrambled eggs.
Vinegar Chicken
Have you tried vinegar chicken? Bon Appétit put out a version a couple of years ago that deserves a spot in your chicken dinner repertoire. It uses sweet onions (Cipolline or pearl), golden raisins, and crispy pancetta to balance the sour power of a cup and a half of red wine and balsamic vinegars. The result is satisfyingly complex and leaves you craving the next bite. Use bone-in chicken thighs and brown them well to get the best flavor.