3 Unexpected Ways To Use Leftover Vinegar

With an almost indefinite shelf life, there’s never really any rush to use vinegar. Its acidity keeps it usable for years, and while it might get a little cloudy or lose some of its punch, unless it’s adulterated in some way, it’ll usually be safe way down the line. This is useful if you don’t like to keep replacing things constantly, as basically all of us do – but it can also be a bit of a problem, particularly if, like me, you like to buy bottles of things on a whim, or in airports as souvenirs, or multiples of the same item because you forgot you already had one. Basically, half-finished bottles of vinegar can pile up and get in the way. 

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Not if you find a way to use it, though. There are loads of ways to use your leftover vinegar dregs in ways that keep salad dressings at arm’s length. Here are some of our faves. 

Add It To Frosting

Not all frosting recipes require acidity – but they often benefit from it, and if you want your homemade frosting to be anything other than cloyingly sweet, a nip of vinegar can do the trick. Vinegar can both be a substitute for lemon or lime juice in frostings, and fill in the flavor blanks where acid isn’t called for in the first place. Try adding a dash of it to your standard vanilla frosting recipe, and see how much it develops its taste. 

You can also use vinegar in buttermilk frosting recipes when you don’t have the buttermilk. A mixture of vinegar and milk can make a speedy buttermilk substitute; add one tablespoon of white vinegar per cup of milk.

Reduce, Create Glaze, Enjoy

This one is best-suited for leftover balsamic vinegars (although you can technically make a reduction of any vinegar you like, but honestly, I wouldn’t really recommend it; they won’t really have the same nuance). Just pour a cup of balsamic vinegar into a pan, add a quarter-cup of brown sugar – you can use white sugar, if you want – and simmer until the mixture’s thick and glossy. If you don’t have a cup of balsamic, just tweak the recipe using the same ratio of vinegar to sugar. 

Once you have your balsamic glaze, your possibilities are vast. Add it to chicken or pork. Drizzle it over avocado on toast. Dip feta into it. Or pour it over ice cream, for a truly dynamite sweet-sour combination.

Mix It Into Cocktails

Now, by this, I don’t mean just merrily pour your good apple cider vinegar into a margarita or a Tom Collins. I mean make a homemade shrub. These old-school mixers combine vinegar, sugar, and plants to make a solution that adds depth to cocktails, or mocktails, or spritzes – or whatever you want, really, as long as you can drink it. 

It’s in cocktails that shrubs work best, though. For a simple berry shrub, combine equal parts vinegar, sugar, and mixed berries, then leave it to steep for a few days. Then, mix two parts clear liquor – gin, vodka, or white rum – with one part shrub, topping it up with club soda. Once you’ve got your confidence up, play around with different fruits and liquor combinations.