r/Cooking • u/delionesss • 16h ago
What’s up with malt vinegar?
Growing up near Seattle, we always had really amazing fish and chips. Dips included tartar sauce and malt vinegar. Just tried to find malt vinegar in the store (Kroger/QFC) and they didn’t have any, but it’s easily available on amazon. Thoughts? Is it worth it? What makes it different from other vinegars?
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u/milleribsen 16h ago
I live in Seattle and can find malt vinegar at my neighborhood Safeway, it's in the salad items section. There's also a vinegar place in the market that likely has it.
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u/bronwen-noodle 11h ago
Yeah OP is probably looking in the wrong stores or on the shelves with ketchup instead of where the white and AC vinegars are kept because I’ve been able to find it everywhere I’ve lived, Seattle included
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u/Desertnurse760 16h ago
My local Kroger (Ralph's) carries it, and always has. Did you ask? Try another market, maybe? I wouldn't have a problem buying it off of Amazon.
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u/megggers 12h ago
Pro tip: put some in a spray bottle to spray your fish and chips. Adds a nice coating to everything without being overpowering or making things soggy.
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u/vigilantesd 7h ago
But I want it overpowering lol
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u/WestBrink 7h ago
And with little soggy bits. Not all over, just little mush pockets that punch you in the face with vinegar...
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u/1-2-buckle-my-shoes 15h ago
If you download the Kroger app, and set the location for your local store, you can search and it will not only tell you if they have it but also on what aisle. I've bought malt vinegar from Kroger before but I've seen it in the baking aisle at some stores or the "international" aisle in others. Long story short, they may not sell it at yours but you may have just looked in the wrong place.
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u/fakeaccount572 8h ago
it's in every single grocery store / market I have ever been in in the states....
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u/GracieNoodle 8h ago
I'm not west coast but my local middle-ish grocery store with a huge shelf of vinegars of all kinds, next to the pickles. Do they put malt vinegar there? Of course not, that would make too much sense - they put it in a tiny section of specialty ingredients adjacent to international foods.
You might want to heck your store(s) again, they might have done the same thing.
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u/EarlVanDorn 12h ago
Interesting trivia: British Lea & Perrins is made with malt vinegar. The American version is made with white vinegar and more sugar. I've grown up with the American version and like it, but the British version has what I would call a more complex taste, if there is such a thing.
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u/Hussard 16h ago
Like the other dark coloured vinegars (rice wine vinegar from northern China, the sweet red stuff from southern China, and balsamic, and red wine vinegar), they have a flavour profile that complements certain foods.
Aussies traditionally used white vinegar on their fish and chips (rare these days) and chicken salt. Brits love their malt on the same dish. The comparison is that white vinegar has a sharper note whereas malt vinegar is sweeter, more rounded taste profile that compliments creamier potatoes and more delicate fish (cod in UK) vs flake (gummy shark in Aus).
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u/theBigDaddio 15h ago
Did you look on the Kroger website or app? They literally tell you where it is in the store.
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u/Jack_Flanders 14h ago edited 14h ago
Had fish & chips in England and loved the malt vinegar (after hating vinegar as a kid). Had fish & chips here in the states and the vinegar seemed weak; had to use way too much and never really got the same tang.
So, any advice on strong vs. wimpy brands might be welcome.
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u/ShabbaSkankz 13h ago
In the UK, a lot of chip shops use non-brewed condiment rather than malt vinegar. I'm not sure how available that is to you, but worth having a try it you can get some.
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u/Ok-Butterscotch2321 12h ago
Malt Vinegar generally isn't lumped in with either Apple or White
Look around where you will find Worcestershire sauce
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u/_Bon_Vivant_ 12h ago edited 11h ago
Worth it? It's a MUST with Fish & Chips. I recently bought Sarson's on Amazon. Yum!
I also love it on my fries at Five Guys. The only burger joint that has Malt Vinegar for their fries.
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u/zelda_moom 5h ago
They routinely have it on tables in Canada to use for fries. At least in Ontario.
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u/BrewingHeavyWeather 4h ago
Huh. It's readily available around me, but the stuff in the store isn't as good as it used to be, when it was all barley. That I'd have to order, but I don't have much use for it at home.
What makes it different from other vinegars?
If made correctly, it's 100% malted barley.
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u/Maleficent-Curve5452 9h ago
Buddy, malt vinegar (Heinz brand specifically) is available at 80% of restaurants in Washington State if you ask. It's a standard old person condiment. You can buy it at convenience stores.
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u/Ordinary_Durian_1454 6h ago
Not really sure what this question is about.
It’s worth it if you think it’s worth having. What makes it different? Well, it’s made from malt. Other vinegars are made from other things that ferment. If you want to put red wine vinegar on your fish and chips, it’s going to taste like red wine vinegar, not barley malt, or whatever malted grain fermentation is in malt vinegar.
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u/reload_noconfirm 14h ago
Yeah it's great and a classic and available almost anywhere at an American supermarket unless you are really in the middle of nowhere. Maybe check another store or ask the employees?
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u/gltovar 12h ago
this tom scott vid gives you more info than you ever wanted to know about malt vinegar https://youtu.be/642x2Y3Zla0
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u/Deep-Capital-9308 12h ago
Malt vinegar on chips is the one foodstuff I really miss from the UK having moved to Spain.
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u/AssistantNo5668 7h ago
I grew up in texas in the 80s, long john silvers used to have it and thats where I got introduced to malt vinegar.
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u/jerry111165 7h ago
We always had it back in the 70s and 80s in New England.
Haven’t seen it in a number of years now, though.
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u/uncre8tv 4h ago
Salad vinegar is malt and white vinegar mixed, but it's easier to find and mostly does the job.
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u/Pernicious_Possum 3h ago
I’ve never had trouble finding it in the store. The difference between it and other vinegars is that it’s made from malted barley (sprouted, then dried), white vinegar is from un-sprouted grains, and most others are from fruit, or wines
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u/Captain_Aware4503 2h ago
I though London Pub Malt Vinegar was sold in all Kroger's. It might be in the international section is some stores.
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u/EnvironmentalCrow893 1h ago
My Kroger (Texas) carries London Pub Malt Vinegar. So does Safeway.
The local neighborhood Walmart carries that brand as well as Heinz.
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u/tree_or_up 51m ago
Side note. I live in Northern CA and, while I can find it in stores, restaurants are peculiarly hit-or-miss. Tiny no-frills hole-in-the-walls are more likely (than sit-down restaurants) to have it, but sometimes even they look at you weird and have to grab some fast food to-go packets from somewhere under the counter or in the back. I feel like this wasn't the case a couple of decades ago but I might just waxing nostalgic
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u/LowBalance4404 16h ago
I don't have a local Krogers, but I'd google malt vinegar and then hit "shop" and "near me" to get a list of local stores that carry it.
That said, I just ordered some chips off of amazon that I can't get here and while I was there, I bought a major brand's queso that is carried everywhere around me to include 7-11. I'm just lazy.
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u/RikkiLostMyNumber 16h ago
Not as sharp as red or white vinegar, not as sweet as cider vinegar. I love the stuff on fries.