Sherry vinegar is a gourmet wine vinegar that is made from the sherry. It comes with a nutty and mildly sweet flavor like most wine vinegars.
Sherry vinegar is quite popular in preparing salads, sauces, pickles, and marinades due to its depth and complexity of flavors.
However, this ingredient is somewhat difficult to find in every grocery store, making it important to find some good substitutes for sherry vinegar.
There are few ingredients that may work as the closest alternatives to sherry vinegar. They may not give the exact flavor and taste like sherry vinegar but can work just fine when this ingredient is unavailable.
Following are some of the best sherry vinegar substitutes that you can try.
1. Rice Wine Vinegar
Also known as rice vinegar, this can be the perfect alternative to sherry vinegar considering the flavor profile and acidity strength.
Apart from helping to create delicious dishes, rice vinegar also offers numerous health benefits. [1]
Although it’s the closest substitutes, rice wine vinegar is a bit thinner in taste. However, it will not entirely change the taste of the dish. And the best part is, rice vinegar can easily be found in the Asian food section of any grocery shop.
2. Champagne Vinegar
Champagne vinegar has a mild and delicate flavor that makes it a good choice for light sauces, pasta salads, and vinaigrettes.
While helping you creating some flavorful dishes, champagne vinegar can also take care of your brain, heart, and skin. [2]
However, you need to use champagne vinegar sparingly as it is sweeter than the sherry vinegar.
3. Red Wine Vinegar
If you are looking for vinegar that can help you lose weight while lowering your blood pressure, red wine vinegar can be the perfect choice for you. [3]
Made from fermented red wine, this substitute has the harshest and strongest flavor, meaning that you need to use them in lesser quantity than sherry vinegar.
Due to its strong, bold flavor, red wine vinegar can be a good fit in meat or roasted vegetables. But if you want to use it in salad dressing, cut it with something milder like rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
4. White Wine Vinegar
White wine vinegar has a flavor that is quite similar to that of rice vinegar, which makes it a good substitute for sherry vinegar.
It is made from the fermented white wine and has a stronger acidity in it. [4]
However, while wine vinegar is not as sweet as sherry vinegar. So, you may need to use it slightly less or add a bit of sugar when substituting.
5. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar or ACV is made from the fermented apple juice and can be a great choice is salad dressing if you’re a bit health conscious.
It’s because ACV contains numerous therapeutic properties that may help in weight loss, treating skin problems, UTI, ringworm, etc. [5]
However, ACV is much sweeter and lighter, so can’t be a good alternative in cooking meat and fish recipes.
Bottom Line
Finding a good alternative to sherry vinegar can be difficult due to its distinct flavors. You have to find its closest substitutions.
However, as this one is a bit rare ingredient, the above-mentioned vinegars can be the best substitutes for sherry vinegar that you can find in your nearest grocery stores.
While there is no perfect replacement, using these options in a correct proportion will bring the desired flavor and taste in your dishes.
Read Next: 4 Malt Vinegar Substitutes: Gluten-Free
