I know, I know… the thought of anything but real Malt Vinegar seems appalling to fans of the product. The problem? It’s chock full of gluten. Totally unsafe . . . and seemingly irreplaceable.
Sometime this year, I hope to try my hand at making gluten free fish & chips. The one thing I can’t figure out how to mock is the malt vinegar that fish n’ chips fans often sprinkle on their meal.
In searching for substitutes, I came up empty. I found plenty of sites which suggested substitutes for vinegar in general, but it didn’t cover the issue at hand: Replicating the TASTE of Malt Vinegar. I’m not using the vinegar to keep something from becoming discolored or anything like that. I need something that tastes just like (or as close as possible), to the beloved gluteny Malt Vinegar.
So, dear readers, any suggestions? What have you tried that didn’t work at all? What has come close? Do you use an actual solo product or do you make a blend from an assortment?
I know I have a number of followers through Facebook, Blogger, or Twitter (or a combination thereof) so please chime in and suggest away! I look forward to hearing about your successes (or failures – or both) any any ideas you may have!
Two things I know are not feasible:
1 – Buying 1 of every safe sort of vinegar and tasting them all (I don’t have that kind of money).
2 – Bragg Amino Acids (three of them I cannot ingest without bad side effects)
Update 5 October 2020: The closest I ever came was Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar. Somehow, it is very similar. We tried this well after I wrote this post, but before my late wife got sick. She didn’t have to be gluten free, so we went to my parents’ house where she could safely compare Bragg’s ACV to real malt vinegar. She said she really couldn’t tell the difference. I found they smelled very similar.
Still interested to hear what you all have tried!
