Alternative to Vinegar

Asked by lizinhorsefly. Answered on 14th January 2018

Full question

Can I substitute rice vinegar (unseasoned) for the apple cider vinegar or wine vinegars in the baking recipes? I'm allergic to sulfites. I also have to avoid bottled lemon juice but I can use fresh squeezed, so would this be a better option?

Red Velvet Cupcakes

By Nigella

Our answer

Some of NIgella's baking recipes use vinegars and this is usually when an acid is needed, rather than for flavour. For the Red Velevet Cupcakes the acid is needed to help the cakes to rise, as bicarbonate of soda is used as the raising agent and needs an acid to react with. For pavlovas, such as the Cappuccino Pavlova the acid helps to give the meringue its structure and texture.

For these recipes it is possible to use an alternative. Our preference would be for fresh lemon juice as we have used this as a substitute ourselves for vinegar in some recipes. Nigella's Lemon Pavlova also uses lemon juice, rather than vinegar, for the meringue. For the Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova the balsamic vinegar does help to slightly enhance the chocolate flavour, but here lemon juice could still be used as an alternative.