Replacement of vinegar essence with citric acid. How to preserve with citric acid

21.08.2019 Restaurant notes

Citric acid is a product that can be found in any home. It is widely used both for preparing various dishes and in everyday life, as a cleaning agent or as a component for bleaching lotion, hair rinse. How can you replace citric acid, if it is over, some simple tips will tell you.

Curious! For the first time, citric acid was obtained from unripe lemons, hence its name. It was first synthesized by the Swedish pharmacist Karl Schleele in 1784. Now it is obtained synthetically from beets.

Citrus instead of citric acid

  • The most natural alternative to citric acid in various dishes is regular lemon or lime.

On note! The juice of 1 lemon can replace 1 teaspoon of citric acid. When preparing desserts, from a few drops to 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice will be enough to replace citric acid.

  • If there is no lemon on hand, oranges or tangerines will do the job of replacing citric acid.

On a note! Citrus fruits will not only provide the necessary acidity to the dish, but also enrich its aroma and taste.

The most successful would be to replace citric acid with citrus fruits when cooking:

  • creams: protein, cream, custard;
  • sweets;
  • meringue;
  • mousse;
  • syrups;
  • baking powder for dough;
  • fillings for pies, pastries and cakes.

Citric acid is added to the dough to give the baked goods a pleasant taste with a slight sourness. Using citrus zest, vanillin or cinnamon instead, you can get not only delicious, but also very aromatic baked goods.

On a note! A few drops of lemon juice will make it easy to beat the whites into a strong foam, will not let it settle, and will make it snow-white.

Citric acid being excellent anti-crystallizer, is an integral component of syrup and fondant recipes. Thanks to its addition in a strictly defined concentration, you can get a thick, non-candied syrup that perfectly whips into a fudge. Replacing the acid with lemon, you have to play around in order to achieve the required concentration of acid in the product.

How to replace citric acid in conservation

When preparing compote, jam or jam from irgi, quince, gooseberry or chokeberry, you cannot do without citric acid, because it is she who gives them a piquant sourness. In this case, instead of citric acid, you can use orange or lemon zest and citrus juice or applesauce and zest.

Sour berries instead of citric acid

Citric acid is a component that is often used in conservation to set off the taste of sweet berries and fruits or to protect compotes and preserves from spoiling. Some recipes for canned and pickled vegetables also recommend using citric acid as a preservative. Usually, recommendations to replace vinegar with citric acid are associated with gastrointestinal problems. But if citric acid was not at hand, then whole berries can be used instead:

  • red currant;
  • cranberries;
  • lingonberries.

Sour berries will give an original flavor to pickled cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes.

On a note! Instead of citric acid, when preserving vegetables, you can use for 1 liter jar:

  • 200 g red currant or,
  • 200 g rowan or,
  • 100 g lingonberries or,
  • 100 g of cranberries or,
  • 100 g of Chinese lemongrass or,
  • 0.5 l of fresh tomato juice or,
  • 100 g sorrel or,
  • 1 sour apple or,
  • ½ a small bunch of grapes, or,
  • juice of ½ lemon.

The berries are washed and placed in jars with vegetables, and it is recommended to pre-boil and mashed sorrel, and then add to the jars. On the basis of a broth of sorrel, you can prepare an excellent pickle for pickling cucumbers.
From the use of sour berries, fruits and vegetables as natural preservatives, homemade preparations will become not only tastier, but also healthier.

Natural juice instead of citric acid

Juices obtained from fruits and berries contain a significant amount of organic acids and are quite capable of replacing citric acid in the preparation of some dishes:

  • desserts;
  • compotes, jelly and other drinks;
  • preserves and marinades;
  • sauces and gravy.

On a note! Citric acid is often used as an essential ingredient in meat marinades. For example, a leg of lamb is marinated in a marinade with the addition of citric acid: ¼ teaspoon per 2 kg of meat with bone. In this case, grape or pomegranate juice can be used instead of acid. They will not only make the meat tender, but also give it a pleasant taste.

For these purposes, it is better to use natural, unsweetened juice:

  • grape;
  • pomegranate;
  • cherry;
  • cranberry;
  • apple.

On a note! The sour fruit or berry juice added when cooking the jam will keep the fruit from losing its attractive appearance, and the jam will not become sugared.

Vinegar instead of citric acid

When preparing a marinade for cucumbers and other vegetables, you can use vinegar instead of citric acid:

  • apple;
  • wine;
  • dining room.

Microbiologically produced natural fruit vinegar retains all the bioactive substances contained in fruits, so replacing the acid with natural fruit vinegar will only bring health benefits.


Apple cider vinegar and wine vinegar can also be used in place of citric acid in fruit and berry dishes. It will be enough to add 1-2 teaspoons of fruit vinegar at the end of cooking.

On a note! 5 teaspoons of 3% vinegar can replace 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid. 4 teaspoons of 9% vinegar will replace 1 teaspoon of citric acid.

In everyday life, citric acid is actively used to descale teapots. In this situation, table vinegar and soda can replace it.

As you can see, there are many ways to replace citric acid. Some of them, in terms of their qualities, not only fully compensate for the absence of citric acid, but also improve the taste and aroma of the dish. In some cases, replacing citric acid is troublesome, as it requires experience to adjust the desired acidity percentage of the dish.

Canning without vinegar. How to replace vinegar? Advice

Among homemade canned vegetables, pickles are especially popular. The use of large amounts of vinegar in such homemade preparations makes them stable in storage, but far from useful. Vinegar is an aggressive product and love for pickled vegetables can lead to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

You can do it without vinegar!  Housewives know the insidious property of table vinegar to irritate the stomach lining and cause heartburn. Therefore, for home canning, many people replace vinegar with less harmful preservatives.

There are many recipes for homemade preparations without table vinegar, which in their taste are in no way inferior to the so beloved marinades. So what substitutes for vinegar?

Vodka or citric acid?

Canning without vinegar involves replacing it with an equally powerful preservative that inhibits the growth of microflora. In addition, vinegar gives vegetables that sourness that is so loved in marinades.

The most popular vinegar substitute in home canning is citric acid. Marinades with her are not so sharp in taste, and preparations with citric acid are stored even better than acetic ones. Usually, a teaspoon of powder is placed in a 3-liter jar. It is believed that 1 g of citric acid ≈ 10 g of vinegar 3%.

You may notice vinegar with red currant juice. Red currants are poured into jars with prepared cucumbers so that they fill the voids between the cucumbers. Pour boiling water with salt (for 1 liter of water - 60 grams of salt) and sterilize. Cucumbers keep well and have a pleasant "pickled" taste.

Another rather original way of canning without vinegar. Cucumbers, already filled with hot water with salt and spices, are added ... vodka before the capping! For a 3 liter jar, 2 tablespoons are enough. Alcohol is not felt in the finished product, but such preparations stand all winter at room temperature without problems.

Ordinary table vinegar can be substituted with apple cider vinegar or wine vinegar. These vinegars are natural products obtained by the microbiological method from apple and grape raw materials and have retained the beneficial properties of fresh fruits. Their use in canning will only be beneficial. The proportions for use are the same as for table vinegar.

Table vinegar isn't the only acidic preservative for making homemade marinades. Can be canned without vinegar and feast on your favorite homemade preparations.

Sources of images: webgramota.ru, site.

How to replace vinegar in dishes?

Irina Kosheleva

Vinegar adds flavor to many dishes. For example, a salad with cabbage and carrots is delicious in itself. And if you add vinegar, it turns out very tasty. But what is the substitute for vinegar if it was suddenly not at hand?

For the preparation of light salads, vinegar can be replaced with lemon juice. This is both healthier and less likely to over-oxidize. If lemon is not at hand, then you can add a pinch of citric acid. But then you need to thoroughly mix the ingredients so that it does not turn out that all the acid will collect in one place.

Conservation

Many people are wondering what can be used to replace vinegar during conservation. Here citric acid will help you too. A three-liter jar usually needs a teaspoon. If you have other volumes, then proceed from a 5: 2 ratio. That is, 100 g of vinegar can be replaced by 40 g of citric acid.

In order to prepare rice for sushi, you need to add special vinegar to it. Thanks to him, it becomes softer, less sticky to the hands during cooking and gives sushi a spice. But what can replace rice vinegar and not spoil the dish?

You can replace sushi vinegar by making a mixture of regular vinegar, salt, and sugar. To do this, add 2 tablespoons of sugar and one and a half teaspoons of salt to a third of a glass of ordinary table vinegar 9%. The whole mixture must be thoroughly stirred until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved.

In principle, rice vinegar can be substituted for conventional, but more forgiving varieties. For example, apple cider vinegar or wine vinegar. Rice vinegar differs from ordinary vinegar only in its softness and less saturated concentration. Therefore, when using other varieties, it is worth slightly reducing the dose.

When preparing rolls or sushi, take a container with water and lemon juice and constantly moisten your hands in it. This will prevent the rice from sticking to your hands and the nori will stick better.

Balsamic vinegar

Despite the fact that balsamic vinegar is used in many recipes, the original product is very expensive. It takes about 10 years or more to make vinegar. At the same time, 85% of the vinegar is consumed, which significantly affects the price. But by learning how to replace balsamic vinegar, you can save money and get almost the same quality.

There are younger balsamic vinegars that are less intense in flavor and color. They cost an order of magnitude cheaper, so they are quite suitable as a replacement.

You can also make it yourself using regular wine vinegar. To do this, add the aromatic herbs of lemon balm, chamomile, lavender and mint to it and let it brew for about a week.

Bon appetit and new culinary feats!

Acetic essence is a solution consisting of 20% water and 80% concentrated acetic acid. In terms of organoleptic characteristics, it is a colorless liquid with a pungent specific odor and sour taste.

Food vinegar essence is obtained not by combining acid with water, but by distilling 5% vinegar, which naturally forms when wine is sour. Pure acid can only be removed chemically by acting on acetates with sulfuric acid.

Curious! 100% acetic acid is called glacial, because when cooled to 17 ° C, it turns into ice-like crystals.

In home cooking, we are often faced not with the essence itself, but with its aqueous solution from 3 to 13%, known as table vinegar. However, for the preparation of some marinades and canned products, exactly a 70% acid solution is required. What to do if it was not at hand? Is it possible and if so how to replace vinegar essence with 9% vinegar?

Interchangeability of essence and vinegar

In fact, these 2 fluids are completely interchangeable, since they are made from the same raw materials and differ only in concentration.

For example, 9% vinegar consists of 1 part essence and 7 parts water. Those. 8 tablespoons of 9% vinegar contains 1 spoon of essence and 7 water. Their ratio is 1 to 7.

Knowing the correct ratio of essence and water in table vinegar of a certain concentration, you can easily calculate the required amount of components mixed to obtain it:

  • 3% - 1 ml of essence and 20 ml of liquid (1:20);
  • 4% - 1 ml of acid and 17 ml of water (1:17);
  • 5% - 1 ml of vinegar essence and 13 ml of liquid (1:13);
  • 6% - 1 ml of food acid and 11 ml of water (1:11);
  • 9% - 1 ml of essence and 7 ml of liquid (1: 7).


Important! Vinegar essence can be dangerous in its pure form. Only 20 ml of the product is a lethal dose for humans, so strictly observe the proportions and caution when handling it..

How to replace the essence with ordinary vinegar

You can make calculations in the opposite direction to find out how much vinegar you need to take instead of 70% food essence. But since there is more water in a diluted solution than in a concentrated solution, you will have to add less liquid to the brine.

Consider 9% vinegar as an example. It consists of 8 parts, 1 of which is acid and 7 of which is water. Therefore, to replace 1 tsp. take essences 8 tsp. vinegar and subtract 7 tsp from the liquid specified in the recipe.

Or like this: 100 ml of essence = 800 mg 9 vinegar, in which 100 mg is acid, and 700 is water.

With the help of such simple mathematical calculations, you can draw up a pattern according to which 1 tsp essences are:

  • 21 tsp vinegar 3%, minus 20 tsp. marinade water;
  • 18 tsp 4% solution and take away 17 tsp. liquids;
  • 14 tsp vinegar 5%, minus 13 tsp. water;
  • 12 tsp 6% solution, subtract 11 tsp. liquids;
  • 8 tsp vinegar 9% and minus 7 tsp. water.

On a note! One tablespoon contains 15 ml of vinegar. In the tea room - 5 ml.

Calculation example:

Suppose, according to the recipe, you need to pour 20 g of vinegar essence into the brine. How much 9% vinegar do you need?

  • To make it easier to calculate, you can use the general formula:
    (V1 * 70%) / 9% = V2 , where V1- the volume of the essence, and V2- the amount of vinegar.
  • We get: V2= 20 * 70% / 9% = 155.5 ml.
  • Plus, do not forget that this 160 ml consists of 20 ml of essence and 140 ml of water, because their ratio is 1: 7. This means that 140 ml less liquid should be added to the dish.

Curious! On the labels of industrial products, vinegar essence is designated as a food additive - E260.

How else to get an equivalent replacement essence

Instead of the usual vinegar, dry citric acid can also be added to marinades during canning. It is a concentrated dry product in crystals, widely used in cooking for canning and preparing drinks.

Depending on how you dilute it, citric acid can replace vinegar of one concentration or another.

One teaspoon of citric acid will require:

  • 9% - 14 st. l. water.
  • 6% - 22 st. l. liquids.
  • 5% - 29 st. l. water.
  • 4% - 34 st. l. liquids.
  • 3% - at 46 st. l. water.

And if you dilute 1 tbsp. l. citric acid with two tbsp. l. water, you get a good substitute for 70% vinegar essence!

Recipes may contain ingredients that are not always available at home, but that does not mean that there is no substitute for wine vinegar in your kitchen cabinet. The site is the site for that and exists to search, find and offer you analogues, because many substances have "duplicators", similar in properties and principle of action. Replacing wine vinegar in a recipe with a different product will not in any way affect the taste of the finished dish, or maybe even improve it and bring some zest.

On the basis of wine vinegar, various marinades are prepared, both for meat and for dressing salads and preservation. The range of applications for this product is much wider, because it can be used to treat cuts, eliminate the effects of bruises, whiten skin and disinfect dishes. Also, this substance can be found in homemade cosmetics.

If this product does not end on time, but it is needed for a salad or other dish, then it can be replaced with any vinegar that was created from natural ingredients. Apple is most suitable for these purposes, only here you need to consider the following.

In a grape vinegar product, the acid content is 9%, and in all others it varies between 3-9%. If in your kitchen you find the coveted bottle of apple cider vinegar, then pay attention to the label. If the product is of natural origin, then the acid concentration in its composition will be 3-5%, but if it was created artificially, then the acid content will be 9%. That is, substitution with a synthetic product implies a 1: 1 ratio. And if the concentration is weak, for example, 6%, then increase the dose of the substitute by 1/3.

What is a substitute for white or red wine vinegar?

Acetic acid is a component that is part of any acetic product, therefore, wine white and red are interchangeable products, and even a great gourmet cannot distinguish them from each other in a salad. If it is important for the cook to add an ingredient of a specific color to the dish (although they do not differ much in taste and properties), then he can replace it with ordinary grape juice, the amount of which should be 3 times more.

Sometimes these components are replaced with grape juice diluted with white wine in a 1: 1 ratio. Also, balsamic, apple, sherry, rice or any other vinegar of natural origin can act as a substitute.

How to replace wine vinegar with regular table vinegar?

Culinary experts claim that table vinegar is the worst substitute for wine. But when the hostess finds herself in a hopeless situation and there are no other alternatives in the form of citric acid, dime and dry wine, then you have to use it. The most inconvenient replacement option is vinegar essence, the concentration of which is 70-80%. To get the required product from the essence, you must take into account that 1 tsp. essences = 8 tsp table vinegar, concentration 9%. Thus, to obtain a three percent solution, it is necessary to 1 tsp. essences add 22 tsp of water.

If you need six percent, then 11 tsp water is added, and for nine percent - 7 tsp. water. The resulting solution, replacing wine vinegar, is added in the same amount, although concentration is crucial here, and it can be easily determined independently.

Is it possible to substitute balsamic vinegar for wine?

It is possible, the only problem is that the cost of a real balsamic vinegar product is 100 euros for a 30 ml bottle, therefore, this is not the cheapest analogue. This price is due to the complexity of the technological process, because the product must reach the condition in oak barrels for at least 12 years.

Attention! It is economically impractical to use balsamic vinegar instead of wine vinegar, especially since it is too sharp, and if the proportions are not observed, they can ruin the dish.

Replacing wine vinegar

In the salad

  1. Lemon acid. This is an alternative for all occasions. If you need to replace the 9% wine vinegar product, then 1 tsp. citric acid is diluted with 14 tbsp. l of water; for a six percent water option, 22 tbsp will be required. l.
  2. Grape juice. Its amount increases 3 times, and to enhance the taste, seasonings must be added to the grape juice.
  3. Dry wine. It will be much better if diluted with grape juice in a 1: 1 ratio.
  4. Any vinegar of natural origin. The product obtained from vinegar essence according to the recipe indicated above can be used only in a desperate situation.
  5. Freshly squeezed lemon juice that can be diluted with either grape juice or white or red wine.

In recipes

If we are talking about culinary recipes, then grape vinegar is replaced by any other, as well as lime or regular lemon juice, grape juice, white or red wine. When it comes to cosmetic recipes, there is only one replacement for this product. And this is apple cider vinegar, because it is most similar in composition and properties, but subject to its naturalness.

In the marinade

It is appropriate to marinate expensive varieties of fish or meat in balsamic, the only problem is that this product is available only to a select few. Therefore, grape vinegar for the marinade is easily and inexpensively replaced with other varieties, in a 1: 1 ratio (provided that the concentrations are the same, and if they are different, then a recalculation is done). When canning, vinegar essence is most often used, which is diluted to the required concentration. If you doubt the relevance of the information provided, then you can use the table that is presented on each bottle of essence. It is noteworthy that any vinegar is easily replaced with citric acid.

In baking

What is the function of this component in baked goods? It extinguishes the soda and thereby helps to loosen the dough. Its taste and aroma properties practically do not affect the taste and smell of pies, cakes and cookies, which is explained by the low concentration of the product in the total mass.

As a substitute, you can choose any other vinegar product, lemon juice or acid diluted with water (1 tsp for 14 tablespoons of water), and some go in a simpler way - they buy a ready-made baking powder.

We have considered a sufficient number of options for replacing wine (grape) vinegar with analogues.