Different types of vinegar, how to cook with them

THERE are so many types of vinegar that you probably have more than one kind in your kitchen right now.
But what exactly is vinegar, and how do we know which type is best?
Vinegar appropriately takes its name from the French term vin aigre, or “sour wine.” It is made by adding bacteria to any type of alcohol—wine, hard cider, beer—or sugars, which are then fermented and converted into acetic acid.
The time it takes for the vinegar to ferment depends on what it is made from.
Every type of vinegar has an individual flavour profile and often a unique purpose outside the kitchen. The vinegar you use to clean your floors probably isn’t the same one you’re using to dress your salad or marinate your chicken.
Vinegar is not just a kitchen staple, it is the do-it-all workhorse of the entire household! Use can use different varieties to refresh your laundry, repel bugs, kill weeds, and unclog drains.
Distilled white vinegar
There are several reasons you should keep distilled white vinegar on hand at all times. First, it is inexpensive. Second, it is incredibly versatile. Distilled white vinegar is perfect for pickling vegetables and mixing into salad dressings, but it is also a great non-toxic household cleaner.
Distilled white vinegar has a sharp, very acidic taste, but it is a perfect blank canvas for incorporating other flavourful ingredients.
Apple cider vinegar
Made with apples, sugar, and yeast, this vinegar is tart, but with a certain apple aroma to it. Use it to brighten up the best baked beans ever or balance out a sweet glaze for a ham. You can even use it to make a DIY trap for fruit flies! There are two varieties you will find filtered and unfiltered. If its health benefits you are after, buy unfiltered. This cloudy variety is filled with what is called “mother culture” which is good bacteria that serves as a probiotic and aids in digestion. That bacteria has been killed off in the clear, filtered kind.
Balsamic vinegar
Dark, bold, and slightly sweet, balsamic vinegar is the perfect pairing with many foods. One of Ree Drummond’s favourite tricks is to reduce balsamic vinegar on the stove to create a heavenly glaze to top caprese salad or autumn Brussels sprouts. Made from grape must and aged, balsamic vinegar is one that can greatly range in price depending on how and where it’s made.
White wine vinegar
Milder than distilled white vinegar and apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar is perfect paired with lighter foods (skip it for red meat recipes). You can use it to deglaze pans in place of white wine and to make a buttery sauce to top chicken and fish. It’s a splendid addition to dressings for delicate salads and is a good choice for pickling because it won’t impart any colour.
Rice wine vinegar
An Asian cooking essential, this vinegar is mildly acidic and subtly sweet. It is important to know which variety to buy, though. Rice wine vinegar (also simply called rice vinegar) comes unseasoned and seasoned. Unseasoned or regular rice wine vinegar has the snappiness you would expect from vinegar, with a cleaner taste. Unless a recipe you are making specifically calls for the seasoned variety, buy regular rice wine vinegar. The seasoned kind has sugar and salted added for flavour.— Online