White Balsamic Vinegar
White balsamic is a pale condiment of white wine vinegar and concentrated white grape must, made without the caramel and long wood ageing of dark balsamic. It is sweet as well as sharp: Marks & Spencer's lists 34g of sugar per 100ml. Our Tomatini takes 5ml to season the tomato like a salad dressing, without darkening the drink.
Quick Facts
Store cool and dark, tightly capped. It keeps well at ambient temperature and does not need refrigerating.
Contains: sulphites. Made from grape must and wine vinegar. Check the bottle.
About White Balsamic Vinegar
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Bright and clean with a gentle grape sweetness behind the acidity: the sweet-sharp balsamic note in a pale, mellower key, savoury-leaning and never harsh.
Pale because it skips the caramel and the cask
White balsamic is a condiment rather than a protected product. Marks & Spencer's lists white wine vinegar, concentrated grape must, glucose syrup and water, and many others are much the same: wine vinegar sweetened and rounded with cooked-down white grape juice.
Dark Balsamic Vinegar of Modena works to a protected specification: at least 20% grape must, at least 10% wine vinegar, up to 2% caramel for colour, and at least two months in wood. White balsamic leaves out the caramel and the long ageing, which keeps it pale and lighter in taste.
Sweet and sharp, measured to 5ml
In the Tomatini 5ml goes into the shaker once three cherry tomatoes are muddled, with 60ml of vodka, 10ml each of lemon and simple syrup and two dashes of saline. It plays the part of the dressing on a sliced tomato: soft acid from the vinegar, a little sweetness from the must.
The measure matters. Past about 5ml the drink stops tasting like seasoned tomato and starts tasting of vinegar, and the extra sugar upsets the balance with the syrup.
White balsamic against the other acids
White balsamic
- What it is
- White wine vinegar with grape must
- Sugar
- High: 34g per 100ml (M&S)
- Colour
- Pale gold
- In a Tomatini
- 5ml, as written
Dark balsamic of Modena
- What it is
- Grape must, wine vinegar and caramel, aged in wood
- Sugar
- Sweet
- Colour
- Dark brown
- In a Tomatini
- Browns the drink
White wine vinegar
- What it is
- Fermented white wine
- Sugar
- None
- Colour
- Pale
- In a Tomatini
- Sharper: use less and add syrup
Fresh lemon juice
- What it is
- Citrus juice, squeezed the same day
- Sugar
- Low
- Colour
- Cloudy pale
- In a Tomatini
- Already in it, at 10ml
| Acid | What it is | Sugar | Colour | In a Tomatini |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White balsamic | White wine vinegar with grape must | High: 34g per 100ml (M&S) | Pale gold | 5ml, as written |
| Dark balsamic of Modena | Grape must, wine vinegar and caramel, aged in wood | Sweet | Dark brown | Browns the drink |
| White wine vinegar | Fermented white wine | None | Pale | Sharper: use less and add syrup |
| Fresh lemon juice | Citrus juice, squeezed the same day | Low | Cloudy pale | Already in it, at 10ml |
A cupboard bottle that lasts for years
Vinegar preserves itself. Capped and out of the light, an opened bottle lasts for years and needs no fridge, though it is brightest in the first year. A haze or a jelly-like layer of vinegar mother is harmless, but strain it out before the vinegar goes near a drink.
Using White Balsamic Vinegar
Usage
Measured at 5ml for the Tomatini and shaken with the other ingredients once the tomatoes are muddled. Much past that the drink tastes of vinegar. Elsewhere, add it by the drop to a savoury or fruit drink and taste between drops.
Pro Tip
Taste a new bottle neat from a spoon before using it. A sweet, rounded one may let you trim the Tomatini's syrup a little; a sharp one wants the full 10ml.
Top Tips
- Measure it. Past 5ml the vinegar takes over a Tomatini.
- Read the label: some white balsamics are much sweeter than others, so adjust the syrup to match.
- Keep it capped in the cupboard; it needs no fridge.
- Use white, not dark, in a pale drink. Dark balsamic turns it brown.
Possible Substitutions
- Fresh Lemon Juice: acid without the sweetness: add a few drops of syrup
Production Method
White wine vinegar mixed with concentrated white grape must, sometimes with glucose syrup, and kept pale without caramel or long wood ageing. It is a condiment, outside the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI.
More to explore
Common Questions
What is white balsamic vinegar?
How much white balsamic goes in a Tomatini?
Can I use dark balsamic in a Tomatini instead?
What is the difference between white and dark balsamic?
Does white balsamic vinegar need to be refrigerated?
Can I use white balsamic in other drinks?
What can I use instead of white balsamic vinegar?
Made with White Balsamic Vinegar
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Often Used With
Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 11 October 2026