Palm vinegar is one of those ingredients where unless you cook its cuisine of origin regularly (in this case, Philippine dishes), you have likely never heard of it. But that doesn’t invalidate palm vinegar’s impact on a dish.
As the name would suggest, palm vinegar is made from palm trees – specifically the sap from coconut palm trees – which is then left to ferment for 6 months. Palm vinegar companies have recently started using wasted coconut water to create a more sustainable production method.
Palm vinegar is used as a condiment or salad dressing in most recipes. But its final touch can really make a difference to your dish.
Unfortunately, ingredients from the Philippines are hard to come by in the UK. So if you want to try your hand at an authentic Filipino recipe, you will need to use a palm vinegar substitute instead.
Our 3 Substitutes for Palm Vinegar
Palm vinegar is a type of vinegar with the same lip-pursing acidity as other kinds of vinegar. Some palm vinegar brands have a milder acidity, but it is still a prominent taste.
What sets palm vinegar apart from other vinegars is the slight citrusy taste that is often interpreted as sweetness. This is reminiscent of the kind of tree the vinegar is made from – the palm coconut tree.
As the vinegar is made using tree sap and is fermented, there is an underlying musty flavour. For the same reason, palm vinegar is cloudy instead of clear.
Here are our top 3 substitutes for palm vinegar:
1) Rice Wine Vinegar and Lime Juice
When white rice is left to ferment to create rice wine vinegar, the natural sugars of the rice are enhanced. This produces a delicate balance of sweet and sour in the vinegar itself. Palm vinegar is also sweet, but less so than rice wine vinegar.
You will need to combine rice wine vinegar with lime juice to replicate the citrusy sweetness of palm vinegar. Doing so will dilute some of the natural sweetness and replace it with the citrusy taste of the lime.
The lime flavour itself will have a slight bitterness that will work to highlight the acidity of the rice wine vinegar, making a combination close to palm vinegar.
Would Zest Instead of Juice Work?
You can use lime zest if you prefer but remember that lime zest is much more flavourful than lime juice. Only use half as much lime zest not to overpower the vinegar itself.
2) Apple Cider Vinegar and Sugar
Anyone who has dabbled in the diet world will be more than familiar with apple cider vinegar. It is considered a miracle worker for weight loss, though there are still debates about that miracle status.
Weight loss debate aside, apple cider vinegar has the same flavourful fruitiness as palm vinegar, just with a much more bitter taste.
As with most healthy raw foods, apple cider vinegar is extremely hard to palate by itself and will not make a delicious condiment like palm vinegar.
That is why you will need to combine the vinegar with sugar to overpower the bitterness of the apple cider vinegar.
Is Apple Cider Vinegar Actually Healthy?
Though its aid in weight loss is still being questioned, multiple studies in recent years have found apple cider vinegar to be helpful in regulating insulin levels.
3) White Wine Vinegar and Lime Zest
There is a whole range of kinds of vinegar you could use as a base to replace palm vinegar, but white wine vinegar is easily the most accessible substitute to use.
Unlike the above substitutes, white wine vinegar has a more subtle vinegar taste and is less acidic. This is because it is made from white wine instead of fermented grains or sap.
The mellower taste makes it the perfect palm vinegar substitute for anyone who finds other kinds of vinegar too overbearing.
The vinegar already has a fruity taste as white wine is made from grapes. However, it is not a citrus fruit, so you will still need to add some lime juice to give it that citrusy effect.
Add Sugar If Needs Be
If you are unhappy with the sourness of white wine vinegar as a palm vinegar substitute, you can always add a sprinkling of sugar to offset the bitterness.
Other Substitutes for Palm Vinegar
Some of the above substitutes are not always accessible, or you may not have them immediately to hand. Here are a few other ingredients combinations you can use to substitute palm vinegar using what you would already have in your pantry:
- Apple Cider Vinegar + Honey – If you would prefer a healthier sweetener when using any of the above combinations, honey can be used instead. The thick, floral characteristics of honey are best paired with apple cider vinegar but can be used with other vinegars too.
- Distilled Vinegar + Lime Juice + Sugar – Everybody will already have distilled vinegar in their pantry as it is the most commonly used vinegar in cooking. However, it is a pretty flavourless vinegar, bar the obvious vinegary taste. You will need to use lime juice and sugar to give the vinegar a taste similar to palm vinegar, though the flavour will not be exactly the same.
Summary
Palm vinegar is not common in the UK or the western world but is a staple condiment in many Filipino dishes. The unique musty, citrusy taste undercut by the typical vinegary acidity is a complex combination to replicate.
However, a few other vinegars can be combined with other ingredients to produce the same final effect as palm vinegar, such as rice wine vinegar and lime juice.