Balsamic vinegar is quite an expensive ingredient, especially when you purchase the properly aged stuff. Fortunately, a little goes a long way. But what is the best way to store it? Is it ok to freeze balsamic vinegar?
Can You Freeze Balsamic Vinegar?
Yes, you can freeze balsamic vinegar indefinitely, although itās perhaps best not to – itās unnecessary to freeze vinegar! Due to the acidity of the liquid, bacteria cannot tolerate living within it. Therefore, vinegar doesnāt need to be frozen to be kept safe to eat.
Do Does Balsamic Vinegar freeze well? Sometimes
Can you refreeze Balsamic Vinegar? Yes
How to Freeze Balsamic Vinegar
The best way to freeze balsamic vinegar (or any vinegar) is to make sure to avoid any air within the freezing container. The reason for this is that vinegar can oxidize when exposed to air for a long time.
Here is our method for freezing balsamic vinegar:
- Grab Containers: Firstly, find containers that are exactly the right size for the portion sizes you want to freeze. You don’t want large containers full of air. Instead, try to find small pots.
- Decant: Pour the balsamic vinegar into your containers leaving a tiny bit of room for expansion.
- Seal and Freeze: Seal the container shut, and then place the container into a freezer, where it will freeze and store indefinitely.
3 Tips for Freezing Balsamic Vinegar
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing balsamic vinegar to have the best results:
Remove Excess Air
First of all, make sure that you press any excess air out of the container that youāre keeping the vinegar in. It can oxidize over time, so preventing this will be better for the flavour of the vinegar itself.
Freeze In Small Portions
We would recommend storing balsamic vinegar in small parts – for example freezing units in an ice cube tray. The reason for this is that the freezing and thawing process will lead to some of the vinegar evaporating – this will lessen the intensity of the flavour, which has a negative impact on your cooking.
Avoid Doing So
Ultimately, balsamic vinegar will keep for months and months in a dark, cool cupboard away from temperature fluctuations and direct sunlight. Space in the freezer is often at a premium so don’t waste it by freezing balsamic vinegar.
How Long Can You Freeze Balsamic Vinegar?
You can freeze balsamic vinegar indefinitely – since the liquid is water-based, it freezes completely at the same temperature that water does. For this reason, when kept below freezing point, the vinegar will be entirely food safe.
Even if the temperature of the vinegar varies a little, the inherent acidity of the liquid inhibits bacterial growth, leading to a liquid thatās still perfectly safe to eat.
How Do You Defrost Balsamic Vinegar?
The best way to defrost balsamic vinegar is slowly – if the vinegar gets hot enough to reach boiling point, then youāll boil off some of the vinegar itself, which would be a tremendous waste!
Instead, we would suggest thawing only what you need in the fridge or on the countertop over a longer period of time.
The best course of action would be to freeze the vinegar in increments of around two hundred millilitres, and then use that as though it were never frozen, after thawing it overnight in the fridge.
Can You Refreeze Balsamic Vinegar?
Yes, you can refreeze balsamic vinegar – the freezing and thawing process wonāt damage the integrity of the vinegar itself.
The reason for this is that balsamic vinegar can be defined into two parts – the water-based liquid parts, and the other, soluble, compounds. Therefore – freezing and thawing balsamic vinegar can be considered to be fairly unlikely to do any damage to the vinegar itself.
The texture of the balsamic vinegar is quite thick though this texture will be altered during the freezing and thawing process.
Does Balsamic Vinegar Freeze Well?
No, balsamic vinegar doesnāt really freeze well. The reason for this is that balsamic vinegar, just like most liquid ingredients, is essentially just water with other things dissolved in it.
The freezing and thawing process will remove a small amount of that liquid component over time, leading to a slightly altered balsamic vinegar taste and texture.
While you probably wonāt notice any major difference between the vinegar before and after itās been frozen and thawed, itās worth considering if youāre looking to get the absolute most out of your balsamic vinegar – especially if you’ve paid a pretty penny for it!
At the end of the day, true balsamic vinegar is an expensive ingredient, so youāll likely want to ensure youāre getting the most out of it.
Related FAQs
If youāve still got questions about freezing balsamic vinegar or vinegar in general, then these may help:
When balsamic vinegar freezes, it will lose some of its acidic bite. The reason you have balsamic vinegar is its flavour. When it freezes, it will lose some of this iconic flavour.
Yes, balsamic vinegar will expand when it is frozen like all other liquids. It will only expand slightly but this is why you should avoid freezing liquids in full glass jars or containers.
