Sour power

It's a safe bet that most kitchens have at least one bottle of vinegar stashed in the cupboard – and another safe bet that those bottles are mostly used for salad dressings or dousing fish and chips. But reserving vinegar for those tasks is to seriously limit its potential. In truth, this extraordinary ingredient has the power to elevate and harmonise the flavours of almost any dish, make sauces zing and tastebuds tingle. No wonder chefs all over the globe are never without it.

At its most basic, vinegar comes from a sugar-rich base made from apples, rice or grapes that is fermented first into alcohol, then into vinegar. The very first vinegars were made by the simple happy accident of leaving alcohol opened to the air. While little was understood for thousands of years about the scientific process involved, much was known of how effective an ingredient it was. All over the world cultures were enjoying the vinegar of their agricultural heritage: rice-growing nations such as Japan and China with rice vinegar, the wine countries with wine vinegars, and British apples ripening into cider vinegar. Louis Pasteur is more famously known for bringing us pasteurisation, but it's thanks to him that great strides were made in understanding how vinegar happens. His discoveries in the mid-1800s paved the way for a new wave of worldwide, more commercialised vinegar-making.

In recent years, vinegar has seen a new wave of culinary appreciation. Head to a fashionable bar and you might find the mixologists using shrubs (vinegar-based syrups) for cocktails; the health-conscious, meanwhile, might take a shot of 'drinking vinegar; in water in the morning or, as the Glucose Goddess advocates, before food to mitigate a spike in blood sugar levels; and foodies have embraced pickling with considerable verve.

The range of vinegar on shelves is ever-expanding, and its popularity chimes with much of what is driving the current food agenda. Vinegar has always been used as a preservative, as useful to the cooks of yesterday as to the modern cook looking to minimise waste. (Got too many cucumbers or beetroots or plums? Pickle them and they take on a new lease of life.) And at a time of heightened awareness around ultra-processed foods, vinegar remains a beacon of working with nature.

It's also delicious. Every type, from sherry to balsamic, has a unique flavour. But whichever bottle you open, the acidity is key to its culinary magic; like a squeeze of lemon, the tangy joly instantly adds that 'can't quite put your finger on it' difference. For most vinegars, the level of acetic acid is marked by a percentage on the bottle. Sherry and wine vinegars (around 6%) are a good choice for sauces, marinades and dressings; the relatively mild acidity of rice vinegar or some cider vinegars means they are best for using as a finishing touch or quick-pickle. For traditional preserves (the type kept in a cool place for many months), you'll need a vinegar that is at least 5%.

Vinegar isn't just there for you when it comes to cooking and preserving, though – it's also got your back in matters of health. The key is to choose one that is raw (unpasteurised) and unfiltered, which has been shown to protect its polyphenols and good bacteria.

Once opened, use your bottle of vinegar as soon as possible. It doesn't go off as such, but its flavours dull when exposed to air. Keep opened vinegars sealed up tightly, away from direct sunlight and in easy reach. And remember, when you taste a dish before serving and decide there's a little something lacking, that something is almost definitely a dash of vinegar.