Kikkoman Rice Vinegar, 10 Ounce

Excellent rice vinegar as all Kikkoman products!

Just fine. A mild, but not sweet, vinegar.

One of my favorite vinegers. Will order again for my pickling needs

The exception here might be sushi rice, which I really don't make, but I think sushi rice calls for sugar and salt, which may be why "seasoned" rice vinegar has sugar and salt in the ingredients list. Regardless, I am not looking to incidentally add more sugar and salt to whatever recipe. Less processing is better, and most recipes that call for rice vinegar, mean just plain rice vinengar. I have a number of different vinegars in my cupboard - rice, apple cider, balsamic, red wine, white wine, and good ol' distilled, and they aren't really interchangeable without changing the character of the recipe, at least a tiny bit. There are some reasonable substitutions - I'd pick mildly sweet and mellow apple cider vinegar, or balanced and mild champagne vinegar if I find myself flat out of rice wine. I might even experiment with one of my more agressively flavored vinegars (malt? White basalmic?) and see if it might be good, understanding that it won't be the same. But in the kitchen, it helps to start with the baseline of knowing how the real thing tastes in a recipe. And then play. Kikkoman tastes good, as good as other varieties I've tried. I think it's worth having a little 10 oz bottle like this in the cupboard, especially if you don't know what the substitution will do to your recipe. And it's really good for salad dressings, so even if I'm not on an asian cusine kick, I have no problem using it up.

I picked this up for everyday cooking, and it’s been a really dependable pantry staple. The flavor is mild and slightly sweet, which makes it great for things like homemade salad dressings, marinades, and especially sushi rice. It adds a nice tang without being too sharp or overpowering. I like that it blends easily into recipes—you don’t have to worry about it taking over the whole dish. The bottle size is convenient too, especially if you don’t go through vinegar super quickly. Only reason I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is that it’s pretty basic—nothing particularly standout compared to other rice vinegars. But at the same time, it does exactly what you need it to do, and it does it well.