Take fermented grapes and age them in wooden casks for a decade or so, and you'll end up with the dark, sweet-yet-tart, syrupy treat that is balsamic vinegar. If you have a soft spot for Italian recipes, you'll come across this condiment eventually. It's super versatile, from salad dressings to marinades to glazes.
But what do you do when you're in the middle of cooking and realize you're out of balsamic vinegar? The first thing is to check your pantry and see if you have some soy sauce lying around. If you do, you're in luck: Soy sauce works pretty well as a substitute for balsamic vinegar. Other than having a dark color that matches fresh balsamic vinegar, soy sauce's slight acidity is why it works as a swap.
Even though the first thing that'll hit your tongue when you taste it is a shot of savory umami, a hint of sourness follows soon after. It won't ever taste exactly the same, but it's still an excellent swap, and even an intriguing departure from your usual formula. Here's the thing, though: If you have a little bit more time, you can actually tailor it to taste even more like balsamic vinegar.
Use red wine vinegar as a base for your substitute To match the flavor of balsamic vinegar more closely in your soy sauce-swapped dishes, you'll need to enlist the help of a few other ingredients. First, there's red wine vinegar, which acts as an acidic foundation. Technically, any vinegar will do for acidity, but red wine vinegar shares the same fruity, grape-based flavor, and t.