---
title: "Does Vinegar expire? Does not expire"
description: "No. Vinegar is acidic enough to be self-preserving, and the murky blob in cider vinegar is harmless. What actually changes over time, whether it matters, and how to "
url: https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/vinegar/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Does Vinegar expire?

**Does Vinegar expire?: No. Vinegar is acidic enough to be self-preserving, and the murky blob in cider vinegar is harmless.**

Indefinite; flavour is best within about 2 years for the fancier ones

Acetic acid at the concentration in table vinegar — around 5% — is hostile to essentially everything that causes spoilage, which is why vinegar is a preservative in its own right. White distilled vinegar is stable indefinitely and does not change appreciably. Cider, wine and malt vinegars contain more organic material, so they darken, throw a sediment, or grow a cloudy gelatinous raft of cellulose and acetic acid bacteria known as a mother. That mother looks alarming and is entirely harmless; strain it out or leave it in.

## How to store it

- Cool, dark, tightly capped. Light and air fade colour and flavour.

## How to tell it has gone

- Cloudiness and a floating mother are normal. Anything smelling of solvent rather than vinegar has been contaminated.

> "Use by" and "best before" are legally different. Use-by is a safety date and should be respected; best-before is about quality, and food is usually fine well past it. Where the two diverge matters, the page above says which applies.

## Common questions

### Does Vinegar expire?

No. Vinegar is acidic enough to be self-preserving, and the murky blob in cider vinegar is harmless.

### How long does Vinegar last?

Indefinite; flavour is best within about 2 years for the fancier ones

## Related pages

- [Does Honey expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/honey/)
- [Does Salt expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/salt/)
- [Does Sugar expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/sugar/)
- [Does Bottled water expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/bottled-water/)
- [Does Vanilla extract expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/vanilla-extract/)
- [Does Eggs expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/eggs/)
- [Does Medicines expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/medicines/)
- [Does Milk expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/milk/)
- [Does Sunscreen expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/sunscreen/)
- [Does Frozen food expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/frozen-food/)
- [Does Canned food expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/canned-food/)

## Sources

- US Food and Drug Administration — FDA (https://www.fda.gov/) [Public domain (US Government)]