Readily Available Substitutes for Vermouth That You Must Try Once

Vermouth is a wine that is mainly used in making desserts and cocktails. Only a few things, including certain types of vinegars can be used as its substitute. Find out more about vermouth and its substitutes, in this article.

Tastessence Staff

Last Updated: May 31, 2018

Vermouth does not sour as quickly as white wine, as it is a fortified wine. But still, an opened bottle of vermouth should be kept in the refrigerator and consumed within three months.

Vermouth is basically a fortified wine flavored with aromatic herbs and spices. It is prepared by infusing different types of herbs and spices, including cardamom, cinnamon, chamomile, cloves, and marjoram. Even ginger, citrus peel, and coriander may be used for this purpose. Earlier, vermouth was prepared from cheap or low quality wines, and the herbs and spices were used to disguise their unpleasant flavor.

But today, vermouth is not prepared to prevent the wastage of cheaper wines. In fact, it is used in many cocktails, including martini. It is also used in cooking, mainly in fish dishes and as a marinade for meat. The recipe of this fortified wine was invented by Antonio Benedetto Carpano, an Italian distiller. The name 'vermouth' was given after the word, 'wermut', the German name for wormwood. It usually comes in two varieties, the dry or French vermouth, and the sweet or Italian vermouth. Let's find out what you can substitute for vermouth, if you happen to run out of it while cooking a dish that calls for this aromatized wine.

Substitutes for Vermouth

White Wine

White wine is an excellent substitute for dry vermouth, and it can also be used to replace sweet vermouth. White wine is produced by the fermentation of the non-colored grape pulp. It is basically used for tenderizing meat, and also in the preparation of sauces, seafood dishes, stews, and risottos.

Amount of vermouth required: 1 cup

To be replaced with: 1 cup of white wine

Note: To get best results, you can use dry white wine to replace dry vermouth in a recipe. It can be used to substitute vermouth in martini as well. While cooking with white wine, you can lower the alcohol content of the dish by simmering or baking it for a long time.

Wine Vinegar

Vinegar is nothing but acetic acid and water, and is prepared by the fermentation of ethanol by the acetic acid bacteria. Vinegar is acidic and hence, you can use it to get the acidity of vermouth. For best results, you can use white wine vinegar, as it tastes like dry vermouth. Sometimes, red wine vinegar may also be used.

Amount of vermouth required: 1 cup

To be replaced with: ⅓ cup of white wine vinegar (for dry vermouth) or ⅓ cup of red wine vinegar (for sweet vermouth) + ⅔ cup of water

Note: Red wine vinegar will discolor a light dish. If color of the dish does not matter so much, then red wine vinegar can be used as a dry vermouth substitute in cooking. But in general, it is used to substitute sweet vermouth. Wine vinegars are good for stews, marinades, sauces, and also in vinaigrettes.

Balsamic Vinegar

Another good substitute of vermouth is balsamic vinegar. Balsamic vinegar was first prepared in Italy. The traditional balsamic vinegar is dark brown in color with a fruity flavor, and is quite expensive. It is generally used to substitute sweet vermouth.

Amount of vermouth required: 1 cup

To be replaced with: ⅓ cup of balsamic vinegar + ⅔ cup of water

Note: It can be used in dips, steaks, pastas, risottos, and vegetables dishes. It is excellent for marinades, sauces, salad dressings, and for seasoning grilled meat, fish and eggs.

Grape Juice

Grape juice can also be used to substitute vermouth. However, it is a bit sweeter than dry vermouth, even without any sweetener added to it. Usually, white grape juice is used to substitute dry vermouth, while normal grape juice is used to replace sweet vermouth in some recipes.

Amount of vermouth required: 1 cup

To be replaced with: ½ cup of grape juice (for sweet vermouth) or ½ cup of white grape juice (for dry vermouth)

Note: If the grape juice is too sweet, you can add a small amount of salt to reduce its sweetness. Even spices can help reduce the sweetness of grape juice, and make it more flavorful like vermouth.

Lemon Juice

If vermouth is mainly added in a recipe for its acidity, then lemon juice can be a good substitute for this fortified wine. However, it is better to avoid lime juice, as its flavor is quite strong. Not all recipes can handle the citrus flavor of lime juice.

Amount of vermouth required: 1 cup

To be replaced with: ½ cup of lemon juice

Sake

Sake or saké is the name of an alcoholic beverage that originated in Japan. It is prepared from fermented rice. The brewing process is somewhat similar to that of beer, as starch is first converted into sugar and then fermented to produce alcohol. Sake can be used to substitute vermouth in martini.

Amount of vermouth required: 1 cup

To be replaced with: 1 cup of sake

Note: If you want to replace vermouth in martini with sake, then mix one part sake with three parts gin. Apart from martini, sake can be used in cocktails, desserts, and also in cooking seafood, pork, and chicken. Like wine, sake should be simmered with the food to enhance and accentuate the flavor of the dish.

So, these are some of the substitutes that you can use in a recipe that calls for vermouth. In addition to these, you can also try apple juice, non-alcoholic white wine, and chicken, turkey, or vegetable broth mixed with a small amount of lemon juice, depending on the specific requirement of a dish.

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