Short answer
Yes. Vinegar is halal, including balsamic vinegar and, in the Hanafi school, wine vinegar, because wine that has fully turned into vinegar is a new, pure substance. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools accept wine vinegar only when the wine turned into vinegar by itself.
Once wine fully turns into vinegar, by itself or by treatment such as adding salt or vinegar, it is pure and halal. Balsamic vinegar is made from cooked grape must, so it is halal; check flavoured vinegars and dressings for added wine.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Wine that turns into vinegar by itself is pure and halal; if a person turned it deliberately by adding something to it, it stays impure.
- Hanbali
- Agrees with the Shafi'is, and adds that deliberately making vinegar from wine is not allowed.
- Maliki
- Wine vinegar is pure even when made deliberately, though making it is disliked.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ praised vinegar as a good thing to eat with bread. Vinegar does not intoxicate: the alcohol in the starting liquid has been turned into acid. This is a clear example of istihala (transformation), where a substance changes into something new with a new ruling.
- Balsamic vinegar: traditional balsamic is cooked grape must aged in barrels; cheaper ones mix wine vinegar with must. Both are halal in the Hanafi school.
- Red and white wine vinegar: halal in the Hanafi school. Shafi'is and Hanbalis accept it when the wine soured naturally, which is how most traditional vinegar is made.
- Apple cider, malt, rice and spirit vinegar: halal.
- Dressings, glazes and sauces: check that wine was not added separately as an ingredient.
The ruling covers vinegar that has fully turned. A liquid that is part wine and part vinegar, and could still intoxicate, is not vinegar yet.
This is why vinegar is different from cooking with wine (see food cooked with wine or beer). Check other ingredients with the halal food checker.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-A'raaf 7:157
ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ ٱلرَّسُولَ ٱلنَّبِىَّ ٱلْأُمِّىَّ ٱلَّذِى يَجِدُونَهُۥ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِى ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ وَٱلْإِنجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُم بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَىٰهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْخَبَٰٓئِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَٱلْأَغْلَٰلَ ٱلَّتِى كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ فَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ بِهِۦ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ ٱلنُّورَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ مَعَهُۥٓ ۙ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ ﴿١٥٧﴾
Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be the successful.
Wholesome things such as vinegar are lawful.
Sahih Muslim 2051
Sahih... نعم الأدم أو الإدام الخل ...
"What a good condiment vinegar is."
The Prophet ﷺ praised vinegar.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Ashriba. Wine that becomes vinegar is lawful, whether it turned by itself or by something added to it.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Taharah, on impurities. The Shafi'i distinction between natural and deliberate souring.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.