Use Apple Cider Vinegar To Elevate Your Next Batch Of Pickled Eggs

Pickled eggs might not be on everyone's list of snacks to make, but they really should be. They're a healthy, flavorful alternative to more traditional, store-bought snacks. It's also a great way to make eggs in your fridge stretch. With how much egg prices have shot up in recent years, it's nice to have a way to store them long-term. While most recipes will call for white vinegar as the main pickling agent, apple cider vinegar is a great swap for additional flavor and unique color.

Apple cider vinegar is the product of crushed apples, yeast, and sugar that's been fermented into a bubbling, orange-colored liquid. Though it's more known for its health benefits, the culinary uses of this type of vinegar are numerous. It can serve as a marinade, an ingredient for salad dressing or barbecue sauce, and as a key ingredient for pickling brine.

For pickled eggs, swapping white vinegar for apple cider vinegar is a no-brainer. While white vinegar has a pretty even taste and doesn't affect the eggs much in terms of color, apple cider vinegar brings a complexity of flavors and provides the eggs with a unique hue. So if you're wondering whether or not it would be a good idea to make some pickled eggs using apple cider vinegar, we have an answer for you. It is.

As vinegar comprises most of the pickling brine, it needs to be right when making pickled eggs in order for the flavors and preservation to succeed. The flavor you get by using apple cider vinegar is somewhat sweet thanks to the apples, but also tart and tangy thanks to the fermentation process. A subtle woody depth is added to the eggs. The other flavors of the brine — peppercorns, dill, garlic, mustard seeds, and red onions — are really exemplified too. If you really want to enhance the flavor of the apple cider vinegar as well as make things a tad more sweet, brown sugar, with its deep molasses flavor, pairs with it perfectly.

The color you get on the eggs when using apple cider vinegar is another key differentiator. Depending on the brand and acidic strength of the apple cider vinegar, its rusty, orange color may penetrate the whites of the egg. The longer they stay in the pickling brine, the longer they have to pick up flavor and color.

So, if you've been interested in using apple cider vinegar in a more culinary way, there's no easier way to start out than with pickled eggs. They're easy to make and will last a decent while when stored. Oh, and they taste great too.