Can Babies Eat Vinegar?
Yes in cooking, from 6 months. No as a drink or a remedy, at any age. A splash of vinegar in a dressing or a sauce is a good way to add brightness without reaching for salt. The thing to push back on is the apple cider vinegar advice circulating for colic, reflux and thrush, which does not work and can irritate a baby's mouth and stomach.
Vinegar is a genuinely useful ingredient when you are cooking without salt, because acidity does some of the same work on the palate. A squeeze of sharpness makes a bland vegetable mash taste finished. The reason this page carries a warning at all is not the cooking, it is the corner of the internet that recommends giving babies diluted vinegar to drink.
What is vinegar?
Vinegar is what happens when bacteria ferment alcohol into acetic acid. Wine becomes wine vinegar, cider becomes cider vinegar, and so on. Household vinegar is typically 4 to 8 percent acetic acid, with the rest mostly water. The alcohol is consumed in the process, so vinegar contains only trace amounts at most.
Vinegar is also what makes pickles keep, though it is the salt in those rather than the acid that makes them unsuitable for babies.
Vinegar nutrition
Essentially nothing, which is the point. It contributes flavour rather than nutrients.
| Nutrient | Per 100 ml | Per teaspoon (5 ml) |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 21 kcal | 1 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 0.9 g | 0.05 g |
| Protein | 0 g | 0 g |
| Salt | Trace | Trace |
| Acetic acid | 5 to 6 g | 0.3 g |
| Vitamins and minerals | Negligible | Negligible |
Typical values for apple cider vinegar. Source: USDA FoodData Central.
How to use it
Small amounts, always mixed into food, never on its own:
In a tomato sauce, a marinade or a simple dressing over soft vegetables. It lifts flavour in a way that reduces the temptation to add salt.
Balsamic, rice vinegar and wine vinegars all work. Still a teaspoon rather than a glug, and always balanced with oil or yogurt.
This does not change. Vinegar is not a tonic, and dilute vinegar drinks have no place in a child's diet at any point.
Apple cider vinegar is not a baby remedy: it is widely recommended online for colic, reflux, thrush, nappy rash and teething. There is no good evidence it helps any of them, and giving an acid to a baby can irritate the mouth, throat and stomach and damage tooth enamel. If your baby has reflux or persistent thrush, that is a conversation with your doctor, not a kitchen cupboard.
Mild vinegar dressing
Yogurt takes the edge off the acidity and helps it coat vegetables properly:
Mild vinegar dressing for baby vegetables
Makes about 6 baby portions, from 6 monthsIngredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon plain full fat yogurt
- A pinch of dried oregano
Method
- Whisk the oil and vinegar together until they come together and thicken slightly.
- Beat in the yogurt, which softens the acidity and makes it cling to vegetables.
- Stir through the oregano and let it stand for five minutes.
- Toss through soft cooked vegetables, using about a teaspoon per baby portion.
Risks and safety
In cooking quantities vinegar is about as low risk as an ingredient gets. It is not an allergen in any meaningful sense, it contains no salt or sugar worth counting, and the trace alcohol left from fermentation is negligible.
The risks all come from misuse. Neat or diluted vinegar as a drink can irritate the mouth, throat and stomach lining, and repeated acid exposure erodes tooth enamel, which matters most in newly erupted teeth. Undiluted vinegar swallowed in quantity can cause chemical burns, so keep the bottle out of reach as you would any strong cleaning product, since many households use vinegar for exactly that. If a child swallows a significant amount, call poison control rather than trying to make them vomit.
Vinegar FAQ
Can babies have vinegar?
Yes, in the small amounts used in cooking, from around 6 months. A splash in a sauce, a dressing or a marinade is perfectly fine and adds brightness without salt or sugar. What is not appropriate is vinegar given straight, diluted as a drink, or used as a home remedy.
Why should babies not drink diluted vinegar?
Because it is an acid. Apple cider vinegar gets recommended online for colic, reflux and thrush, none of which it treats. Drinking acid can irritate the mouth, throat and stomach lining, and it erodes tooth enamel. There is no benefit to weigh against that in an infant.
Is vinegar bad for a baby's teeth?
In cooking quantities, no. As a drink or a sipped remedy, yes. Acidic liquids soften and erode enamel, and the effect depends on how often teeth are exposed rather than the total amount. Vinegar mixed into food and swallowed with a meal is a very different exposure from sipping it.
Which vinegar is best for cooking for a baby?
Any of the mild ones. Apple cider, white wine and rice vinegar are all gentle and work well in dressings and marinades. Balsamic is sweeter and stronger, which is fine too. The type matters far less than the quantity, which should be a splash rather than a glug.
Sources
- Vinegar, Wikipedia.
- Feeding and Nutrition, American Academy of Pediatrics.
- FoodData Central, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Every baby is different. Talk to your doctor, health visitor or paediatrician about your own baby, and about starting solids or any allergy concerns.
