06/04/2026
Sour is the soul of Filipino cooking 🇵🇭
From kinilaw to adobo and of course, the essential sawsawan (dipping sauce), vinegar is one of the oldest and most defining flavours in the Philippine kitchen — and it takes a very different form depending on where in the country you are.
Coconut blossoms, sugarcane stalks, nipa palms, kaong—each one yields a vinegar with its own character, history, and regional identity. Some are mild and floral. Others are smoky, spiced, or sharp enough to cut through the fattiest lechon.
As Doreen Fernandez once wrote, “We Filipinos are … the champion lovers of sourness.” These vinegars are proof.
Save this post for your next market run 🏃🏽
This is just the tip of the iceberg—did we miss your favourite? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Photos: Pexels, Getty Images