Vinegar, cooking alcohol and alcohol traces

Modern cooking opposes two rules: the prohibition of khamr and the lawfulness of vinegar. The Sunna settled the second, and the contemporary academies clarified the first.

The vinegar of wine is the best of condiments.Muslim 2052

Wine vinegar: lawful

• The transformation (intikah): wine turned vinegar no longer intoxicates; the Prophet said of wine turned vinegar that use could be made of it (reported from Abu Talha, Muslim 2336); food vinegar, industrial or artisanal, is lawful;
• vinegar deliberately made from wine: classical divergence: the majority (Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis) accept it through transformation; the Hanafis dislike it in its making, the result remaining lawful; standard commercial vinegar: lawful by the rule of transformation.

Cooking with wine: no

• The basic rule: adding khamr to a dish (flambé, wine sauce, marinade) remains a deliberate use of an unlawful substance: the majority of contemporary academies forbid it; evaporation through cooking does not change the status of what was added on purpose;
• involuntary traces: sourdough bread, naturally fermented juices: lawful according to the majority; the classical rule is that of Ibn Abidin (Radd al-Muhtar): if the alcohol present cannot intoxicate and was not put there to intoxicate, its sale, purchase and consumption are not prevented;
• alcohol used outside food (disinfection, perfumes): the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (resolution no. 210, 21st session) and the works of the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences (Kuwait): industrial alcohol is not treated as khamr; its external use and the traces in products do not fall under the prohibition of wine.

Drinks said to be alcohol-free

Drinks carrying traces below the threshold of intoxication: divergence among the bodies (lawful by the rule of traces for one, avoided out of caution for another): follow a serious body and do not accuse Muslims who follow a different documented view.

Practical note

The kitchen grid: vinegar = yes; wine and liqueurs = no; flavourings and preservatives = analysis by ingredient (see the additives page); flambéing is replaced by lawful alternatives (broth, mild vinegar, juice) that give the same taste without the forbidden.