Malt vinegar

Malt vinegar is notable for gluten and histamine. Clear on FODMAPs, lactose, fructose, oligosaccharides, sorbitol, sucrose, tyramine, salicylate, nickel and oxalates.

Yes — malt vinegar is high in gluten. Malt vinegar is fermented barley beer taken one stage further, so it answers yes by origin. Its measured gluten is very low and it was long treated as suitable on that basis - but Coeliac UK now asks for barley malt vinegar to be both tested at or below 20 ppm and LABELLED gluten free, and removes from its listings what is not. If you learned the old rule, this is the one to relearn: it is not distilled, and low is not the same as certified.

Malt vinegar contains moderate levels of histamine. Malt vinegar is brewed from barley - it is fermented beer taken one stage further - so it carries the histamine a beer carried before the acetic fermentation began. It is not wood-aged, which keeps it below the balsamic end, but it starts from a grain ferment rather than a grape one. Amounts vary by brand and recipe, so always check the label of the exact product.