| Bob (this one) |
Pandora wrote:
> "~patches~" <noones_home@thisaddress.com> ha scritto nel messaggio
> news:11dodpf6bkm0lf6@corp.supernews.com...
>
>>I'm growing French tarragon here in Canada. Nice looking tarragon and
>>vinegar. I make quite a few herbed vinegars so will be sure to make so
>>tarragon. Have you ever experimented using a different vinegar than
>>white?
>
>
> No I didn't. because I think that tarragon is delicate and if you put it in
> the red vinegar, you wouldn't taste it .
I agree. Tarragon is subtle and very gentle.
Here's a piece I wrote about infused vinegars (before I started making
and selling them), and a list of some of the ones I've made for
commercial sale over the past few years. Yes, I made up the recipes and
the names. They taste and smell good, but since there's no name for the
sorts of things I was producing, I named them myself.
Pastorio
----------------
Sour Wine - sweet seasonings
Thousands of years ago, some fruit juice was exposed to wild airborne
yeasts. Wine happened. It was probably not long after that signal event
that some of the wine spoiled because of other airborne bacteria. Our
word "vinegar" comes from the French "vin aigre" or sour wine. In Italy,
it's "aceto" from which comes "acetic acid" the flavor base for all
vinegars.
Virtually every culture on earth uses vinegar as a flavoring (alone or
blended with flavors), as a preservative or beverage! In the Middle
East, dilute vinegar was drunk to quench thirst.
Nowadays, we use vinegars mainly as marinating and cooking flavors and
for preserving foods. Vinegar has one nice characteristic that we can
use; it readily accepts the flavors of herbs, spices and fruit.
In most supermarkets, you can find flavored vinegars. Or, you can very
easily make your own to suit your tastes. If you need more good news -
vinegars have two calories per tablespoon.
There are three main types of vinegars available: Cider, made from
apples; White, made from fruit, grains, etc. then distilled to be clear,
and; Wine, either white or red wine. Most vinegars are diluted to
anywhere from 4% to 7% acidity. The more acid, the tangier and sharper
the taste.
Additionally, there are malt vinegars, balsamic vinegars, rice
vinegar... anything that can be fermented to produce alcohol can be
refermented to produce acetic acid, the substance that gives the
distinctive smell and taste of vinegar.
Compounded vinegars with added flavorings offer subtler and richer
tastes and can add new sparkle to old favorite foods. Cole slaw made
with both white and red cabbage dressed with mayonnaise (made with half
cinnamon and half lemon vinegars) and a dash of raspberry vinegar stops
picnickers in their tracks. The slaw is pink and you can smell the
secondary flavors, and especially, the raspberry. After that first
careful forkful, you'll be surprised at the reaction. Even the kids like
it.
You can make your own flavored vinegars easily and inexpensively. At my
home, I have about a dozen and a half different pint bottles filled with
vinegar and things for flavoring. Some have seeds, others - cloves of
garlic, leaves, peppers, powders or just clear liquids with a hint of
color.
Adding the flavors is the simplest job in the kitchen. Combine the
vinegar with the flavoring agent and wait two weeks. Want to shorten it
to days? Stand the uncovered bottles of vinegar and flavoring in a pan
of hot water (180 degrees or so) for an hour or two, then let them cool,
cap them and wait about three days for the flavors to develop.
What flavors? How much to use? In which types of vinegar? What size
bottles? As far as how much of the flavoring to use, I just put stuff
into pint bottles until I don't think I should put any more. Very
scientific.
Let's look at the combinations I've tried so far. The first listing is
for "orange flavoring in cider vinegar." The rest are listed following
the same format of flavor/vinegar.
* Orange/cider - with the dried and finely chopped peel of one or two
oranges. Peel the orange with a vegetable peeler so none of the white
gets into the vinegar. The white (or pith) is bitter. You could use
dried orange rind from the supermarket spice section. Great for fruit
salads or molds.
* Lemon/cider - peel of two lemons. Does magic for oily fish like tuna
or salmon. Two or three drops on ripe melon is a pleasant shock.
* Grapefruit/cider - obviously citric but people look confused for a
moment until they figure it out. Cuts through oiliness. Fresh tuna,
salmon or, best, mackerel.
* Garlic/red or white wine or a blend - five peeled cloves of garlic on
a skewer in a tall-necked bottle. Very decorative that way. Or, one
clove of Elephant garlic in a large-mouth jar. Full, rich flavor and
full scent. Mostly for salads and only with friends. Garlic/white wine
is more subtle and somehow graceful although not as bold as the red.
* Cinnamon/cider - I first tried a tablespoon of ground cinnamon. Tastes
good, looks bad. The vinegar ends up cloudy and there's a ring around
the inside of the bottle at the top of the liquid. Now I use a large
cinnamon stick and leave it on heat for about 3 hours. Surprising what
a tablespoon in an apple pie does; toss with apple slices before putting
into the shell. Good in a Waldorf Salad.
* Peppercorn/cider - one of the best. A half cup whole, black
peppercorns in the bottle. Open the bottle and smell the sweet, pure
scent of fresh pepper. A few drops on a steak is terrific. Use it in a
beurre blanc for meat. Add some to barbecue sauce or beef gravy.
* Shallot/cider - nasty tasting, stinky and an altogether,
no-doubt-about-it failure.
* Ginger/cider - a good one. One good sized hand (that's what the full
root is called) of fresh ginger, sliced thin and put into the vinegar
for a week or so. Run it through a strainer before using to take the
slices out. Use in fish poaching liquid. Makes a wonderful mayonnaise
for tuna salad or anything like it. The ginger slices can be used as a
completely different condiment much like Japanese pickled ginger.
* Anise/white wine- Anise seed tastes and smells like licorice. About a
quarter cup of seeds. Good on fruit salads, white-fleshed fish, strongly
flavored vegetables like broccoli.
* Mint/white wine- a couple sprigs of fresh or quarter cup of dried mint
flakes - make a highly aromatic vinegar. Nice on salads, especially if
there are fruit included. Add a few drops to marinade and/or gravy for
lamb.
* Basil-Garlic/cider - Superb as part of an oil and vinegar salad
dressing or a blended vinaigrette for cooked vegetables. Broccoli,
cauliflower and cabbage work beautifully with this one. Five basil
leaves and three cloves garlic.
* Honey/cider - Quarter cup honey. Very quiet touch of sweet and sour
and adds a nicely puzzling texture note to salads and fruit compotes.
* Jalapeno/Anaheim/Cayenne peppers/cider or red wine - one of each type
of pepper in the bottle. Bites the tongue hard if you're not careful.
Judiciously used, this one makes marinades, salsa, mayonnaise and salad
dressings sing. The scent is rich and peppery and it makes sauces sparkle.
Other flavors that work very well are:
* Raspberry, blueberry, strawberry with either fresh fruit or syrups.
* Caraway, celery, fennel seeds.
* Tarragon, oregano, dill, basil - use either fresh or dried, but fresh
is better.
For salads, I like to use a blend of lemon, peppercorn, orange and
ginger vinegars from my windowsill. Picture a chilled seafood salad like
this: yellow onion, red pimento, green pepper and black olives with
white fish, pink shrimp and creamy-gold scallops. Of course you can come
up with your own approaches.
Sauces, salads, seafoods, stews - do yourself a flavor favor with some
"sour wine".
Bob Pastorio
-------------------
Aged Cranberry-Balsamic Vinegar
Balsamic and red wine vinegars steeped for more than one year with fresh
cranberries
Aged, Peasant-style Garlic in White Wine Vinegar
Fresh garlic cloves skewered and steeped in white wine vinegar.
Champagne Vinegar with Fresh Tarragon
Vinegar made from champagne infused with fresh tarragon
China Star Vinegar
Star anise, cinnamon, sugar cane vinegar, red Chinkiang vinegar and
ginger vinegar
European Sipping Vinegar
Cinnamon sticks, ginger, orange, lemon and lime slices, cloves, fennel
seeds in cider vinegar
Golden Moon Vinegar
Apricots, cloves and cinnamon stick in white wine vinegar
Greek Seacoast Vinegar
White wine vinegar, thyme, rosemary, garlic and peppers
Italian Wine Country Vinegar
White wine vinegar with sweet peppers, hot peppers, garlic, rosemary,
thyme, oregano and peppercorns
Italian Forever Vinegar
Red wine vinegar, garlic, basil, rosemary, oregano and fennel seed
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Vinegar
The four legendary herbs, garlic, white wine vinegar and red wine vinegar
Raspberry Champagne Vinegar
Vinegar made from champagne infused with fresh raspberries
Scandinavian Seasoned Vinegar
White, cider and malt vinegars, dill, sage, orange slices, lemon
slices, cardamom, peppercorns
Sicilian Summer Vinegar
White wine vinegar with dried apples, peaches, apricots, pears,
cinnamon sticks, whole cloves
Spanish Golden Vinegar
Garlic, red and green chili peppers, basil, oregano in white and red
wine and apple cider vinegar
Pastorio
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| ~patches~ |
Bob (this one) wrote:
> Pandora wrote:
>
>> "~patches~" <noones_home@thisaddress.com> ha scritto nel messaggio
>> news:11dodpf6bkm0lf6@corp.supernews.com...
>>
>>> I'm growing French tarragon here in Canada. Nice looking tarragon
>>> and vinegar. I make quite a few herbed vinegars so will be sure to
>>> make so tarragon. Have you ever experimented using a different
>>> vinegar than white?
>>
>>
>>
>> No I didn't. because I think that tarragon is delicate and if you put
>> it in the red vinegar, you wouldn't taste it .
>
>
> I agree. Tarragon is subtle and very gentle.
>
> Here's a piece I wrote about infused vinegars (before I started making
> and selling them), and a list of some of the ones I've made for
> commercial sale over the past few years. Yes, I made up the recipes and
> the names. They taste and smell good, but since there's no name for the
> sorts of things I was producing, I named them myself.
>
> Pastorio
<snip of very useful info>
Thanks! I've printed off your post and will start experimenting.
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