Making & Using Vinegar: Recipes That Celebrate Vinegar's Versatility. A Storey BASICS® Title

by Bill Collins

Overview

Brighten your meals with the tasty tang of homemade vinegar. Chef Bill Collins shows you how to make your own vinegars, including wine, apple cider, malt, white, and rice vinegars, and then flavor them with herbs for exactly the taste you want. You’ll also learn how to use your custom-made vinegars in everything from a basic Italian salad dressing to Asian coleslaw, sweet potato salad, caponata, sauerbraten, caprese sliders, pickles, chutneys, and even chocolate chip cookies. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612123820
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	08/23/2014
Series:	Storey Basics
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Bill Collins is the author of Making & Using Caramel, How to Make Chocolate Candies, Knife Skills, and Making & Using Vinegar. A graduate of the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, he cooked at the old Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston and directed new product development at Harbor Sweets (Salem, Massachusetts) prior to establishing Chef Bill, Inc., in 2001. He has been a professional chef, a personal chef, a food industry consultant, and a cooking instructor, giving classes everywhere from community colleges to Whole Foods to Stonewall Kitchen. As Chef Bill, he has written newspaper columns on kitchen skills. He lives in Pelham, Massachusetts.

 

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

PART ONE

Introduction to Vinegar

The discovery of vinegar is an early example of true visionary genius. Thousands of years ago someone's wine went bad and it sat around for weeks, maybe months. Upon tasting it, they found it to be incredibly harsh with a deep acid bite. That's when they decided that this would be the magical addition to improve the taste of food all around the world.

Vinegar can make simple foods sparkle. It can make a good dish great. And it can make a great dish memorable. It's a lot to ask of one ingredient, but it does its job well. That's because vinegar is easily the most contradictory food ever created. It's both mysterious and common. It's easy to make, yet almost everyone rushes out to buy it. We don't like to eat foods that are tart and acidic, but we use vinegar in everyday foods such as salads, savory dishes, and even desserts. We combine vinegar with other ingredients all the time. Yet how often do you taste a spoonful of vinegar?

Using vinegar can make you a better, more interesting, and more confident cook by providing a balance that's often lacking in food. When vinegar is combined with something mild, sweet, or spicy, its benefits jump out. Think of vinegar as a member of a sports team. If you don't field all of the players, you can't win the game.

In all of my years teaching cooking lessons, when I include recipes that use vinegar, I usually get asked the same questions. Is there a difference between vinegars? How long does vinegar last? Is it necessary to have nine vinegars in the pantry? And my favorite: are all balsamic vinegars the same? As you'll see from this book, the answers are yes, a very long time, no, and definitely no.

What Is Vinegar?

The word vinegar, translated from the French, means "sour wine." Quite simply, vinegar is something containing sugar that has been fermented into a drinkable alcohol, in this case, ethanol. This continues to ferment and become vinegar. If you're someone who loves wine, then it's gone bad. If you're someone who loves vinegar, then something good has happened!

Usually, the source of the ethanol for vinegar is wine. But it doesn't have to be. It can be apple cider that has turned into hard cider. Or beer. This is just the first step. In its most basic form, vinegar is ethanol that has continued the fermentation process. At this point, good bacteria starts to have its effect, combined with air. The result is the forming of acetic acid, which is the main component of vinegar. This is what gives vinegar its tart, biting taste. The liquid that becomes vinegar has an acid level that's between 4 and 7 percent of its volume.

That's the short version. The longer one is almost as simple: You make ethanol, and then you convert it into acetic acid. The first step is to take any food item that contains natural sugars. With some added yeast, the sugars will then ferment into alcohol. The second step involves adding oxygen, found in air, combined with a vinegar mother. A mother is like the starter for yogurt or sourdough bread. It's made from starch, from the sugar family, plus a healthy bacteria, which then combines with the liquid that you want to turn into vinegar.

With the mother as the foundation for the vinegar, all you have to do is add the liquid of the flavor that you want, and you'll have that vinegar within a few weeks. If you add beer, you'll have malt vinegar. If you add red wine, you'll have red wine vinegar. Adding hard cider, made from apples, will give you cider vinegar. The common ingredient in these is that they all have the alcohol/ethanol, which feeds the healthy bacteria in the mother to make vinegar.

Vinegar can be also created just with the ethanol and oxygen. That is, pour a bottle of wine into a larger, wide-mouth jar and let it sit. But this can take months to create and may not even result in vinegar. A number of things along the way, such as temperature fluctuations, bacteria, and dust in the air, can derail and ruin a motherless vinegar. But if you use a mother, with its good bacteria, your vinegar will turn out well, and faster.

In some cases, ethanol can be converted into vinegar in less than three weeks. While it's true that three weeks in this Internet age of instant gratification seems like forever, you don't have to do anything to it while it's fermenting. Just go about your life and come back after a few weeks to see how it's going.

The Essential Kitchen Vinegars

If you've done any cooking, then you'll have some vinegar in your kitchen. It might be one bottle. Or three. Or maybe fourteen. And if you're new to cooking, you might be wondering why anyone would buy, or need, all of that vinegar. As a starting point, I think most home cooks can prepare most foods with three vinegars. But to make life easier, I'd suggest five, all of which are commonly available in most supermarkets with choices ranging from generic and supermarket brands to national and international brands.

* Apple cider vinegar

* Balsamic vinegar

* Red wine vinegar

* Rice vinegar

* Distilled white vinegar

Apple Cider Vinegar

When it comes to cooking, cider vinegar is the most versatile vinegar. You can use it in vinaigrettes and pickling, two of the most popular uses of vinegar. Cider vinegar comes from crushed apples. If you're making it yourself, it's best made with hard cider. This is also the vinegar that is most commonly available in markets as both organic and nonorganic. The organic option offers the mostly anecdotal evidence of being good for digestion. And many people believe that a daily tablespoon of organic cider vinegar, usually diluted with water and honey, will help with weight loss. The question of whether it really works is debatable, but if you are going to drink vinegar the important thing is to dilute it. This is true with all vinegars. If you don't dilute it, you can get a painful burn in your throat.

Balsamic Vinegar

One way to gauge the popularity of balsamic vinegar is to see how much more space it occupies on supermarket shelves. My own nonscientific surveys have found that supermarkets carry more varieties and brands of balsamic than any other type of vinegar.

Balsamic vinegar has a balanced flavor, as it's both naturally sweet and acidic. Its complex flavor improves over time while it's aging in wooden barrels. Its time in the barrels can range from a year to decades. The longer the balsamic is aged, the smoother, richer, and more mellow the flavor. Keep in mind that balsamic vinegar only improves in flavor and texture as it gets older when it's aging in the barrel, not as it sits in the bottle on your shelf.

Balsamic vinegar is not made from wine; it's made from wine must, which is what the grapes are called after they're pressed, but before they're set aside to start their long process to become wine. The wine must is filtered and the remaining liquid is reduced by 30 to 70 percent. This is what helps give balsamic vinegar its darker color and sweetness. Most balsamic vinegars that you will see on the shelf have the words "of Modena" on the label. This certifies that the vinegar is from Modena, Italy, home of all things truly balsamic. It also certifies that it was made by the process with the wooden barrels and grape must.

A result of this aging process means that there is a huge range of quality when it comes to balsamic vinegar. A balsamic aged for decades, while being transferred to a variety of barrels made from different types of wood, results in a vinegar that is more than just something to be used in cooking or a salad. It becomes much thicker than regular vinegar, a sauce all by itself, terrific drizzled over cheese or fruit, or as a dipping sauce. And it can be yours for $200 for a little more than three ounces!

This is very different from the quart-sized bottle of balsamic vinegar of Modena that you can buy for a few dollars. The only things they have in common are their ingredients, early steps for becoming vinegar, and their name. The lower-priced vinegars are what would be used for everyday cooking. Younger, cheaper balsamics will likely have "caramel color" in the ingredients because they haven't been aged long enough to develop their own color and intense flavor. But it's not as though you only have two choices between very low- and high-priced balsamic vinegars. The prices and quality gradually go up from the low end.

White Balsamic Vinegar

The process to make white balsamic vinegar is different from the regular balsamic. It's only aged for a year, which stops the sugars from caramelizing and giving the vinegar its familiar brown color. The flavor is very similar to the regular balsamic vinegar, but not the one that's aged for decades. The main benefit of white balsamic vinegar is in making light-colored sauces and dressings. It's not crucial to have white balsamic vinegar unless its color is important to you.

Red Wine Vinegar

Red wine vinegar is surprisingly versatile. Due to a slightly lower level of acid, the flavor of the wine stands out a bit more than the flavor of other vinegars. As my eighth grade math teacher used to say, you get out of it what you put into it. So, if a better red wine goes into making your vinegar, then you'll taste that directly in your foods. This is because red wine vinegar is often splashed onto foods just before serving. This could be something as simple as using it with olive oil and herbs on a salad, or even in tuna before it ends up in a sandwich. Its advantage for many people is that it lacks the sweetness of balsamic vinegar. This gives a cleaner taste and finish to many foods.

This especially comes in handy if you're making infused vinegar. Its smooth, less-acidic taste won't overpower delicate herbs and fruit. And its color is more appealing than any of the other vinegars. It's this versatility and flavor that make it so popular.

Rice Vinegar

Rice vinegar is used mostly in Asian cooking. It has a mild flavor that is generally less acidic and a bit sweeter than Western vinegars. It comes in many varieties and colors, including clear, red, and black; if you wanted, you could fill your cabinet with just a variety of rice vinegars.

There's often confusion about rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar. The main questions are whether they're interchangeable, and what is the difference. Generally, they have very similar tastes and you can substitute one for the other. But their differences are subtle, yet significant. Rice vinegar is made with fermented rice. Rice wine vinegar is made with rice wine, which is made from fermented rice. The result is that the flavors of the two are similar, which makes them interchangeable in most recipes.

Sushi Vinegar

Neither rice vinegar nor rice wine vinegar should be confused with sushi vinegar, which is a rice vinegar with added sugar and salt. These additions flavor the rice, which is used as the foundation of sushi. The flavor of the rice would be bland if you were to use something other than sushi vinegar.

Distilled White Vinegar

More than any other vinegar, distilled white vinegar (also called white vinegar) has a dual purpose. For cooking, it gives a nice bite, but without flavor. Its main use is for pickling and baking. But it also has many noncooking benefits such as cleaning household and kitchen items such as copper pots, coffeemakers, and glass (see below).

It's a common misunderstanding that white vinegar and white wine vinegar are the same. They're not. White vinegar comes from distilled alcohol. White wine vinegar comes from white wine and is often used to make infused vinegars.

Noncooking Uses for Vinegar

It is a bit odd to think that a food item that can be used with such variety is also one of the most effective natural household cleaners. But it's true, and has been for centuries. The one you want to use is distilled white vinegar, which has a higher acidity than other vinegars. If you try to clean with a nice balsamic, you'll be very disappointed with the messy results. White vinegar is also so inexpensive that you can buy it by the gallon, and it'll probably last for ages. Just make sure that you don't mistake it for white wine vinegar.

Here are some ways to clean with distilled white vinegar:

All-purpose. For a general cleaner, fill a spray bottle with 2 parts water to 1 part white vinegar and add a few drops of dishwashing soap. If the smell of this is too strong, add 10–25 drops of your favorite essential oil.

Glass. Vinegar makes a great window cleaner. Use ½ cup of water with ½ cup of white vinegar to get streak-free glass. If you find that the vinegar smell is too strong, add 10–20 drops of an essential oil to greatly improve the fragrance.

Drains. To clear clogs in sink and tub drains, first pour ½ cup of baking soda in the drain. Then add 1 cup of white vinegar. When the foaming stops, run hot water to flush the drain. Wait 5 minutes, and then flush it again with cold water. If it only slightly improves the draining, repeat the steps.

Coffeemaker. Whether you use a drip coffeemaker or a percolator, this will work as well as any commercial cleaner. Plus, it doesn't use any harsh chemical cleaners to get the job done. Mix 1 cup of white vinegar with water to fill the dispenser (or percolator). Run it through a full cycle as though you were brewing your coffee. Then repeat this, just with water, two more times, to rinse out the pot. This will get rid of coffee stains and other deposits.

Copper pots. Copper gets tarnished when it's exposed to oxygen. While this is a cool look for a copper roof, it's not so cool on your copper pans. You need three ingredients: white vinegar, salt, and a cloth. Just splash some vinegar on the pot and then sprinkle on the salt. Or you can put the salt on before the vinegar. It doesn't matter which goes on first. Then, rub the salt and vinegar on the tarnished copper. You might find that you have to keep adding salt or vinegar. Just keep rubbing this on the copper, and the tarnish will be removed. It does take some effort, but you'll find the copper will shine as though it were new.

Dishwasher. To avoid a soap buildup on your dishes in your dishwasher, run the empty machine through a full cycle with 1 cup of white vinegar. Just pour it inside the machine. Make sure you check with the manufacturer or manual to make sure this doesn't affect the warranty.

Microwave oven. Mix ¼ cup of white vinegar with 1 cup of water, and bring it to a rapid boil in your microwave oven. This will help loosen food bits that might be stuck inside the oven. Plus, it will make the microwave smell better.

Greasy areas. This is a great way to remove grease on your stove top or exhaust fan area. Just pour some white vinegar on a sponge and wipe away the grease.

Scissors. Scissors blades become blackened and sometimes rusty after being used for a long time. Soak a cloth or paper towel in undiluted white vinegar, and carefully rub it on the blades. This will remove the unsightly stains. The advantage of this over soap and water is that the scissors won't rust from being immersed in water and then not being thoroughly dried.

Pans. If you burn food in a pan and it won't come clean with scrubbing, place the pan in an empty sink. Put a thin coating of baking soda into the pan, covering the entire surface. Carefully, pour in white vinegar. You'll get a roiling, bubbling reaction when the vinegar is added. Wait for a few moments for it to stop, and then scrub out the pan.

Wooden cutting boards. Simply wipe cutting boards with undiluted white vinegar. This is a great way to reduce bacteria on porous boards.

CHAPTER 2

PART TWO

Homemade Vinegar and Beyond

People have asked me why they would ever want to make vinegar when it's so easy and inexpensive to buy. Others have asked why anyone would ever buy vinegar when it's so easy and inexpensive to make. Hmm. That sounds like a tie vote to me. So there must be other reasons to make your own vinegar. I can think of two compelling ones: a crisp, unique flavor that you created, plus bragging rights.

For bragging rights, it might not be as cool as winning the Nobel Prize, but it's still pretty great. If you're rather new to cooking, it will elevate your cooking status among friends and family significantly. If you've been cooking for years, it will solidify your status as someone who really knows how to cook. How great is that?

Making your own will also give you a uniquely flavored vinegar. The reason it's unique is that no one else will be using the same combination and types of wine. If you start with a bottle or two of wine, or leftover wine that you didn't finish drinking, you'll be using flavors that no one else will have in their vinegar. You probably have a better chance of winning the lottery than having another homemade vinegar taste exactly like yours.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Making & Using Vinegar"
by .
Copyright © 2014 William Collins.
Excerpted by permission of Storey Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Part One:  Introduction to Vinegar

What is Vinegar?
The Essential Kitchen Vinegars
Noncooking Uses for Vinegars

Part Two:   Homemade Vinegar and Beyond

Making Your Own Vinegar - Making Vinegar Infusions -
Infused Vinegar Recipes - Shrubs - Pickling

Part Three:   Cooking With Vinegar

Vinaigrettes, Dressings, and Sauces - Chutneys - 
Chilled Salads and Slaws - Appetizers and Soups - 
Side Dishes and Main Courses - Desserts

Resources
Metric Conversion Chart
Index