Foods of the World Forum Homepage
Forum Home Forum Home > Food Groups > Fats, Oils, Sauces, Sweets and Condiments
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - My secret flavoring agents... tweaked vinegars
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

This site is completely supported by donations; there are no corporate sponsors. We would be honoured if you would consider a small donation, to be used exclusively for forum expenses.



Thank you, from the Foods of the World Forums!

My secret flavoring agents... tweaked vinegars

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <123>
Author
Message
Melissa Mead View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef


Joined: 17 July 2010
Location: Albany, NY, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 1174
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Melissa Mead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 June 2012 at 16:46
Thanks! I think I've got it full to the top.
Back to Top
Sponsored Links


Back to Top
africanmeat View Drop Down
Chef
Chef
Avatar

Joined: 20 January 2012
Location: south africa
Status: Offline
Points: 910
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote africanmeat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 June 2012 at 03:03
Wow what a great idea thanks for sharing it with us.
Ahron
Back to Top
Addtotaste View Drop Down
Cook
Cook
Avatar

Joined: 18 May 2012
Location: Cape Town
Status: Offline
Points: 230
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Addtotaste Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 June 2012 at 03:16
Berry vinegars are very popular here. Strawberry balsamic is one of my favourites. A tablespoon in a strawberry smoothie takes it to the next level
Check out some more recipes and reviews - www.addtotaste.co.za
Back to Top
Melissa Mead View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef


Joined: 17 July 2010
Location: Albany, NY, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 1174
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Melissa Mead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 June 2012 at 05:18
No picture yet, but the chive vinegar is beautiful. What color! Now, what to do with it...
Back to Top
HistoricFoodie View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group


Joined: 21 February 2012
Location: Kentucky
Status: Offline
Points: 4940
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 June 2012 at 16:12
Sure, the color is the first thing that hits you. But the second thing is the aroma; that beautiful, slightly oniony smell should provide clues as to what to do with it.
 
First off, use it in salad dressings. Even a plain oil & vinegar dressing explodes in a new flavor profile.
 
Then, think about anything you might add vinegar to, and ask yourself how it would be effected by the subtle onion flavor of this one. And go to it. Elsewhere, for instance, I posted about wilted lettuce salad. We use it there instead of plain vinegar. It provides an additional wow to cooked greens of all kinds as well.
 
Try it when you make pickles. We make pickled radishes, for example, using a recipe we adapted from the 18th century. Using chive vinegar brings it to a whole new level.
 
And, of course, we use it for gifts. Fancy bottles such as Chris uses, or small cruets with tight-sealing plugs, are best for this. You can recycle such bottles from things you buy, purchase new ones, or haunt the flea markets and antiques malls. For mere pennies you amass a collection of really nice containers.
 
 
Back to Top
Melissa Mead View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef


Joined: 17 July 2010
Location: Albany, NY, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 1174
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Melissa Mead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 June 2012 at 17:26
I was thinking of pickling a Vidalia onion with it. I wish my chives hadn't dried up already, so I could make more.
Back to Top
HistoricFoodie View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group


Joined: 21 February 2012
Location: Kentucky
Status: Offline
Points: 4940
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 June 2012 at 18:52
Onion flavor on onion flavor might be a bit much. But the color certainly would be spectacular.
 
I was in the same situation last year. By the time I found out about making this vinegar the chives were all but done flowering. This year we made a point of harvesting every blossom we could. Wound up with two gallons of the stuff. Hug
Back to Top
ChrisFlanders View Drop Down
Chef's Apprentice
Chef's Apprentice
Avatar

Joined: 01 March 2012
Location: Flanders
Status: Offline
Points: 343
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ChrisFlanders Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 June 2012 at 04:14

Dishes where the sweet/sour balance isn't right will benefit from a few drops of your vinegar, Melissa; tomato sauces, all kind of stews and braised dishes, poaching liquid for fish, in the cooking water of vegetables like cauliflower and carrots etc. It's a matter of being aware of the sweet/sour balance in food. I always taste before serving dishes like that and check for salt, pepper... and acidity. Thing is, just a few drops will lift many dishes to a higher level; flavours will remain much longer in your mouth! Also, in case of adding some vinegar to the cooking water of delicate vegetables like cauliflower, it will keep the cauliflower nicely white.

Raw tomatoes and cooked beet root benefit from just a little vinegar and no oil. Beet root can have quite a bit of vinegar to balance, tomatoes just a little.

And of course, like Brook already mentioned, there's also the vinaigrettes, basically 2-3 parts oil, 1 part vinegar plus your own additions like herbs and seasoning. In one of the first cookbooks written by Gordon Ramsay, I read that he keeps a basic vinaigrette always ready to add a little to sauteed vegetables. For instance; boil green beans, refresh, sweat a chopped shallot in butter, add beans, seasoning and just a few drops of vinaigrette. It's nice to learn that cheffy way of dashing vinegar in a preparation; keep your thumb on the opening of the bottle and let just a few drops at a time pass through. Remember you can always add but never get it out of a preparation.

Back to Top
Melissa Mead View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef


Joined: 17 July 2010
Location: Albany, NY, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 1174
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Melissa Mead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 June 2012 at 18:56
I love making vinaigrettes That was my default idea. 
Back to Top
Melissa Mead View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef


Joined: 17 July 2010
Location: Albany, NY, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 1174
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Melissa Mead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 June 2012 at 18:27
It's very good with cauliflower.
Back to Top
Melissa Mead View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef


Joined: 17 July 2010
Location: Albany, NY, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 1174
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Melissa Mead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 June 2012 at 15:36
My chive vinegar: 
Back to Top
Melissa Mead View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef


Joined: 17 July 2010
Location: Albany, NY, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 1174
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Melissa Mead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 July 2012 at 07:41
I sealed some peeled, sliced raw kohlrabi and a slosh of the chive vinegar in a plastic bag and left it in the fridge overnight. The result is crisp and refreshing, and makes me think of mild pickled radish.
Back to Top
HistoricFoodie View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group


Joined: 21 February 2012
Location: Kentucky
Status: Offline
Points: 4940
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 July 2012 at 14:03
Sounds great, Melissa. We'll definately give that a try!
Back to Top
Melissa Mead View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef


Joined: 17 July 2010
Location: Albany, NY, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 1174
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Melissa Mead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 June 2013 at 11:56
Here's this year's chive-flower vinegar. I let it steep twice as long, and it got really intense. (Scroll up to compare with last year's!)
Back to Top
HistoricFoodie View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group


Joined: 21 February 2012
Location: Kentucky
Status: Offline
Points: 4940
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 June 2013 at 15:30
Great shot, Melissa. You really captured the color of the vinegar.

At the recent 18th century trade fair at Fort Boonesborough, chive was the most popular of our herbal vinegars. In fact, we sold out of it.

I believe it's because it's so unusual, and not something you'll find in the local market, that led to its appeal.
Back to Top
Melissa Mead View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef


Joined: 17 July 2010
Location: Albany, NY, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 1174
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Melissa Mead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 June 2013 at 19:38
Thanks! I'd never heard of it until this thread, but it's fun to make.
Back to Top
Margi Cintrano View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef
Avatar

Joined: 03 February 2012
Location: Spain
Status: Offline
Points: 6357
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Margi Cintrano Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 June 2013 at 06:22
Thank you Melissa. Certainly a lovely idea.
 
Have lovely Sunday,
Margaux.
Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina.
Back to Top
Melissa Mead View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef


Joined: 17 July 2010
Location: Albany, NY, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 1174
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Melissa Mead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 July 2013 at 08:37
Just decanted my first-ever batch of dill vinegar. It's pale gold and smells like pickles.
Back to Top
TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 January 2010
Location: Chinook, MT
Status: Offline
Points: 9356
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 July 2013 at 09:04
I'm glad it worked well, Melissa ~ this is one of those things that I'd like to try, along with some flavoured oils - a chile oil is at the top of my list, as is annato oil.
If you are a visitor and like what you see, please click here and join the discussions in our community!
Back to Top
TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 25 January 2010
Location: Chinook, MT
Status: Offline
Points: 9356
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 August 2018 at 10:18
I'm brining this back up to the top, based on some recent sources that I've been reading using it.

I glanced through the thread but didn't see it mentioned anywhere: Where should one start when considering how "strong" to make the herbed vinegar? Is there a certain minimum (or maximum) of herb that should be used to make it? Using tarragon as an example, is there an ideal number of sprigs per volume of vinegar, and a point when too much is too much?
If you are a visitor and like what you see, please click here and join the discussions in our community!
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <123>
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.156 seconds.