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My secret flavoring agents... tweaked vinegars |
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Melissa Mead
Master Chef Joined: 17 July 2010 Location: Albany, NY, USA Status: Offline Points: 1174 |
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Thanks! I think I've got it full to the top.
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africanmeat
Chef Joined: 20 January 2012 Location: south africa Status: Offline Points: 910 |
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Wow what a great idea thanks for sharing it with us.
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Ahron
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Addtotaste
Cook Joined: 18 May 2012 Location: Cape Town Status: Offline Points: 230 |
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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
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Check out some more recipes and reviews - www.addtotaste.co.za
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Melissa Mead
Master Chef Joined: 17 July 2010 Location: Albany, NY, USA Status: Offline Points: 1174 |
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No picture yet, but the chive vinegar is beautiful. What color! Now, what to do with it...
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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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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.
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Melissa Mead
Master Chef Joined: 17 July 2010 Location: Albany, NY, USA Status: Offline Points: 1174 |
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I was thinking of pickling a Vidalia onion with it. I wish my chives hadn't dried up already, so I could make more.
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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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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.
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ChrisFlanders
Chef's Apprentice Joined: 01 March 2012 Location: Flanders Status: Offline Points: 343 |
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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. |
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Melissa Mead
Master Chef Joined: 17 July 2010 Location: Albany, NY, USA Status: Offline Points: 1174 |
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I love making vinaigrettes That was my default idea.
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Melissa Mead
Master Chef Joined: 17 July 2010 Location: Albany, NY, USA Status: Offline Points: 1174 |
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It's very good with cauliflower.
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Melissa Mead
Master Chef Joined: 17 July 2010 Location: Albany, NY, USA Status: Offline Points: 1174 |
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My chive vinegar:
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Melissa Mead
Master Chef Joined: 17 July 2010 Location: Albany, NY, USA Status: Offline Points: 1174 |
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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.
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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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Sounds great, Melissa. We'll definately give that a try!
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Melissa Mead
Master Chef Joined: 17 July 2010 Location: Albany, NY, USA Status: Offline Points: 1174 |
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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!)
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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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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. |
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Melissa Mead
Master Chef Joined: 17 July 2010 Location: Albany, NY, USA Status: Offline Points: 1174 |
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Thanks! I'd never heard of it until this thread, but it's fun to make.
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Margi Cintrano
Master Chef Joined: 03 February 2012 Location: Spain Status: Offline Points: 6357 |
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Thank you Melissa. Certainly a lovely idea.
Have lovely Sunday, Margaux.
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Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina.
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Melissa Mead
Master Chef Joined: 17 July 2010 Location: Albany, NY, USA Status: Offline Points: 1174 |
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Just decanted my first-ever batch of dill vinegar. It's pale gold and smells like pickles.
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TasunkaWitko
Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9356 |
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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.
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TasunkaWitko
Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9356 |
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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? |
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