Vincotto

[woodburner]

Well I have read about it, and have now procured a bottle.

Vincotto is an elixir, a sweet, velvety vinegar, with subtle overtones of spices, grapes, prunes.

Made from two varieties of grapes, Negroamaro and Black Malvasia grapes. The grapes are dried on the vine or over wooden frames, then the must is boiled gently until it reduces to one fifth of its initial volume. The syrup is then poured into aged oak barrels along with the mother, or starter, of the vinegar. It is aged in these barrels for a minimum of four years to allow the taste to develop.

Vincotto is a natural and versatile product. Used as a condiment or as a base for a sauce it will enhance and compliment the flavours of salads, meat or fish recipes and desserts.

So? Now what.

woodburner

[fifi]

Sounds like a thick balsamic. Sort of. Where did you find this wonder?

[Pitter]

My understanding is that it is derived from the must from decanted wine barrels, not directly from grapes, then cooked down and aged. I am probably wrong.

I stir vincotto into carmelized onions, and drizzle onto grilled lamb chops and sauteed chicken livers. Good stuff!

[badthings]

a/k/a "saba".

my bottle says "acetified grape must". it is like balsamic, but sweeter, grapey-er. it is not acidic enough for an agrodolce, so I too am stumped. I thought I had just read a bunch of recipes that called for it when I bought it, but then couldn't track any down.

(my theory is that this product was invented before sugar was easily accessible in europe, to take advantage of all that grape sugar. probably mostly used to sweeten polenta, and/or desserts).

[monkeymay]

Vino Cotto is an ancient sweetner from Sicily made from the boiled down must of freshly pressed red grapes. It's used in desserts such as buccellato, which is like Sicilian fruitcake - a mixture of figs, raisin, nuts, cinnamon and chocolate wrapped in sweet pastry and pistachios. Mary Taylor Simeti writes about vino cotto in 'Pomp and Sustenance - 25 Centuries of Sicilian Food', and includes her recipe for buccellato.

Victoria Granof's book, 'Sweet Sicily, The Story of an Island and Her Pastries' (that I had the great fortune to help research ) not only includes recipes with vino cotto, but a recipe for the stuff itself. In her book the vino cotto is flavored with orange peel, cinnamon and cloves.

I've used the Saba brand with a couple of dishes: in a fig and walnut preserve that I served with seared foie gras, and over a buttermilk panna cotta with summer fruits. I also like it drizzled over burratta garnished with slivers of prosciutto. You can use it like an aged balsamic, but it definitely has a more intense raisin flavor. It's pretty wonderful stuff!

Hope this helps.

[Wolfert]

You find vin cotto in almost every region of the Mediterranean:Sapa from Sardinia; saba from Emilia-Romagna, pekmez from Turkey, and petmizi from Greece. All are Mediterranean syrupy reductions made from grape must. In each

case the flavor is pure, clean, and concentrated. Any of these syrups can be thinned and used as a dip for roasted chestnuts, grilled sausages, or boiled carrots. Or they can be dribbled over mild ricotta or sweet gorgonzola, vanilla ice cream, or even a meat stew.

[foodie52]

Believe it or not, I once served it as an after-dinner sipping beverage because we had no idea what to do with it, and it tasted so darn good straight from the bottle!!

[fifi]

foodie52,

Did you find it at Central Market? I can't wait to try this stuff.

[Wolfert]

zingerman's sells saba via the internet.

[woodburner]

Sounds like a thick balsamic. Sort of. Where did you find this wonder?

fifi,

I procured mine, while on a recent food market extravaganza, and specifically here, Guido's Marketplace

As some have noted, it is available mail order from other sources.

woodburner

[Culatello]

We also use this in my family my in-laws are from Lanciano and the make sweet cookies called taralucci dolce stuffed with vincotto and chocolate

[badthings]

It makes a pretty exciting 10 second BBQ sauce mixed with ketchup and vinegar.

[RichardGustave]

There's a recipe called Pasta of the Grape Harvest in The Italian Country Table that calls for something like homemade vin cotto as a sauce. I happened to stumble upon it this afternoon, and was intrigued. I have no exposure to the real stuff, but I was pleased with the results- though it did take a bit longer than anticipated. Essentially, you take chopped red grapes, wine and a few spices and boil it down until it thickens. You strain and press the grapes . Then you boil the liquid down a bit more. She suggests about 30 minutes of total boiling, but even with a slightly reduced recipe, it took longer to get what I assumed was the correct thickness.

It's served with pistachios and ricotta. The cheese is listed as optional, but in my mind, it is a must. The syrup is quite sweet, so you really need the cheese to tone it down. The recipe has some wonderful remnants too. I have some syrup left for desserts and I plan to use the skins/flesh to marinade some meat this weekend.

The introductory remarks confirm badthings' theory that it was used as an early sugar substitute, but notes that while "sugar sweetens, vin cotto flavors."

I took a few photos. Grapes, boiling, and bowled (but before I really mixed the ricotta in).