Vinegar: Varieties and Use

[rgruby]

Currently, I have plain ole white (used almost exclusively for pickling, or for cleaning windows), 2 different balsamic, white wine, sherry, red wine, cider, malt, rice wine and Chinese black. That's 10 kinds of vinegar. Well, 9 kinds, 10 bottles.

Ok, vinegar is not terribly expensive, other than a true balsamico tradizionale from Modena. But ten? It seems vaguely ridiculous, but I do use most of them fairly regularly - malt and cider not so much, and the Chinese black not often either.

I'm also somewhat embarrassed by the number of mustards in my fridge, but I'll save that for later.

So, how many vinegars do you regularly keep on hand?

Cheers,

Geoff Ruby

[Gifted Gourmet]

I have the usual for friends and family: you know, balsamic from Modena, red wine, apple cider, tarragon, sherry, champagne, and a lovely red currant ...

but for my nearest and dearest? Only the very best will do, namely the highly prized Minus 8 from Canada .. as smooth as butter ...

[johnder]

Currently I have a big bottle of white and apple cider vinegar that I use for pickling and recipes that call for it. I also have bottles of red wine vinegar and sherry vinegar which is what we prefer for our salads and by and far get the most use. Rounding out the selection is some rice wine vinegar and some old home made red wine vinegar that needs to be replenished. I think the mother died a few months ago.

[NulloModo]

I love vinegar, and use it on all sorts of things. However, I keep a pretty limited stock based on what I like so far.

On hand I have white vinegar (and I've found the cheapest is often the best here, cheap white vinegar has a certain harshness to it that the more refined types always lose), unfiltered cider vinegar (supposedly good health benefits, but also a great taste, great for salads), malt vinegar (my personal favorite, and a necessary for fish/fried foods), and a bottle of white wine vinegar which I occasionally use, though it is a bit smooth for my tastes.

I haven't quite gotten used to red-wine or balsamic vinegars yet, they seem to have too much sweetness and not enough bite, but I'm sure they have their uses.

[jackal10]

Good Balsamic

Cooking Balsamic (Aspell's organic)

White Balsamic (surprisingly good)

Red wine (Dufrais)

Red Wine (Homemade)

White Wine (Dufrais)

Cider

Sherry

White

Malt non-brewed condiment (from the chip shop)

Malt pickling 5% (in 1/2 gallon plstic jerrycan)

Various flavoured vinegars: Chilli (Afterburner), Raspberry, Tarragon

Unopened bottles of things that people have given us

[highchef]

..I just got my Balsamic yesterday. 2 really good (20 and 30 year, one will be a wedding gift) one everyday.

apple

tart organic cherry (homemade)

red wine

white wine

rasberry balsamic...which I'm not yet sure of

tarragon (homemade)

Wow! this is getting personal! Next you'll be asking about my oils...or God forbid, the chocolate stash.

Please don't make me count the chocolates.

edit: I forgot the jug of white distilled, but I'm not sure that lives on the same planet as the others.

Edited May 14, 2005 by highchef (log)

[lexy]

but for my nearest and dearest?        Only the very best will do, namely the highly prized Minus 8 from Canada .. as smooth as butter ... 

←

ooh, I'm jealous. It is sweet (well, sweet for a vinegar) like ice wine?

[DTBarton]

Similar to above, white, apple cider, red wine, everyday balsamic, good balsamic, white balsamic, chinese brown, chinese rice.

Usually some flavored varieties given to us as host/hostess gifts. I find I usually don't care for these, flavor my own for dressings sometimes. I also keep large jugs of homemade barbecue vinegars flavored with paprika, salt, dry mustard, crushed red pepper, black pepper, chili powder, whatever you like. I make mild and hot versions to use as mops during cooking and to sprinkle on at the table. A nice base mix is 1/3 white vinegar, 1/3 cider vinegar, and 1/3 water to cut the acidity a bit.

[andiesenji]

I have all of the above, also I have coconut vinegar, pineapple vinegar, cane vinegar, palm vinegar and brown rice vinegar. Then there are sherry vinegars and several balsamic vinegars and a very interesting balsamic syrup.

A visit to an Asian food store will bring one a selection of these interesting vinegars:

Edited May 14, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

ooh, I'm jealous. It is sweet (well, sweet for a vinegar) like ice wine?

←

Oh yes, sweet and smooth and luscious! Good alone as a digestif or mixed with a very fine olive oil as a dressing for a few, well-chosen, delicate leaves in a salad ..

So very well worth the price and, if you read the press on the Minus 8 website, you will find recipes and all manner of kudos for the stuff!

Go ahead and splurge on a bottle ...

[jo-mel]

Apple v

White v

Chinese Red Rice v

Chinese White Rice v

Chinese Black Rice v

Balsamic v

Balsamic White v

Red wine v

White Wine v

Tarragon v

Raspberry v

That coconut vinegar sounds interesting. I think it will be the next in my collection.

(Gone are the days when white vinegar was for cleaning and apple for cooking!)

[melkor]

Apparently all we have in the cupboard is white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, sweet white wine vinegar (home made from leftover dessert wines), rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, home made red wine vinegar, cooking balsamic, 20 year old balsamic, and some sherry vinegar.

[helenas]

current favorites:

[Zen Baker]

Oh my, I don't want to face the alarming truth:

1. Plain generic white vinegar

2. Apple cider vinegar

3. Sherry vinegar

4. Champange vinegar - have never used this. The bottle still has the plastic wrap on it.

5. Rice wine vinegar

6. Chinese black vinegar that I smuggled back from Shanghai in my backpack. I love it on dumplings and shu-mai.

7. Red wine vinegar for salad dressings

8. Malt vinegar for fries - I love fries with malt vinegar. I picked this habit up in Cleveland during college.

9. Balsamic vinegar from Modena - purchased during recent trip to Rome

10. Balsamic vinegar from Whole Foods

I think that's it. That's far too many for a single girl living in a studio apartment. Don't get me started on how many different oils I have. Oh, the shame!

[*Deborah*]

I am the poor relation in all this: white, red wine, two kinds of balsamic, and rice wine. I use the balsamics and rice wine vinegars the most...

*wondering if I have to surrender my decoder ring*

[rgruby]

How many of you out there have aged balsamico from Italy in their pantries?

I hemmed and hawed after spending three months in Italy last year whether to bring some of the real 20, 30 or more years aged tradizionale stuff back, and eventually I decided not to. Just too much dough for something I ultimately would feel a bit guilty using - but what a treat! Some of the better, and inexpensive, commercial stuff actually gets in the ballpark, but most of 'em are in the bleachers.

Obviously, this is special occasion stuff, but what are you using it on?

And, what are some of your favourite, commercial (ie non-tradizionale) substitutes? Fini is easily available around here and if memory serves, was decent - maybe a bit mellow (caremelly?) but I don't have any at present to confirm my memory. a local place (the Cheese Boutique) imports some young balsamic and ages it further in oak (again - not entirely sure) barrels. I've found it a bit tart on its own, but I haven't had a real aged balsamic here to compare it to and it's been a couple of years, maybe less a bit since I've tasted the real thing.

So, to cut short my rambling, what are some of the better commercial substitutes for the real (and real expensive - but deservedly so) aged balsamico from Modena and environs.

Cheers,

Geoff Ruby

[andiesenji]

How many of you out there have aged balsamico from Italy in their pantries?

So, to cut short my rambling, what are some of the better commercial substitutes for the real (and real expensive - but deservedly so) aged balsamico from Modena and environs.

Cheers,

Geoff Ruby

←

I have a 100 ml bottle of a Balsamic 30 year Imperatore, which I have been using drop-by-drop, for which I paid some ridiculous price. The stuff is almost like a syrup and is delicious.

I have a bottle that I received as a gift, that I have never opened, of Cavalli Gold Label that is 65 years old.

The little book that comes with it in its wooden box says, "Extraordinary and complex, rich and harmonious fragrances, more sweet than sour with persuasive structure. Dense, suave and persistent. Ideal for savory and spicy cheeses, for berries, strawberries or cherries, for pastry cream or ice cream; but above all, it is a true elixir to sip from a spoon or glass at the end of a meal. Each numbered bottle contains 100 ml. of Gold Label Traditional Balsamic Vinegar by Cavalli from Reggio Emilia, Italy"

I am waiting for a special occasion to open it.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Each numbered bottle contains 100 ml. of Gold Label Traditional Balsamic Vinegar by Cavalli from Reggio Emilia, Italy"

I am waiting for a special occasion to open it.

←

I should think so! There are some bottles of this vinegar shown here but they make Joy parfum look cheesy by comparison ...

Thanks for the vinegar expertise, andisenji, and for your photos of whatever the thread demands! You are amazing!

Does a dab behind the ears make for sensual arousal, or what?!

[andiesenji]

I believe it might, were I so inclined. I have never cared for most perfumes with floral scents but anything that is spicy gets my attention.

For several years I had a bottle of KL that I used sparingly but it was one of the few things that were broken in the '94 earthquake. My bathroom smelled wonderful for months.

A few weeks back I made a reduction of balsamic vinegar, not one of the very aged ones, and the aroma in the kitchen was just lovely.

[Mooshmouse]

I have all of the above, also I have coconut vinegar, pineapple vinegar, cane vinegar, palm vinegar and brown rice vinegar.  Then there are sherry vinegars and several balsamic vinegars and a very interesting balsamic syrup.

A visit to an Asian food store will bring one a selection of these interesting vinegars:

←

Andie, I'm impressed at your Asian vinegar selection... I so rarely see this in North American pantries. The best part about them is that they're relatively cheap, at least they are here in Canada.

Vinegars. Good God, I'm Filipino and worship at the altar of vinegar. We regularly use it as a condiment. Apple cider, malt, sugar cane, coconut, palm, palm with garlic and chili peppers, white wine, red wine, three kinds of balsamic, rice, mango. And good old fashioned white... admittedly, I only use this for non-food related purposes. Yoiks. That makes fourteen.

And then there's soy sauces. Dark Chinese, two kinds of light Japanese, soy sauce with calamansi, kecap manis. Five. Six if you count Maggi.

[TJHarris]

I feel like a vinegar under acheiver.

Red Wine

White Wine

Cider

Balsamico

Balsamico Tradizionale

Rice Wine

Sherry

White distilled (for cleaning windows)

[Ktepi]

Andie, I'm impressed at your Asian vinegar selection... I so rarely see this in North American pantries.  The best part about them is that they're relatively cheap, at least they are here in Canada.

←

Here in Indiana, too, and for the balsamic lovers, it's worth pointing out that black vinegar -- which has a similar appeal -- is a great deal cheaper. (Not that there aren't expensive black vinegars, but unless my palate is blind to its flaws, a $10 or $20 black vinegar "tastes more expensive" than a $10 or $20 balsamic.)

I have an expensive balsamic I rarely use -- because I always think "is it worth using it for this?", so in worrying I'll run out of it I leave it right where it is -- and tend to reach for the black instead now, since I know I can get more of it.

Other vinegars: white and red wine; malt usually, but I'm out now; coconut for adobo. I don't usually like flavored vinegars, and tend to use citrus for dressings and mayos.

[andiesenji]

I have all of the above, also I have coconut vinegar, pineapple vinegar, cane vinegar, palm vinegar and brown rice vinegar.  Then there are sherry vinegars and several balsamic vinegars and a very interesting balsamic syrup.

A visit to an Asian food store will bring one a selection of these interesting vinegars:

←

Andie, I'm impressed at your Asian vinegar selection... I so rarely see this in North American pantries. The best part about them is that they're relatively cheap, at least they are here in Canada.

Vinegars. Good God, I'm Filipino and worship at the altar of vinegar. We regularly use it as a condiment. Apple cider, malt, sugar cane, coconut, palm, palm with garlic and chili peppers, white wine, red wine, three kinds of balsamic, rice, mango. And good old fashioned white... admittedly, I only use this for non-food related purposes. Yoiks. That makes fourteen.

And then there's soy sauces. Dark Chinese, two kinds of light Japanese, soy sauce with calamansi, kecap manis. Five. Six if you count Maggi.

←

We have several excellent Asian markets here in Lancaster, including a Filipino market "Manila Seafood" whose owner is a friend. John does the whole deep fried fish thing in the store and some of his customers buy one and stand around in the parking lot breaking off bits of the fish and dipping it into bowls of vinegar.

Right next door is a Filipino bakery which has the best cheese-filled buns I have every tasted. I try to avoid going past the door because it always pulls me in.

John also has a keg of a dark-brown murky "agkug"(???) vinegar that I have yet to try. He fills bottles that customers bring in. The stuff is extremely pungent and I think it is meant to be diluted. When he draws off some into a bottle, the fumes make my nose sting.

We also have a Korean market, a Thai/Tonkin market (their words), a Japanese market, an Indian market and the middle eastern market that carries a lot of Asian products in addition to the middle eastern ones. Palmdale, right next door to Lancaster, also has quite a few markets catering to the Asian population here in the Antelope valley.

[andiesenji]

I notice the tomato vinegar shown in helenas' post above.

I had some "tomato water" vinegar (loose translation) that was sent to me by a friend in Roumania several years ago. It had a very interesting flavor and was great in salad dressings. I have looked for a similar product several times but have never come across it. Where is this one made?

Edited May 15, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[Mottmott]

The only one I have that has not yet been mentioned so far is Banyuls vinegar. Otherwise the usual range from white and cider through several wines and balsamics and a few Asian vinegars, though nothing to match Andie's Asian array and, alas, no Traditzionale. I am contemplating getting some mother and making a Riesling vinegar as I can't find any around here.

What do you use the Coconut vinegar in?