Malt Vinegar

[Susan in FL]

I've always kept malt vinegar on hand, and it used to last forever since we put it on homemade fries and that was about it. Lately we've been dribbling it on sliced tomatoes -- just that, or dressing salads with it along with olive oil. So it has me wondering, do you use it in cooking or what other uses are there for it that I've been missing out on?

[McDermitt]

London Pub pickled onions. They are distributed by Reese Foods. I haven't had them recently, but if I remember they were pickled in a brine using malt vinegar.

Now that I think about it I may be wrong about the use of malt vinegar in the brine.

Edited August 7, 2005 by McDermitt (log)

[chef koo]

you didn't mention the classic battered and fried fish but i'm sure you already do that. you just want to know of any you missed.

[Susan in FL]

Yes, I do like it on battered/fried fish. Thank you for the responses so far!

[k43]

In London, I loved malt vinegar on chips. Great stuff. When I came home, all I could find was Heinz, which had no flavor at all.

Which brands are the real thing?

[Susan in FL]

My favorite, and I'm running low on it, is from Old Dominion Brewing Company. Hopefully someone else can recommend other brands as well. I can't even remember what kind I had before this! It might have been Four Monks.

[McDermitt]

Do these count or are they too much like fries/chips?

Sea Salt & Malt Vinegar Kettle Chips

[MicBacchus]

I remember my dad sprinkling it lightly on greens - usually kale. My mom cooked the kale with potatoes and some type of meat in her pressure cooker. She wasn't big on spices or herbs, so I'm guessing the malt vinegar definitely added flavor to the kale.

[Mayhaw Man]

My favorite, and I'm running low on it, is from Old Dominion Brewing Company.  Hopefully someone else can recommend other brands as well.  I can't even remember what kind I had before this!  It might have been Four Monks.

←

Susan,

If you want a fun project, why not make your own?

There was an article, by a guy named Steve Fried who was the brewer at McGuire's in Pensacola, about the whole process. It appeared in the September/October 97 issue of the New Brewer

I believe that a call to the Association of Brewers might get you a copy if you are interested.

I watched Steve do the process a couple of times (we installed the brewery for them and actually used to supply them with beer for a while) and it's pretty interesting.

[KarenS]

I too love it on greens (spinach).

My favorite vinegars are champagne and rice wine vinegars (with good reds ands balsamic following).

[Susan in FL]

I've certainly used other vinegars on greens, so sure, why not malt vinegar?

Make my own, huh. I would at least like to read the article. I do not begin to know what the process is like. So you had a hand in McGuire's, too. That is one of the places I miss since my son has moved to California. I liked the beer.

[Genny]

The brand I use is Fancy Foods and its pretty tasty. Alas, I only use it on my homemade fish and chips as well.

[Shel_B]

I'm looking for a nice, richly flavored, smooth malt vinegar, preferably produced in the traditional manner. Any suggestions?

[FauxPas]

I've always wondered about the recipe on the back of the Heinz Gourmet Malt Vinegar bottle - it's called Peach Chicken. Here's a blog entry showing the orginal recipe (which uses 1/4 cup of malt vinegar) and a modified version of the recipe. Unfortunately the modifications include skipping the malt vinegar altogether! I can see why the blogger wanted to avoid using canned peaches, but I think I would try a version that keeps the malt vinegar in the recipe.  

 

http://iowagirleats.com/2011/08/10/peachy-chicken-no-bake-peanut-butter-cookies/

[FauxPas]

I'm looking for a nice, richly flavored, smooth malt vinegar, preferably produced in the traditional manner. Any suggestions?

 

I used to like Sarson's - a UK malt vinegar. I haven't had it in a while though as far as I know, it is still made the traditional way. Some are just acetic acid with caramel and/or flavouring added. 

 

It can be purchased through Amazon or a few of the British/Canadian specialty shops online. 

[heidih]

I used to be able to find a mellow one - can not remember where- but the current ones in the local markets are not anywhere close -too harsh and boring. Look forward to input as well as it is a lovely ingredient.

[Shel_B]

I used to like Sarson's - a UK malt vinegar ...

It can be purchased through Amazon or a few of the British/Canadian specialty shops online. 

 

Thanks!  Sarson's popped up a few times in my search, and I found a UK specialty shop on line that has it for a good price and reasonable shipping, and I bought a bottle.  MUCH less expensive than Amazon - about 50% less.

[Shel_B]

I used to be able to find a mellow one - can not remember where- but the current ones in the local markets are not anywhere close -too harsh and boring. Look forward to input as well as it is a lovely ingredient.

 

A friend recommended Crosse and Blackwell, and after checking I could see the ingredient list was right - no caramel color, additives, etc.  There's a couple of local markets that carry it, so today I'll buy a bottle.  It will be interesting to compare it to Sarson's.

[Shel_B]

I was unable to find Crosse and Blackwell locally, but I did get Sarson's, have used it several time, and have been very pleased with it. It is a nice, smooth vinegar and offers plenty of flavor, so thanks to FauxPas for the recommendation 

[Blether]

An option for using malt vinegar is in British-style chutneys - apple chutney, tomato chutney and so on.  In the past I made a mixed-fruit chutney, with part malt vinegar and part wine/fruit vinegar, that was close to - but better than, hah! - Branston Pickle.  We've talked about Branston Pickle around here before, it was originally a Crosse & Blackwell product, I think.

[CatPoet]

Sarsons has a  malt vinegar for pickling that I have used in chutneys and  I seen  used with  beetroots,  cucumber and onions among other things.

 

Normal  malt vinegar I use in bread

[Blether]

There were always pickled eggs, too, at the chip shop: hard-boiled eggs pickled in malt vinegar.

 

If you google malt vinegar pickles, the first results are actually quite good.  The article from The Independent newspaper is authentic, for a start.

[naguere]

Malt Vinegar has it's uses, mainly for shaking over Fish&Chips. or Pickling onions, where it is delicious

 

For the life of me i cannot think of another use .... oh, yes i can:

 

In the olden days (1950's) when in England we did not have shampoo products, people washed  

 

their hair with soap, your ordinary hand soap  . This was very good for removing dirt and grime, but 

 

 soap is mainly fat and so your hair  would have this coating on it on rinsing.

 

If you were to put a tablespoon of malt  vinegar in a pint of warm water and use as a final rinse, 

 

 the acidity of the malt vinegar would cut and  remove the fat from your hair.

 

As Michael Cain said 'Not a lot of people know that'.!