Acid in nature, vinegar's versatility is undeniable
By Joe Bonwich
KRT News Service
Thousands of years ago, someone's wine went bad, and a timeless food product was born.
Vinegar literally means "sour wine" (vin aigre in French), but the incredible diversity of uses that have been thought up for it over the millennia has transformed that unfortunate ancient's disappointment into a condiment known in cultures all over the world.
Vinegars aren't necessarily derived from grapes. Virtually anything with natural sugars, from grains to fruits and vegetables to saps, can be fermented into alcohol, with the alcohol then converted to acid by bacteria. This is the basic process by which vinegar is made.
Supermarket sales of vinegar in the United States now exceed $200 million annually, according to Progressive Grocer magazine. The Vinegar Institute, a trade organization, credits high-end vinegars with much of the growth in sales.
At the ultra-luxury end, for example, John Nash of the Wine Merchant stores in St. Louis, Mo., says some customers regularly buy his most expensive vinegars, 100-milliliter (3.2-fluid-ounce) bottles of Acetaia Malpighi balsamic vinegars, which go for $100 for the 12-year-aged version and $145 for the 25-year-aged version. (The 50-year-old "Riserva Ciliegio," if it were sold at the Wine Merchant, would be more than double the price of the 25-year-old.)
Between the rare balsamic and the buck-a-quart white vinegar at the local supermarket, we found dozens of vinegars around the St. Louis area. The range of types and styles is growing continually with the proliferation of specialty-food stores (and especially of ethnic markets).
Asian-food markets often have a broad selection of rice vinegars and of black vinegars - made variously from rice, sorghum, wheat or millet, sometimes also with malt. At boutique food markets, many vinegars are labeled with the grape, region or style of the wine on which they are based. Others are enhanced with sprigs of herbs or with fruit, such as whole raspberries.
And then there's the "chef's choice" for vinegar, one that you won't find in any stores. Retired banker Gene Leonard has been making vinegar in his St. Louis basement for more than 25 years from a foundation of some of the greatest wines in the world.
Leonard has long participated in group tastings of fine wines. Given that at most tastings there would be wine left over, "a lot of good wine was going down the drain," he recalls. Thus he began a self-taught course in vinegar, even isolating the key bacteria, acetobacter, by leaving dishes of wine out in various places in his house.
Today, as the local cellarmaster for the Commanderie de Bordeaux, an international organization of aficionados of Bordeaux wines, he ends up with considerable raw material, such as what went into his current bottling of red-wine vinegar based on a vertical tasting of Chateaux Cos D'Estournel from 1966 forward.
Other current cultures in Leonard's basement are based on recent vertical tastings of the various Chateaux Leoville in Bordeaux, as well as California's Chateau Montelena and a collection of leading Italian wines. Part of his free time, however, is spent singing in the choir at the First Unitarian Church of St. Louis, to which he occasionally donates his vinegars and salad dressings as a tool for raising money for a new harpsichord.
Leonard also provides his vinegars to many of St. Louis' leading chefs, and as the cook for his own household, he regularly develops recipes that incorporate the vinegars. He shares some of those recipes here, and we've also collected several additional recipes to expand your vinegar horizons.
Don't worry, by the way, if a recipe calls for a tiny amount of a specialty vinegar and you have to buy a whole bottle. According to the Vinegar Institute, the shelf life of vinegar is "almost indefinite."
Troisgros Vinegar Chicken
Yield: 4 servings.
1 (3- to 3 1/2-pound) chicken, cut up
1 onion, cut in half
1 carrot, cut in half
Salt
Ground black pepper
5 tablespoons butter, divided
15 cloves garlic, peeled (see note)
2 sprigs parsley
1/2 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried chervil
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
3 fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped, divided, or 2 1/4 cups drained canned diced tomatoes, divided
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Fresh chervil, for optional garnish
Cut wing tips from chicken wings. In a medium saucepan, combine chicken neck, back, wing tips, onion, carrot and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Let cool. Strain broth; skim off fat.
Meanwhile, sprinkle remaining chicken lightly with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add chicken; cook over medium-high heat until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat slightly. Add garlic cloves, cover skillet and cook for 20 minutes.
While chicken cooks, make a bouquet garni: Tie parsley, bay leaf, thyme and dried chervil in a square of cheesecloth; set aside. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Spoon off fatty liquid from the skillet. Add vinegar to skillet; stir to scrape up browned bits. Cook 2 minutes. Add 2 fresh tomatoes or 1 1/4 cups canned tomatoes, tomato paste and bouquet garni. Cover; cook 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter; cover loosely and keep warm in the oven.
Add reserved chicken broth to the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook until sauce is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Remove bouquet garni and discard. Remove skillet from heat; stir in remaining 4 tablespoons butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
Transfer the contents of the skillet to a food processor; puree. For a smoother sauce, force the puree through a coarse sieve.
Return the puree to the skillet, stir in the remaining chopped tomato or 1 cup canned tomato, and heat until hot. Spoon sauce over chicken.
To garnish, sprinkle lightly with chervil.
PER SERVING: 535 calories; 38g fat (64 percent calories from fat); 15.5g saturated fat; 172mg cholesterol; 43.5g protein; 5g carbohydrate; 1g sugar; 0.5g fiber; 167mg sodium; 49mg calcium; 491mg potassium.
Note: Don't be alarmed by the large quantity of garlic. It mellows and sweetens as it cooks.
Adapted from a recipe given to a St. Louis resident by the late chef Jean Troisgros, whose eponymous restaurant in Rouanne, France, continues to hold the highest rating of three stars from the Guide Michelin.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes With Balsamic
Yield: 4 to 6 servings.
2 to 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, scrubbed
2 tablespoons ( 1/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup light cream or milk, warmed
1 to 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground nutmeg
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Prick the potatoes with a skewer in several spots; place them on a sheet of heavy foil. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Peel the sweet potatoes, holding them in a towel to protect your hands. Drop them into a bowl. Smash the flesh with a heavy wire whisk, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in the butter and cream. Season with the vinegar, a few gratings of nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
PER SERVING (based on 4 servings): 237 calories; 6.5g fat (25 percent calories from fat); 4g saturated fat; 17mg cholesterol; 4g protein; 40.5g carbohydrate; 14g sugar; 5.5g fiber; 69mg sodium; 84mg calcium; 540mg potassium.
Adapted from "One Potato, Two Potato," by Roy Finamore with Molly Stevens (Houghton Mifflin, 2001).
Apricot-Fig Blatjang
Yield: About 3 cups.
12 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) dried apricots
4 ounces (about 1/2 cup) dried figs
4 ounces (about 1/2 cup) golden raisins
1 small onion, minced
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup blanched almonds
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced red or green chile pepper
Salt
Freshly cracked white pepper
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Combine apricots, figs, raisins, onion and vinegar in a saucepan. Add just enough water to just cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly. (Do not overcook; the mixture will thicken as it cools). Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Toast the almonds on a baking sheet in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, just until lightly browned.
In a food processor or blender, combine ginger, chile pepper, almonds and salt and pepper; process until pureed. Add pureed mixture and lemon juice to the fruit mixture; stir well. Serve as a condiment with roast lamb or other roasted meats or game. Covered and refrigerated, the blatjang will keep up to 3 weeks.
PER CUP SERVING: 154 calories; 1.5g fat (9 percent calories from fat); no saturated fat; no cholesterol; 2g protein; 33g carbohydrate; 24g sugar; 3g fiber; 5mg sodium; 43mg calcium; 553mg potassium.
Adapted from "Salsas, Sambals, Chutneys and Chowchows," by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby (Morrow, 1993).
Cured Slaw
- Gene Leonard
Yield: 6 (1 1/2-cup) servings.
1 large head cabbage, shredded (7 to 8 cups)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 large green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup white-wine vinegar
3/4 cup canola oil
Salt
Place cabbage, onion and bell pepper in a large bowl. Stir together sugar, vinegar, oil and salt to taste. Pour over the vegetables; mix thoroughly. Cover tightly; refrigerate for at least 6 hours. (The slaw will keep up to two weeks, the flavor improving as it ages. Mix again before serving.)
PER SERVING: 325 calories; 28g fat (78 percent calories from fat); 2g saturated fat; no cholesterol; 2g protein; 17g carbohydrate; 13g sugar; 3g fiber; 18mg sodium; 48mg calcium; 285mg potassium.
Geno's Tapanade
- Gene Leonard
Yield: 1 1/2 cups
3 large cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons capers, drained
6 anchovy fillets
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cognac or brandy
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups kalamata olives, pitted (about 3/4 pound with pits or an 8.5-ounce jar of pitted olives)
French bread, for serving
With the food processor running, drop garlic through the feed tube. When garlic is minced, stop the food processor; add capers, anchovies, thyme, mustard, cognac, lemon juice, vinegar, oil and olives. Process until pureed to a spreadable consistency. Serve on toasted or fresh rounds of French bread.
Note: For a less-salty tapanade (and a lower sodium content), use white Spanish anchovies packed in olive oil, which are sold in specialty food shops. When using canned anchovies, reduce sodium by soaking the anchovies in water for 5 to 10 minutes; pat dry before
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