The Sweet Side Of Vinegar

Vinegar is a kitchen staple. everyone has a bottle of either red wine, apple cider or balsamic. Thanks to the fermentation craze, home chefs are making it at home. This complex ingredient is actually the easiest to create. It just takes wine, cider or time.

It fascinated famed chef and regular contributor , Tejal Rao in today's issue of the New York Times Food section.There is a steadily growing  swath of enthusiasts , from professional chefs to home ones who are creating bottles of their own. Vinegar's name , come from  the French vin aigre - sour wine yet it can be made from fruits,vegetables (!)grains and syrups. Th earliest ones were probably made from leftover wines and bumper crops, Ancient kitchens between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were the first to try the process.Before refrigeration there was absolutely no way to stop fermentation. Ripe fruit produced alcohol. It changed to the fermented liquid during the warmer months.It was not just a preservative but a flavoring agent according to Michael Harlan Turkell, a writer and maker of honey vinegars. He is the author of Acid Trip, his 2017 cookbook devoted to all things vinegar. it also formed the base of dipping sauces.Once it made it' leap it persisted into modern times. Like wine it was made in different ways all over the world.Coconut and nipa palms provided sap that could be mixed with water and sap  Saki produced rice vinegar.

Is vinegar hard to make at home? No. At its' most basic it's just fermented wine..It just requires oxygen, bacteria and alcohol.Anyone can start with ready made alcohol, a bottle of wine you had lying around, or even hard cider or saki.Homemade alcohol can be made with fermented fruit such as peaches and water. Enthusiasts also buy pH meters to read acidity, but the only other items necessary are a wide mouthed jar and a cheesecloth for straining. There is also a starter or mother that Amazon sells for around ten dollars. It 's a clear disc of acetobacteria and cellulose that forms naturally on the top of vinegar. Once mastered you can create almost any flavor. Chef Misti Norris of the Dallas pop-up restaurant Petra and the Beast, creates all sorts of acidic concoctions from local mustang grapes mixed with passion fruit, peony flowers and figs Her apartment is full of glass containers and covered oak barrels. she plans on selling them later this year. Other restaurant owners such as Jori Jayne Ende, of  Lady Jayne/s Alchemy and fish  & Game in Chatham, New York uses leftovers from carrots and tomatoes to brown bread and even tomato. and sour cherry.  Her barrels contain everything from pith and seeds to  cores and peels. . They are left to ferment in a wine base to create vinegars that she'll use in a variety of dishes such as snails.

Fermenting is the hottest culinary trend right now. Start with creating a vinegar with any favorite wine or cider. it'll be a nice addition to the kitchen pantry.