Vinegar Info
By: Anonymous
Published: Sunday, February 14, 2010 - 8:37am

Preparation

1 Vinegar was relished by ancient Greeks and Romans would place vinegar vessels on the dining table for guests to dip their bread in. Thirteenth century street vendors in Paris were known to sell barrels of vinegar to hoteliers and housewives. In India the inclusion of vinegar in cookery is more recent. India is home to people of many different communities Hindus Muslims Christians Buddhists Parsees Jains Sikhs and Jews.Each of these communities has their own way of cooking which is greatly enjoyed by the rest. Of these the Parsees and the Goans have been most influenced by international cuisines and use many western ingredients like pasta marzipan and vinegar. Where Hindu cookery uses tamarind or lemon as souring agents Parsee or Christian fare in India gets its tang mainly from vinegar 2 ManufactureVinegar is made by the fermentation of any alcohol. A s sugar cane grows plentifully in India alcohol a by product in the manufacture of sugar from the cane is fermented to produce vinegar. India does not produce vast amounts of vinegar as its use is fairly limited. 3 Appearance and tasteVinegar is clear and transparent or dark brown and has a charaaeristic sour addic aroma and taste. The dark variety is heavier 4 Buying and storingGood vinegar is not cloudy. Although in the West vinegars flavoured with herbs and fruits are popular in India plain vinegar is preferred. Store bottles of vinegar away from the light and they will be stable for several years. 5 Other usesVinegar makes an excellent finishing rinse for the hair leaving it soft shiny and manageable. Use clear vinegar for fair hair and brown vinegar for dark hair. 6 Culinary usesA traditional way of using vinegar in curries is to grind the curry spices with it. Gourmets claim that the best flavour is achieved when this is done on a rough grinding stone. The resulting paste is used as a marinade or fried in hot oil before adding meat or fish. Alternatively vinegar can be added to the dish during cooking. Vinegar is also used for pickling. North indians make a delicious preserve of carrots tumips and cauliflower flavoured with crushed mustard in vinegar. 7 Vinegar is any alcoholic liquid which has become sour by the action of acidforming bacteria. The word is derived from the French vin aigre or sour wine. Vinegar made from fermented grape juice has been used in the Mediterranean since ancient times. Nowadays the two aristocrats of vinegar are the italian balsamic and the Spanish sherry vinegar. 8 Balsamic is made mainly from Trebbiano grapes in Modena with an ebony colour a syrupy consistency and full spicy bouquet. This starts with fresh grape must which is boiled down in order to concentrate the sugar content and flavour. A respectable balsamic vinegar should be aged in wood for at least six years (some say twelve) for its flavours to develop. 9 Spanish sherry vinegar made in lerez from the Palomino grapes is dark and smooth with a rounded caramel taste but it is not as sweet as balsamic. 10 The estate of Castetlo di Volpaia at Radda in Chianti makes wonderful wine vinegars Erbe with herbs Orto . with vegetabies and Spezie with spice. We use all three flavours in salads and wood roasted vegetables.