Vinegar

During one of my wine classes this week, we were discussing the wines of Italy. A question came up about Balsamic Vinegar. Now, I know my wine stuff, and I am pretty good with food, but I never really explored the world of vinegar. I do know (and have tasted many wines) that have turned to vinegar. So, I thought this might be a good subject to explore.

Vinegar [ˈvɪnɪgə]n  -  (Cookery) a sour-tasting liquid consisting of impure dilute acetic acid, made by oxidation of the ethyl alcohol in beer, wine, or cider. It is used as a condiment or preservative

There is a big difference between wine vinegar, and balsamic vinegar (not to mention cider vinegar, and rice vinegar, etc). And, they are actually two different products.

Vinegar can be made from any fermentable liquid. The presence of the acetic acid bacteria (acetobacter) during the fermentation process of sugars to ethanol creates vinegar. In general, traditional vinegars, are fermented slowly over a period of weeks or months. The longer fermentation period allows for the accumulation of a nontoxic slime composed of acetic acid bacteria. Quicker, more commercial methods are made with a "mother of vinegar" that is added to the fermenting must. This process can quicken the production time to under 3 days, and usually used in more commercial type vinegars.

Wine vinegar is made from red or white wine, and is the most commonly used vinegar in Europe and the United States. There is a considerable range in quality, just as with wine. The highest quality wine vinegars are matured in wood for up to two years, and exhibit a complex, mellow flavor. The most expensive wine vinegars are made from individual varieties of wine, such as Champagne or Sherry.

Where things get interesting, and where the original classroom question came up, was with Balsamic Vinegars. Traditional Balsamic vinegar is a product from Italy, produced in the Modena and Reggio Emilia regions of Italy. The names "Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena" (Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena) and "Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia" (Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Reggio Emilia) are protected names, under the DOC laws of Italy, and the new PDO laws of the European union.

Balsamic Vinegar in cask

True balsamic vinegar is made from a reduction of pressed Trebbiano and Lambrusco grape must. The must is boiled, and reduced to about 30% of its' original volume. The resulting thick syrup, called mosto cotto, in Italian, is aged for a minimum of 12 years in a series of successively smaller sized wooden casks. The casks can be made of different woods like oak, chestnut, mulberry, ash, and cherry. The juice slowly ferments, and concentrates over the years, producing a final product that is rich, deep brown in color with complex flavors which balance the natural sweet and sour elements of the cooked grape juice.

Reggio Emilia designates the different ages of their balsamic vinegar by label color. A red label means the vinegar has been aged for at least 12 years, a silver label has aged for at least 18 years and the gold label has aged for 25 years or more.

Modena uses a slightly different system to indicate the age. A cream-coloured cap means the vinegar has aged for at least 12 years; the magenta cap bearing the designation "extravecchio" (extra old) is for vinegar that has aged for at least 25 years.

Traditional Balsamic Vinegar is very expensive (somewhere between $50 to $130 per ounce). Obviously, there are other Balsamic Vinegars out there, that are less expensive, but they are not the traditional product. These commercial grade products imitate the traditional product. They are made of wine vinegar with the addition of coloring, caramel and sometimes thickeners to artificially simulate the sweetness and thickness of the aged traditional product. Or, some of the better "copies" of traditional Balsamic are made using traditional methods, but are not aged as long, or start out using the traditional methods, and simply add "mosto cotto" to the vinegar, to thicken, and produce an imitation product in a shorter time period. Since there is no official standard or labeling system to designate the different styles of balsamic vinegar, it can be hard to tell their quality based on the packaging alone..unless of course is says, Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena or Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia.

Twas the Week before Christmas - A Spanish Pairing

Paella Mixta

Twas the week before Christmas, and what should we do?

the malls were too crowded, so let's make some stew! 

No that'd be too normal, we need something rare

Let's do a 5-course dinner with some Spanish flare

The menu was set, and the guest were invited
They were given a recipe that got them excited.

So I put on my chef's coat, and pulled out some wine
after cooking a while, we were ready to dine.

Okay, that is about as far as I can get, with the Christmas theme, but you get the idea. We decided to get a group together for a Spanish wine pairing dinner The idea was to start with the wines, and pair a meal around those Spanish wines. The wines were to progress from a Cava to a white, to red, to dessert. From those wines, we chose the menu items that we felt would work best, and each guest was given a traditional Spanish recipe to make, then bring it on the chosen night, along with their receipts, so the price of the meal would be shared among the different couples.

Here is a copy of the final Spanish Wine Pairing menu (we called our "restaurant" Saetilla - Spanish for Arrowhead, as we live in Lake Arrowhead):

Spanish Wine Pairing Dinner Menu

Trio of Tapas

The dinner was for eight people, but as usual, we had enough food to feed twice as many people. The courses we had, all worked great with the wine. Our Cava choice, for the first course, paired well with all three items, but I think the consensus was that the goat cheese, with onions raisins and garlic worked the best.

For our second course, we had a traditional Gazapacho (cold tomato,cucumber and garlic soup). Originally, I had planned on going with only with an Albarino, but the more I thought about it, I felt a Vin Rosado (rose) from Rioja, might be a better match. I am glad I second guessed myself, and added the Rose. It was an excellent pairing, and one of the surprise wines of the night (and least expensive). Also, the addition of a little Fino Sherry to the Gazapacho was a nice added touch.

Gazpacho

The main course of the evening was a Paella Mixta. This was my responsibility for the evening. I decided to pair this with a traditional Rioja. While the Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva was already seven years old, I knew it was going to need some air before drinking. I opened up this bottle and decanted it, about three hours before serving. This was the favorite wine of the night. Smooth, silky, not too tannic, and worked well with all the flavors of our Paella. Even the seafood element (which I typically don't pair with reds) worked nicely. The authentic Spanish Bittersweet Paprika added a nice smokiness to the dish. I have added my recipe to the comments section below.

Cheese Course

Following the European tradition of transitioning from main course to dessert course, we had a cheese plate. Originally, I had only planned on three cheeses, but, since I love cheese, I went overboard, and presented five cheeses along with Quince paste, and almond nougat. To this, I paired a 2009 Ribera del Duero. This was a powerful wine, and I decanted it in my largest decanter, getting as much air in as possible. I opened this five hours before, and I probably could have opened it up a full day before. I thought all the cheeses paired well with this fine Tempranillo, but I would stay away from the Cabrales next time, as I felt it was too strong (even when eaten with the quince paste, which mellowed it a bit). If I were to choose a blue cheese again, I might go with Valdeon, which is not as over powering.

Apple Empanada

Our final dish was an apple empanada. I paired this with a wonderful Sidra (Spanish apple cider). At only 5% alcohol, it was refreshing, and palate cleansing, with just the right amount of apple flavor to work with the empanada. We also had some Calvados left over (okay, I know it's not Spanish, but we had it, and it's made from apples, so why not?).

I've already had requests for my paella recipe. Since it is a "mixta"...it was my creation, and I will do my best to recreate it, and add it to the comments section of this blog. All the other recipes can be found in different Spanish cookbooks.

The total cost of our dinner was $78/couple. As I mentioned, we had plenty of leftovers, so this easily could have been a $50/couple dinner, if I had bought more wine, and invited 16 people (We just don't have enough seating for that many...or place settings). So, next time you see a wine pairing dinner, where the cost is $150/couple...just remember you can probably do the same, at a more reasonable cost. And in this economy, who isn't for that? Plus you might have some fun learning how to make traditional regional foods, and cooking techniques.