Vinegar

   Last week we talked about pickling but never talked about the base and most important ingredient, which is vinegar.

   Google says vinegar is a sour liquid that has been around for thousands of years and discovered accidentally by finding wine that sat too long and refermented. Vinegar has many uses including in food, in medicine, and in drinks. Being made by fermentation means that it’s got to be made from starch, rice, fruit, or potatoes. Since vinegar can be made from so many different ingredients, there’s a bunch of different types of vinegar. The most common being white distilled, red wine, apple cider, and our vinegar of the day balsamic.

   Balsamic happens to be my favorite to cook with. Now I drink apple cider vinegar in a tonic with cayenne, ginger, and a bunch of other good ingredients for your body. Anyways, my favorite salad is caprese salad which will be in the how to section soon. I was hoping to have a few videos in there already, but I’ve been working 6-day weeks the entirety of December. It’s really been Thanksgiving, but I promise that the videos are in the works. We’re planning on a few different things in the new year including a YouTube channel for this how to corner when we can figure it out. ADD going hard today. I can’t keep a thought together in my head for anything.

   Ok back on track, Balsamic vinegar was made back in ancient Rome by boiling grapes and turning  the sugars into a fermentable product, same as making homemade wine. Then it’s aged for 12 years. I think wine making is the next blog, but I’ll figure that out this week. However, making that delicious balsamic into a vinaigrette is simple. All you need to do is mix equal parts vinegar and oil, but you must have mustard as an emulsifier. Oil and vinegar don’t mix, so they need a buffer to help them hang out and make a beautiful salad dressing; if you forget it the dressing will separate. The tastiest version of balsamic vinaigrette has a grated garlic clove, 3 tbs of Dijon mustard, 1 cup of balsamic, 1 cup of olive oil, and a pinch of salt pepper and rosemary. It’ll make enough for like 2 or 3 salads or 1 for family night.

   When I get home tonight I’ll get this onto the computer. I’m still at work passing time since the bar is slow. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to comment below or shoot me an email…. Be Blessed!!!