High-quality craft vinegars can be as nuanced as extra virgin olive oil, as varied in flavour and viscosity as a fine wine. VINEGAR IS THE QUINTESSENTIAL SOUR TASTE. A MIX OF ACETIC ACID AND water, whose name is derived from the French words “vin aigre” (sour wine), its lip-puckering flavour is so familiar we take it for granted. Which makes sense given vinegar has been a part of human history since the Babylonians discovered a bottle of sour fig wine 5,000 years ago. That distinctive taste is important for digestion, activating salivary fluids and encouraging bile flow so our livers are up to the mighty task of processing nutrients and waste products. Vinegar-making is a two-step fermentation process. Yeast feeds on the sugars from fruits such as apples and grapes or grains such as rice and barley. (Vinegar can be made from just about anything organic, but these are the most popular.) The resulting liquid ferments into alcohol, which is then exposed to oxygen and the Acetobacter bacteria to ferment again. Although vinegar-making is an ancient art, it was the modern scientist Louis Pasteur who identified its key bacteria. That sour brew can be as nuanced as extra virgin olive oil, as varied in flavour and viscosity as a fine wine. Indeed, some vinegars start life as red or white wine, sherry or champagne. Others begin with the raw ingredients—apples, rice, barley, grapes—to make alcohol, then go through the second fermentation. Some have a clean, sharp, neutral flavour like distilled white vinegar made from grain alcohol, which can clock in as high as 10 per cent acetic acid. On the other end of the complexity spectrum are the mellow, aged balsamics and the dense, malty, less acidic black rice vinegars so important in authentic hot and sour soup. Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands are home to some fine acetic acid artisans. In the Cowichan Valley, Venturi-Schulze makes balsamic vinegar, simmering their own grapes over an open fire and aging the result in French oak barrels, some of it for as long as 30 years. Metchosin’s Bilston Creek apple cider vinegar (ACV) is made from a blend of their own heritage apples hand-pressed in early fall and aged for a deep flavour. On Gabriola, Ravenskill Orchards is also brewing ACV from local island apples. Spinnakers has been fermenting its own malt version since the day Paul Hadfield discovered a neglected bottle of Hefeweisen had turned into a tantalizing condiment. Over on Salt Spring Island, Bree Eagle is also crafting malt vinegars from local brews such as Dry Porter and British IPA, as well as fully fermented, raw, unpasteurized vinegars from local fruits. She emphasizes that these aren’t infused vinegars. “Our raspberry vinegar is not simply white wine vinegar that had some raspberries soaking in it for a while. It is actually made directly from the fruit.” Having dabbled in making fruit vinegars myself, I can tell you this is a very different flavour, with a depth and character more akin to wine. Bree makes her fruit wine and balsamic-style vinegars with ingredients like rhubarb, figs, strawberries, grapefruit, elderberries, and oak-aged blackberries, These kinds of vinegars are a zingy addition to savoury food—brightening flavours and cutting through fat to add balance to a rich dish. Vinegar-lovers are also adding them to cocktails, even desserts. And, of course, this is salad season and good quality vinegars make the best vinaigrettes. The ancients considered vinegar a medicine and an essential preservative. Science suggests it may not be quite the panacea some modern health sources claim but it does show promise for diabetics. According to Harvard University, a meta-analysis of 11 small clinical trials observed that individuals taking vinegar (2-4 teaspoons daily) “significantly reduced” glucose and insulin levels after meals. And a small pilot study of 14 diabetics who took vinegar twice daily with meals reduced their fasting glucose at 12 weeks. Herbalist know well that vinegar efficiently extracts the medicinal properties of herbs and, similarly, craft vinegars contain all the goodness of their ingredients. Balsamics, for example, contain iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, phosphorus and magnesium—the nutrients of the grapes that made them. ACV’s pectin is an excellent prebiotic—the fibre that feeds our friendly gut bacteria. And since vinegars are low in calories and contain vitamins, mineral salts, amino acids, and antioxidants, there’s good reason to include high-quality, artisan vinegar in your meals whenever possible. One of my favourite infused vinegars is Four Thieves. The story goes that during a plague in Europe, a band of thieves robbed the graves of those who’d died of the disease but still stayed healthy. Their secret? A herbal tonic now known as Four Thieves Vinegar. When city officials caught up with the bandits, they were given their freedom in exchange for the recipe, which was posted on the city walls so everyone could make it. And we can too. Measure 2 tsps each of crumbled dried sage leaf, lavender flower, rosemary, and thyme, as well as chopped garlic to taste, into a mason jar. Set aside. Slowly heat 16 ounces of apple cider or red wine vinegar to the temperature of warm bath water. (Boiling kills the active good bacteria.) Pour this brew over the herbs and garlic, filling right to the brim. Top with a plastic lid, and store in a cool, dark place for four weeks. Shake the jar to assist in extraction whenever you think of it. Strain vinegar into glass bottles. Whether it wards off our next plague or not, there’s no question artisan vinegars make a healthy addition to any meal. This "Good for You" column appeared in the July-August issue of EAT magazine.
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