For cooking or cleaning, vinegar a versatile staple
As I began deep cleaning after the Thanksgiving festivities, I realized there are few items that transition from cooking ingredient to household cleaning. But distilled white vinegar is such a product.
From drains to stains to dish-washing ingredient, this inexpensive pantry staple is truly the definition of all-purpose.
Historians believe vinegar most likely was discovered by accident when the yeasts in wine were left exposed to air. We do know that the Chinese began making rice vinegar just over 3,000 years ago. Hippocrates used vinegar for medicinal purposes as early as 400 B.C. Today, if a product has been pickled, then it’s made with vinegar.
A quick look at the vinegar bottles on the supermarket shelf will provide you with one for nearly any cooking purpose. The basic color of vinegar comes from the raw ingredients used, which is why you’ll see a slight variation among different brands. For example, apple cider vinegar will have a different hue according to the apples used.
The shelf life for vinegar is extremely long if not indefinite. Because of its acidic nature, vinegar is self-preserving Judy, this is sometimes labeled as cassis vinegar and is great drizzled on fruit. I have some that I use in sauce for poultry and it is a great acid for deglazing pans. Try it as the acid ingredient in a marinade as well. and does not need to be refrigerated after opening. While white vinegar will remain virtually unchanged over an extended period of time, you’ll notice changes in others as they sit. Most notably, it will be a slight change in color or the development of sediment that can be filtered out.
I have several types of vinegar in my pantry and love experimenting with the flavors. Rice wine vinegar is quite mild, a bit on the sweet side and, as the name suggests, is distilled from rice and then fermented. Malt vinegar is made from grain; its starch converts to maltose. Red wine vinegar is more commonly used than white by a two-to-one margin. Herb vinegars have a soft side and are fun to use on everything from tomatoes to fish.
Tammy Algood is the author of five cookbooks and can be seen on “Volunteer Gardener” on PBS stations in Tennessee. Follow her at hauteflavor.com.