Types of vinegar: what they are and how to use them in the kitchen

To flavor dishes of all kinds, we can use many types of vinegar. We’re not just talking about the white wine used for salads, but also apple, pear, rice and red wine vinegar. Furthermore, the same type of vinegar can have substantial differences between one producer and another, because the variety of ingredients used can change. Therefore, it is said that if you don’t like an apple cider vinegar of a specific brand, then you will never like this type of vinegar.

Vinegar has a very ancient history, so much so that traces of it have been found in an Egyptian vase about ten thousand years old. In the kitchen, today, it has become a precious ally of preparations of all kindsfrom classic recipes handed down for generations to reinterpretations by starred chefs.

Ma what are the types of vinegar and how to use them without making mistakes?

How many types of vinegar are there?

Traditionally, when we think of vinegar, thewine vinegar, produced from red or white wine. In reality, the category is fragmented into a series of sub-categories which do not limit themselves to differentiating red wine vinegar from white wine vinegar but focus on the quality of the vinegar itself.

In general, thebetter wine vinegar it is the one that is aged in wood for at least 2 years and has a strong flavour. The quality increases if we talk about superfine wine vinegarwhich starts from a base composed of raw must of Cabernet Sauvignon, Raboso and Merlot grapes.

It belongs to this category, theCabernet Sauvignon red wine vinegar Forum Novelties limited production, made from wine vinegar (70%) and grape juice (30%).

Forum Novelties Red wine vinegar

Then there are the fruit vinegars, including apple, pear, raisin and even passion fruit vinegars. Fruit vinegar is an excellent dressing for salads but also for meats, fish and even desserts.

L’apple cider vinegar it is one of the best known and has several beneficial properties, including antioxidant and rebalancing of the bacterial flora. Product of the fermentation of cider or apple must, it has an intense yellow color and is usually more cloudy than wine vinegar and with sediments on the bottom.

try theOrganic Apple Vinegar from the Mariangela Prunotto farm: it is not filtered or pasteurized, it is produced with apples grown in Italy with organic farming methods.

Mariangela Prunotto Organic Apple Vinegar

It follows, at least for notoriety, thepear vinegar, which is obtained through the fermentation of the must of pear varieties very rich in sugar. Despite the fermentation, this type of vinegar manages to maintain the fragrance and aroma typical of the variety of pear from which it is produced.

L’unfiltered pear vinegar from Monari Federzoni it is an example, ideal for dressing green salads, potatoes and for flavoring cold pasta.

Probably, however, one of the most famous vinegars in Italy is thebalsamic vinegar. That of Modena, in particular, produced exclusively in the provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia, is among the most consumed.

Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP Ponti it is the balsamic vinegar that is most frequently found in supermarkets.

Ponti Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP

Variety of balsamic vinegar

There are two types of balsamic vinegar to choose from. one is theTraditional Balsamic Vinegar DOP obtained from a long aging of specially cooked grape must, as in the case ofTraditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena DOP La Secchia.

La Secchia – Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena DOP

The second type is theBalsamic Vinegar of Modena IGPthe most widespread on the market also made up of wine vinegar and does not require long ageing, likeBalsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP by Giusti.

Giusti – Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP

In any case, balsamic vinegar itself can have different tastes based on the density of the woods in which it is aged and the type of must used. It is said that not everyone likes a type of balsamic vinegar: to figure out which is the best flavor for yourself, the solution is to try the kits and tasting boxes. For example, this Tasting Box has 5 Varieties of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP from the La Secchia company.

La Secchia – Tasting Box of 5 Varieties of Balsamic Vinegar

Balsamic vinegar, however, has made a comeback in recent years icing, which, unlike classic vinegar, is made of Balsamic Vinegar, must or concentrated grape juice and thickeners. It obviously has the consistency of a glaze, so it’s not liquid and has a very wide versatility of use: from grilled vegetables, to fresh salads, through meat, roasts, and even fruit and ice cream.

The Ponti balsamic vinegar glaze it is one of the best known.

Ponti Glaze with Balsamic Vinegar

How to use vinegar

Vinegar is commonly used in the kitchen to flavor dishes of all sorts, not only in Italian cuisine. Traditionally, theWhite wine vinegar it is used to season the salads eh raw dishes in general but also fish, in particular to make marinades and to season seafood salads based on octopus or shellfish.

There are many brands to choose from, for example theMonini white wine vinegar it is particularly suitable for the preparation of sauces, marinades and for dressing salads and fish thanks to its 7.1% acidity.

Monini White wine vinegar

L’red wine vinegar, on the other hand, is usually used to flavor dishes based on raw or cooked vegetables, for recipes based on roasted fish or to marinate red meats, given that it is characterized by intense and fruity aromas. L’Rosso Conero wine vinegarfor example, it goes perfectly with raw or cooked vegetables, sauces for boiled meats and roasts.

Rosso Conero wine vinegar

​​Even different flavor instead is that ofapple cider vinegar, with a more delicate flavor, moderate acidity. It is used to blend risottos, to flavor meats and delicate sauces and also on fruit salads. try theMeaVita Organic Apple Cider Vinegar with a fruity and acidic vinegar flavour.

MeaVita Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

Lpear vinegar, however, is the sweetest of all, has a fruity aroma, low acidity and very delicate organoleptic characteristics. For this reason it is also used to dress salads or to add flavor to more elaborate recipes. With the’Monari Federzoni unfiltered pear vinegar to flavor ceviche, the typical dish of some Latin American countries.

Unfiltered pear vinegar

Vinegar, however, in addition to a flush dressing, can become one of the main ingredients of a dishto the point that without it it wouldn’t taste the same.

Who loves to eat Japanese foodtherefore uramaki and nigiri, you must know that at the base of the exquisite taste of white rice there is a particular vinegar, therice vinegar. It has a less acidic and tastier taste, which is why it is used to prepare many dishes of Japanese cuisine.

Want to try making sushi right at home? Then you must have a rice vinegar like that of Umamiproduced without the addition of preservatives, colorings or flavor enhancers.

Umami Rice Vinegar for Sushi