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The World of
Vinegar
BY DANA JACOBI
FOR THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RESEARCH |
Pungent vinegar has been around
even longer than wine, although its name comes from vin aigre,
French for sour wine. Vinegar occurs naturally when certain bacteria
convert the alcohol in a fermented base into acetic acid. Instead
of wine, the base may be apples, beer, or grain, producing cider
vinegar, malt vinegar (from beer made without hops), Asian rice
vinegar and distilled white vinegar, which starts with grain
alcohol and is distilled as well as fermented.
Industrially-produced wine
vinegar may also be distilled, a heat process that drives off
many of the volatile compounds that give brewed vinegar its complex
flavor. For brewed vinegar, which costs more because it takes
longer to produce, the wine or other base is inoculated with
bacteria and set aside in metal vats or wooden barrels that also
enhance the vinegars flavor. This second fermentation takes
months, even years. For the true balsamic vinegar of Modena,
Italy, for example, fermentation can last up to 100 years, the
aging taking place in a series of different size casks, each
made of a different kind of wood, and all adding their own flavor
notes.
The bacteria that create vinegar
clump together, forming a mass called mother of vinegar.
Sometimes you find a mother floating in a vinegar
bottle. If you save this gelatinous skin and add it to wine,
youll have a starter for making your own vinegar.
You can buy vinegar flavored
with garlic and fresh herbs, especially tarragon or basil, to
use in salad dressings or sprinkle on sliced tomatoes, steamed
broccoli, green beans and other cooked vegetables. These commercial
vinegars are preferable to making them, because if you do not
follow proper procedures the wrong bacteria might turn up and
make you ill.
Vinegar is the base for chimichurri,
the sauce Argentines love. Loaded with garlic and parsley, it
is excellent with poultry and spooned over warm beans. Argentines
use chimchurri on grilled meat like we use ketchup or steak sauce.
I love it as an all-purpose sauce, or even as a salad dressing.
It is good on grilled or baked salmon, burgers and beef, or tofu.
Chimichurri
Sauce - Makes 1 cup,
or 8 1-tablespoon servings.
- 3 firmly packed cups flat-leaf
parsley leaves (1 large bunch)
- 6 garlic cloves, coarsely
chopped
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. sweet paprika
- 1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
- 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. kosher or sea salt
(1/2 tsp. table salt)
- 1/4 cup white wine or cider
vinegar
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
Place parsley and garlic in
a food processor or blender. (If using a blender, add vinegar
first.) Pulse until parsley and garlic are roughly chopped. Add
oregano, paprika, pepper sauce, black pepper, and salt. Pour
in vinegar and water. Blend until parsley is well-chopped but
not puréed. With the motor running, drizzle in the oil.
Per serving: 22 calories, 2
g. total fat (less than 1 g. saturated fat), 1 g. carbohydrate,
less than 1 g. protein, less than 1 g. dietary fiber, 79 mg.
sodium.
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Something Different
is written by Dana
Jacobi, author of 12 Best Foods Cookbook and contributor to AICRs
New American Plate Cookbook: Recipes for a Healthy Weight and
a Healthy Life.
The American Institute for Cancer Research
(AICR) is the cancer
charity that fosters research on the relationship of nutrition,
physical activity and weight management to cancer risk, interprets
the scientific literature and educates the public about the results.
It has contributed more than $86 million for innovative research
conducted at universities, hospitals and research centers across
the country. AICR has published two landmark reports that interpret
the accumulated research in the field and is committed to a process
of continuous review. AICR also provides a wide range of educational
programs to help millions of Americans learn to make dietary
changes for lower cancer risk. Its award-winning New American
Plate program is presented in brochures, seminars and on its
Web site, www.aicr.org.
AICR is a member of the World Cancer Research Fund International.
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