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preservation Using vinegar but without the vinegar taste

Sorry it's been so long since I've been here (life happens).......Anyway today the Family and I went to a winter festival in Medina Ohio. While walking around the square we visited several lil shops and one of them was named "The Olive Tap". We went in and HOLY COW!!!!!  All different flavor infused Olive Oils and Vinegars!!!!  So many flavors that my mind went into overdrive with
Hot Sauce ideas!!!! 
 
Just wondering if anyone has used Flavored Balsamic Vinegars in their sauces???
 
I love hot sauces but hate vinegar taste. I knew there is different flavors of vinegar but this was the first time I really tried any of them and they were AWESOME!!!  The balsamics and the vincottos so many flavors....so many ideas!!!!!!  And the did NOT have the heavy vinegar taste!!!!
 
yes, and the only way to figure it out is to try them.  Several years ago, the 'Kid was playing around making sauces with me with some of our fresh chiles.  I lined out all of the vinegars I had on hand and he tasted all of them then made the decision which one he wanted to use with the fatalii chiles and fruit he wanted to use when making his first sauce.  The first one I had him try was white vin and his face did all sorts of "yuck".  :lol: 
 
Dyce51 said:
Sorry it's been so long since I've been here (life happens).......Anyway today the Family and I went to a winter festival in Medina Ohio. While walking around the square we visited several lil shops and one of them was named "The Olive Tap". We went in and HOLY COW!!!!!  All different flavor infused Olive Oils and Vinegars!!!!  So many flavors that my mind went into overdrive with
Hot Sauce ideas!!!! 
 
Just wondering if anyone has used Flavored Balsamic Vinegars in their sauces???
 
I love hot sauces but hate vinegar taste. I knew there is different flavors of vinegar but this was the first time I really tried any of them and they were AWESOME!!!  The balsamics and the vincottos so many flavors....so many ideas!!!!!!  And the did NOT have the heavy vinegar taste!!!!
Holy chit! I was in a cook shop today that had a HUGE oil and vinegar section. They had strawberry balsamic, pineapple, honey, and ginger vinegar to name a few. I had the same thought, use one of these vinegars in a sauce. I am thinking pineapple.
 
I tried one that was Serreno Honey Balsamic....it was sweet slightly spicy but so good!!!!  the strawberry balsamic was really good too!  The pineapple coconut oil really got my mind working.
 
Welcome back Dyce Man!

Good mild vinegars are rice wine and cane.

Don't think of cane as sweet, it is fully fermented, meaning all sugars have been converted, unless you buy one that purposely has a bit of sweetness left, like Steen's. A very good one btw.

Both are top vinegars for hot sauce.

Here's my tip.

Salt enhances flavor
Vinegar adds tang

Vinegar is like salt. Without salt food is bland. Too much salt it is salty. Find the right balance.
Without vinegar hot sauce has no tang. Too much, too vinegary. You don't want to taste it. You want the tang and preservative qualities. Find the right balance, and if it is not the correct pH, use something in addition, like lime or citric acid to balance the pH. This way you have your desired level for flavor and tang.

Flavored vinegars... blech. Add your own flavors. More control, and control of ingredients quality.

PS. There is a difference between flavored vinegars, and the flavor of vinegars. For example there is date vinegar and raisin vinegar. These are not flavored, this is what the vinegar is made from. Strawberry and pineapple are flavored.
 
Dyce51 said:
I love hot sauces but hate vinegar taste. I knew there is different flavors of vinegar but this was the first time I really tried any of them and they were AWESOME!!!  The balsamics and the vincottos so many flavors....so many ideas!!!!!!  And the did NOT have the heavy vinegar taste!!!!
Well of course, because they added flavors. Like when you make sauce. I say add your own flavors. Just use the right vinegar and balance. Give rw and cane a shot!
 
I'm not big on balsamic for sauces - for one it's really pricey because to be true balsamic it must come from Italy, so it's expensive. (I learned this today)
There's a purveyor of 25 year aged, flavored vinegars at my largest farmer's market & they're amazing. But the majority of them are sweet - when they're aged they lose acidity. Standard "young" balsamic is much sharper than cider vinegar in my opinion.

From my experience as a hobbyist & now a pro I think the amount of sharpness in a sauce profile has more to do with the balance of ingredients than the type of vinegar.

Several years ago I made an experimental rice wine, red onion & Thai chile sauce that was so sharp it was better used mixed 1:2 with olive oil as a spicy salad dressing than a hot sauce.

When tempering the sauce with vegetables, garlic, onion, and also depending on pepper content you can have shelf stable acidic sauces that have a very muted vinegar flavor. I like both sharp and sweet sauces so I use both distilled & cider vinegar in my sauces depending on what I'm trying to achieve.

As SL said, the best way to find your groove is to experiment! I'd look for young balsamics to play with as the price ranges from a few dollars a liter to $38 for the 25 year aged.

Good luck & post the results here!
:cheers:
 
I've tasted a few balsamic vinegars that were SOOOOOO goooood.....we drizzled them on a plate with some premium evoo, dipped crusty sour dough bread.......omg I could make a meal out of just that!   and for the price of those vinegars,  a bottle of sauce made with those would be $$$!  Sticking with the basic vinegar options are the best for sauces for economic reasons and in that they just work well.  There are lighter flavored vinegars like the rice vinegar previously mentioned. 
 
salsalady said:
I've tasted a few balsamic vinegars that were SOOOOOO goooood.....we drizzled them on a plate with some premium evoo, dipped crusty sour dough bread.......omg I could make a meal out of just that!   and for the price of those vinegars,  a bottle of sauce made with those would be $$$!  Sticking with the basic vinegar options are the best for sauces for economic reasons and in that they just work well.  There are lighter flavored vinegars like the rice vinegar previously mentioned.
True that - I traded with those market neighbors for a 25 year aged green apple white balsamic. It's the tastiest thing in my kitchen right now. I came home from the market with aged sharp goat cheese, sourdough walnut raisin bread & that vinegar - it was heaven. My neighbors & I polished off about 1/4 of the bottle. Yum!!
 
Some balsamics are vinegar, grape must, and caramel color. This is not balsamic. It must true aged balsamic, and from Modena, as LD stated.

Not hard to find, just know what to look for. I can get a 3-year from Modena for about $3. About the same price as the fake.

I'm sure the real process can be mimicked outside of Modena, but the ingredients just say: vinegar. Stay away from added must and color. This is to replicate the taste and color.
 
+++ for that THP!  Reading labels is a must.  No Pun intended.  :lol: 
 
LDHS-  can you hook a girl up with some of that FM stuff???  ;) ;) :nudge: :nudge:   
 
:cool: 
 
 
Hey I'm always up for a good pun! :d  
at work one day, I heard the Older Lady comment the case of Peach Slices was hard to lift.  I replied " well of course, they're in Extra Heavy Syrup".
 
 
 
true story~
 
:FACEPALM!!!!: 
 
 
 
I know mine was bad, but that was REALLY BAD, LDHS!!!!   
 
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