On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1458

pickles,saladdressings,andmustards.
Distilled Vinegars Distilled vinegar in the
United States is white vinegar made with
distilled alcohol; in the United Kingdom, it’s
vinegarthatismadebyaceticfermentationof
unhopped beer, and then distilled to
concentratetheaceticacid.
Vinegar Strength When developing and
following recipes in which vinegar is a
prominent ingredient, cooks should take care
to note not only the kind of vinegar, but also
thestrength,whichisusuallyindicatedonthe
label. In the United States, most industrially
produced vinegars are adjusted to 5% acetic
acid,butmanywinevinegarsare7%oreven
stronger. Mild Japanese rice vinegars, by
contrast, may be 4% (the U.S. minimum),
black Chinese vinegars as little as 2%. A
spoonfulmaythusprovidehalfasmuchacetic
acidasexpected,ortwiceasmuch,depending
onthevinegarsthatarecalledforandactually


used.
BalsamicVinegar

Truebalsamicvinegar,acetobalsamico,isa
vinegarlikenoother:almostblackincolor,
syrupy,sweet,remarkablycomplexinflavor,
andremarkablyexpensive,allthanksto
decades-longfermentation,aging,and

concentrationinwoodcasks.Ithasbeenmade
inthenorthernItalianstateofEmiliaRomagnasincemedievaltimes.Individual
householdsproducedtheirownasakindof
general-purpose,soothingtonic,orbalsam.It
wasn’tuntilthe1980sthattherestofthe
worlddiscoveredbalsamicvinegar,a
discoverythatfosteredthedevelopmentof
lesselaborateandlesscostlyapproximations.
Thelabeltermtradizionale,“traditional,”is
reservedfortheoriginalversion.
UsingBalsamicVinegar