vinegar

DIY

3 Culinary Projects To Start This Weekend

Porky mescal, homemade shrubs and marinated shrooms

Mar 2, 2013 4:02 pm

We've got a few projects on deck to keep you occupied this weekend: two beverage-oriented endeavors, plus a fantastic little bar snackeroo to go with them. Now we assume if you have nothing to do today, it's only because your ribs are confit-ing. Have a shrub-spiked cocktail while you wait.

Drink Better

Cocktail Class: How To Make Your Own Shrubs At Home

Sub for cordials, bitters or lime in cocktails

Feb 26, 2013 4:02 pm

Prohibition is passé. For an inspired cocktail, turn to the Colonial era for a sophisticated, fruit-flavored elixir. The cocktails of the moment are made with shrubs — fruit-flavored vinegars that add a refreshingly tart dimension with every sip. Read on for a brief history of shrubs and three new twists on the classic recipe.

Drink Better

Strawberry Black Pepper Shrub Recipe

White vinegar based light libation perfect for rum

Feb 25, 2013 6:10 pm

White balsamic vinegar has a cleaner finish than the traditional variety, plus it keeps your cocktail from turning a murky brown color. Stir a tablespoon into your favorite rum cocktail for a drink that’s fruity but not frilly.

Whatchamacallit?

Can Vinegar Go Bad?

Vinegar's shelf life is quite a life. How long?

Feb 5, 2013 3:01 pm

It's tangy, fashionable to drink when mixed with water, largely responsible for humanity's obsession with pickling and, quite frankly, we will not eat fish and chips without the malt variety. It's vinegar. But the big question: is that sticky bottle of it in the back of your pantry still good?

Killer Sides

Crispy Potatoes With Shallots Recipe

A splash of vinegar makes these potatoes pop

Aug 30, 2012 5:01 pm

Try this new technique for frying potatoes from Alex Guarnaschelli, chef/owner of The Darby, where these potatoes are super-popular. Guarneschelli recommends using Baker potatoes if you can find them, but russets or another starchy potato will do the trick as well.

Kitchen Talk

Could Black Vinegar Be The New Balsamic?

Swap pricy bottles for black vinegar — here's why

Aug 17, 2012 1:01 pm

Why use Chinese black vinegar instead of balsamic? Other than in protest of the $75 bottles the size of hotel shampoos that come in their own limited-edition hand-numbered glass cases? The same reason you drink beer, surprisingly. Find out after the jump.

Cooler Condiments

What Is Malt Vinegar?

Malt vinegar: a British condiment worth its salt

Apr 6, 2012 3:01 pm

If you've ever been to a place with fish and chips on the menu, malt vinegar is a good condiment to know and love. Malt is the term for germinated and dried grains of barley, used in adding a rich, nutty, toasty flavor to some of our very favorite things. Like beer. And milkshakes. And the vinegar we copiously shake onto fish and chips.

How-Tos

What The Hell Is A Gastrique?

Sauce is the true definition of "dress to impress"

Feb 27, 2012 2:01 pm

The best thing about learning how to make a gastrique is that it's extremely easy for the clueless chef to do. It makes a simple dish look like it just came across the kitchen line of a four-star restaurant. Easy to pull off and automatically classy, this basic sauce is the true definition of "dress to impress."