This is a highly recommended column that explores what people in the food industry are obsessed with eating, drinking, and buying right now.
As a longtime salad lover, I understand the importance of vinegar. I respect it. I use it with a light hand, carefully and skillfully, to ensure that my leafy vegetables are tender and light and not sour in the mouth. For maximum salad enjoyment, I always have a few varieties ready – ACV, balsamic vinegar, wine vinegar, maybe a champagne, rice or sherry – for the longing end. Just one touch! But then I discovered Tart Celery Vinegar, and now, instead of being a predictable supporting actor, vinegar is the star of every show.
When you think, “Celery vinegar? Is that like the raspberry balsamic in the back of my parents’ pantry? ”Know that tart has nothing to do with those flavored vinegars from the 90s. Tart founder Christina Crawford makes small batches of double fermented vinegar at her Red Hook factory from products carefully sourced from collectors and farms that use regenerative agriculture. She doesn’t just add vinegar juice and put a cork in it. Instead, Crawford mixes celery stalks with filtered water, a mother of vinegar, natural yeast, and sugar, and then lets them ferment for up to two years. What’s in this green bottle is alive and raw (most commercial vinegars are pasteurized), hearty and plant-based with just the right amount of wrinkles.
Since bringing my first bottle home, I’ve been using Tarts Celery Vinegar not only in salad dressings, but also in marinades (for the ultimate flavor absorber tofu), cocktails (try a G&T) and sauces (hello zingy salsa verde). It’s my first choice to finish off a pot of beans or raw grilled and roasted vegetables, and my perfect summer drink is Topo Chico with a healthy dash of celery vin. I even used it to subtly flavor a cream cheese frosting for a parsnip and ginger cake.
While celery remains my favorite, I also resort to Crawford’s market-inspired limited-edition, “can’t believe these flavors actually exist” like persimmon, Japanese knotweed, oro blanco and coriander whenever there’s a new drop. At $ 20 a bottle, I try to exercise restraint and portion sour vinegars like a rare type of truffle. Unless I can’t. As I head into salad season, I’m already thinking about how to use my next bottle. Maybe a coleslaw on celery on celery on celery. Shaved stem, torn leaf, sprinkled seeds and of course a heavy dash of vinegar.
Source * www.bonappetit.com – * Source link
