Vinegar can be produced from any food including natural sugar. Sugar must be fermented with yeast for alcohol and some certain types of bacteria must convert it to vinegar. Acetic acid’s quality, level and other species indicated the taste and quality of vinegar. There are many additional ingredients like herbs, fruits and spices in the traditional vinegars. Also the level of acidic acid left from second fermentation indicated the taste of vinegar. Vinegar became popular firstly in American kitchens then became worldwide popular. Today it’s possible to see vinegar in many diets because main effect of vinegar is balancing flavors without addition of more butter or cream. How many types of vinegar are there?
White vinegar is one of the most common vinegar types using in the American kitchens. Some American people make it from grain-based ethanol but today it’s mostly producing from laboratory-produced acetic acid. Its taste is some stronger than standard vinegar. It’s very popular in pickling and also many women use white vinegar in house cleaning.
Apple cider vinegar is also very popular in America. It has a lighter taste than other vinegar types. Many recipes use it to add a flavor taste to meal. Also it’s popular to see apple cider vinegar usage on salads, condiments and dressings. Apple cider vinegar is also selling today in global market.
Wine vinegar has many traditional and industrial recipes today. It’s mainly a blend of red wines or white wines. Wine vinegar is very common in Europe but Americans do not prefer it so much. Especially Wine vinegar is very popular in Germany. Many popular cooks use wine vinegar to add an extra and unique flavor to meal. Traditional wine vinegar must be preferred because most of the industrial recipes are adding natural raspberry flavoring because it has not enough taste. Original wine’s quality indicated the quality of vinegar. But it’s rare to see vinegar making from old and high quality wines. Spanish people like vinegar made from sherry wine.
Balsamic vinegar is also a popular vinegar type all over the world. There are today 2 subtypes of balsamic vinegar as traditional and industrial. Modena, Italy is the birthplace of balsamic vinegar and there’s still production of this vinegar type in area. Area has many experienced crafters who produce handmade balsamic vinegars. They use Modena’s Trebbiano grapes for these vinegar types. It must be aged at least 6 years but there are some products aged for over 25 years. Main difference between balsamic vinegar and industrial vinegar is aging. Industrial vinegar doesn’t need be to aging for taste so it’s not expensive as traditional.
Rice vinegar is the traditional vinegar of Japan. It’s popular with pale yellow color. Japans use it mostly for sushi preparation. Traditional rice vinegar must be produced from rice sugar and must be aged. Latest process for this vinegar is filtering and taste is mild. It’s now possible to see red and black versions of rice vinegar in the Japan markets. Chinese people also use it in their stir-fry dishes.
Also Southeast Asian cooking cuisine use coconut vinegar in their some dishes. It’s mainly acidic and has a yeasty taste. Especially Indian and Thai kitchen use it for fish and fries.
Malt vinegar is very popular in Britain. Color of malt vinegar is very close to deep-brown ale. It has a long process like wine and it must be aged. It has a malt flavor. Also a new industrial version of malt vinegar is possible in British markets. It has lower acetic acid in it and colored with some caramel.
