[Sca-cooks] good brands of vinegar

[Avraham haRofeh]

> Even though I love vinegar and cook with it a lot when I cook, I really
> don't have a sense of what brands are best, or where to get the 'good
> stuff'. You do as many sauce and mustard classes as I do, you generally
> buy the cheap stuff in bulk. :) So... what kind/brands do y'all
> recommend?  How do you tell a good vinegar?

In July '01, Cook's Illustrated did a tasting of balsamic vinegars. 
"Balsamic" is not a protected term in America as it is in Italy, so you get 
an amazing array of crap labelled "balsamic vinegar" from American 
producers. I'm sure you would never buy a vinegar with artificial color or 
sweetener, but that's a sure giveaway of a bad vinegar. In their tasting, 
three come "highly recommended": 365 Every Day Value brand (isn't this Whole 
Foods' house label?), Masserie di Sant' Eramo and Fiorucci Riserva (my 
favorite). Colavita was labelled "recommended". Regina was "not recommended" 
and Progresso was not tasted.

In a related tasting, in Jan '03, they tasted red wine vinegars. Here, two 
were "highly recommended": Spectrum Naturals Organic Red Wine Vinegar and 
Pompeian. Both fared well next to "high-end" vinegars like "O" Zinfandel 
Vinegar. Colavita, Progresso and Regina all fared poorly in this tasting.

****************
Reb Avraham haRofeh
     (mka Randy Goldberg MD)
Quarterly azure and argent, four mascles counterchanged
Random Tag: Solving problems is easier if you haven't picked your solution before you start. - Azelin Cola of Wishford a/k/a Ralph the Carter, "Silverwing's Laws"