Contents
Red wine fermented a second time, by Acetobacter, into acetic acid. It is the default acid for European cold food — sharp, fruity, and robust enough to stand up to olive oil and a strong cheese where a gentler vinegar would vanish.
Why acid is the slot people skip
Cold suppresses the perception of both salt and aroma. A dressing balanced in a warm pan reads flat straight from the fridge, and the reflex is to add more oil or more mayonnaise when the answer is almost always acid and salt. Hence the ratio adjustment on Cold Meals: a classic vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part acid, but for a grain bowl go to 2 : 1, because the grain absorbs and dulls it.
The vinaigrette
Whisk the vinegar with salt first, so the salt dissolves in the water phase, then the dijon mustard, then the oil in a thin stream. The mustard is the emulsifier; without it the dressing separates within minutes.
Where each vinegar belongs
| Vinegar | Acidity | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Red wine | 6–7 % | Grain bowls, pasta salad, robust dressings |
| White wine | 6–7 % | Delicate salads, pickling |
| Sherry | 7–8 % | gazpacho, anything Spanish. Nutty, worth buying |
| Cider | 5 % | Pickling, slaws |
| rice vinegar | 4–5 % | East Asian dressings, sushi rice |
| Balsamic (aged) | — | A finishing syrup, not a vinaigrette acid |
Supermarket "balsamic vinegar of Modena" is mostly wine vinegar with grape must and caramel; true aged tradizionale is a different and much more expensive product, used in drops.
Keeping
Indefinitely, cool and dark. A cloudy strand may form — that is a harmless "mother" of cellulose and bacteria. Strain it out or ignore it.
Elsewhere on the site
Used in: farro salad · orzo salad · barley salad · cold lentil bowl · cold pasta salad · italian sub · pickled red onion · gazpacho
Related: rice vinegar · dijon mustard · olive oil · vinegar · lemon