Dessert Vinegar: Stylish AND healthy (in Japan)

I'm not sure how I stumbled onto this:

Dessert Vinegar - a new, stylish and healthy alternative
Following the increase in popularity of vinegar based drinks, the one and only vinegar sommelier has recently come into the media spotlight with a mission to spread the various ways vinegar can be enjoyed. It was the vinegar sommelier's fruit based dessert vinegar that first sparked public interest, and now there are a variety of flavors including blueberry and Muscat. The sommelier recommends that these dessert vinegars be mixed with not only water but also milk, distilled spirits, or wine, and can also be enjoyed with ice cream and yogurt. A spoonful of this dessert vinegar in curry is said to add depth to its flavor, and in the wintertime, this vinegar can simply be mixed with hot water or put on croissants with butter. The high level of creativity that is demonstrated in his introduction of dessert vinegar is representative of the time and dedication required by the Japanese food and beverage industry to gain and sustain local consumers' attention, who are known to be the most demanding in the world.

Hmm. Vinegar and yogurt?

But then I remembered: my absolute favorite vinegar producer in the world, Doktorenhof, has been making vinegars for use in finishing desserts, savories as well as drinking, for years. Doktorenhof makes elegant vinegars, produced by George Heinrich Wiedemann in Germany, both in small and large batches, depending on the product. Some are sold in hand-blown crystal; others are simply packed in glass. I was first introduced to it by my chef at the Four Seasons eight years ago, who was spraying it on some kind of meat dish just before he sent it out to the table. The "Noble Vinegars" are meant to be consumed as aperitifs or digestifs. The Doktorenhof websites even sells the glasses that Wiedemann recommends you use. The vinegars are made from numerous bases, including honey, riesling, dandelion, rose balsam, orange blossom, etc. They are sweet, concentrated, and viscous.

Unfortunately, there aren't too many importers of Doktorenhof - those that do tend to sell exclusively to foodservice.

I have yet to find it in Chicago. Has anyone found it here?

Hi,

While I have no idea where to find your preferred vinegar. I hope you won't mind a few comments on vinegars.

I will venture to guess vinegar isn't so far fetched an idea after Balsamic vinegar drizzled on strawberries became vogue some years ago. I have made black currant vinegar in the past where a suggested use was diluting it to taste with water over ice as a drink.

While white or cider vinegar for pickling has to be at least 5% acidity; which is not characteristic of all vinegars. When I was learning to pickle fruits and vegetables, I was advised to wait 4-8 weeks after canning to allow the pickle to mature. If opened earlier, then they may have a brash, strong taste.

It was around this time, Cook's Illustrated had an article on how to make pickles today which you could eat fairly promptly. These were small batches kept in the refrigerator, not intended for processing and storage. They suggested using rice vinegars because they were lower acid, less intense and lent a softener vinegar taste akin to fully processed pickles allowed to mature. Every time I make pickles this article pops up in my mind. I've considered making the two types of pickles, using different vinegars and processing methods to test CI's opinion.

I'm quite fascinated by your comments of Chef's using vinegars to dress an entree before exiting the kitchen. If you have more information on that, then please do tell.

Thanks for highlighting such an interesting detail on vinegars.

Regards,

A recent Good Eats on vinegars suggested freezing vinegar into a granita (hashed up with a fork) to serve over strawberries, so that the volatility of the vinegar doesn't reach your nose. Haven't tried it yet. Certainly not with the good balsamic.

The current (i.e. Jan. 2006) issue of Fine Cooking has a short blurb on Acetoria Dessert Wine Vinegar. Not cheap, but looks interesting - from botryisized (sp?) grapes.

I put vinegar on Greek yogurt a lot. It started with some fig-flavored balsamic vinegar someone gave me.

After a quick google search, it seems that fine vinegar was a fad that just didn't stick.

I found one restaurant whose use of Doktorenhof is getting them a lot of press:

Bizcaya, Ritz Carlton Miami wrote:Canadian Foie Gras
Cognac Steeped Wild Cherries and Toasted Butter Brioche served with Doktorenhof Sipping Vinegar
22

Here's a good article about Doktorenhof:
http://www.asiacuisine.com.sg/Nacws/199 ... print.html

And from an article about Seasons at the Four Seasons, from 1998:

Wine Spectator, December 15, 1998 wrote: ...The 10 different varieties include Chardonnay with orange blossom honey, Portuguese grape with chestnut honey, and Pinot Noir ice wine. Essig is sold at the restaurant for $5 a glass and from $50 to $90 a bottle.

"These vinegars were intended to clean the palate between courses, but that's not set in stone," says Andreas Kappenhagen, the director at Seasons. "Guests enjoy them as aperitifs or after-dinner drinks, and we think of the bottles as collectibles because pretty much every one looks different." ... Seasons executive chef Mark Baker and general manager Hans Willimann were first intrigued by the designer vinegars at a food festival in Switzerland. They debuted at the restaurant about three years ago (1995) and have been hits ever since

Too bad this stuff isn't much available anymore - it really is one of the nicest lines of vinegars I have ever tasted.