Sherry vinegar

The beginning of the official history of sherry vinegar is considered to be the 16th century. In those days, in the so-called "sherry triangle, " located from the Spanish province of Andalusia, they first began to produce the world-famous type of wine vinegar. According to the recipe, sherry vinegar was produced from white grape varieties, which was also used in the sherry making process.

As a rule, Palomino, Muscatel or Pedro Jimenez grapes were used for sherry vinegar. At the initial stage of sherry vinegar production, grape juice is obtained, to which a special fungus is subsequently added. Thus, the fungus triggers natural fermentation processes. Grape juice is fermented until the wort is obtained.

Interestingly, at this stage, the resulting wort is tasted by professionals and gives an opinion on what can be produced from this wine material - sherry or sherry vinegar. It is also noteworthy that for the production of sherry vinegar, only young vinegar with a rich taste and aroma palette is used. Wort obtained from grape juice is placed in special oak barrels and maintained for a certain time.

It is worth noting that even barrels for vinegar are laid out according to a special method, which is called "soler and criader. " The solera is understood as the system of laying out a huge 500 liter barrels on top of each other, and I call the cryadera a separate row of the entire system. The solera is based on barrels of aged sherry vinegar.

In the upper rows or in cryaders there is a young sherry vinegar. Throughout the aging process, the young sherry vinegar is mixed with the aged vinegar. Thus, sherry vinegar in all barrels acquires the characteristic properties of a fairly aged and ready-to-eat product. Part of the product is gradually removed from the lower row of sherry vinegar barrels and bottled.

Then fill the barrel with young vinegar, which is mixed with the aged product. Sherry vinegar is aged in oak barrels for at least half a year. Aging elite varieties of sherry vinegar reaches 10 years. Residents of the Mediterranean region are considered the most devoted fans of sherry vinegar. Many professional chefs call sherry vinegar a kind of hallmark of Mediterranean cuisine, where the product is used everywhere to prepare a variety of culinary products.

Sherry vinegar is used to prepare stews, meat or fish dishes. In addition, sherry vinegar is used as the basis for salad dressings. For example, the classic Spanish salad dressing includes olive oil, which adds just a few drops of sherry vinegar. a product like sherry vinegar is just perfect for marinades. In addition, sherry vinegar often becomes a savory ingredient in fruit compositions.