Pork Chops with Apple Balsamic Vinegar and Capers and Shrub Coolers Recipes, Spotlight on Apple Balsamic Vinegar, and Pairing Vinegar with Your Fresh-Pressed Olive Oils

Vinegar Essentials, Part II

The next vinegar I want to introduce you to is one you may never have heard of, much less experienced, but the bouquet and taste are exquisite: apple balsamic vinegar. Fruity yet with a richness reminiscent of a traditional balsamic, this vinegar is so versatile that it can star in an aperitif syrup called a shrub as well as in a main course. And I’ll also show you how to pair various vinegars with Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club offerings so you can to all the benefits of olive oil in even more delicious ways.

Pork Chops with Apple Balsamic and Capers

• Pork Chops with Tomatoes and Capers

  This Mediterranean-style dish is cooked on the stovetop in a single pan and creates a rich, tomato sauce. 

  Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup white whole-wheat or all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon each coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 pork chops, each about 1/2-inch thick
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/3 cup chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium store-bought
  • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with its juice
  • 4 tablespoons capers

  Directions

  Step 1

  Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a pie plate. Heat a frying pan large enough to hold the chops (if necessary, you can cook the chops in batches). Once the pan is hot, add the olive oil and quickly coat both sides of each chop in the flour mixture, shake off any excess, and add to the pan. Sauté 5 minutes on each side or until browned. 

  Step 2

  Transfer the chops to a dish. Add the garlic to the pan and sauté slightly, then deglaze the pan with the vinegar. Add the tomatoes along with their juice, the broth, and the capers, and briefly bring to a boil.

  Step 3

  Add back the chops, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the chops are cooked through and register 145°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 10 minutes more. 

  Yields 6 servings.

Shrub

• Shrub

  Shrub is an old-fashioned sugar and vinegar syrup that’s having a renaissance. Enjoy it as a fabulous twist for Bellinis and mimosas. For a nonalcoholic alternative to lemonade and other coolers, pour two tablespoons over crushed ice in a tall glass and fill with seltzer. Add a jigger of gin to turn it into a variation of the classic Tom Collins.

  Ingredients

  For the shrub:

  • 8 ounces fresh fruit, such as blackberries or peach chunks
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup Gölles Apple Balsamic Vinegar

  For each aperitif:

  • 4–5 ounces sparkling wine, such as prosecco or champagne 
  • Berries or lime slice for garnish

  Directions

  Step 1

  To make the shrub, mash the fruit into the sugar in a glass measuring cup or bowl, cover, and put in the fridge overnight. The next day, mix in the vinegar and chill again for a few hours. Strain the mixture into a clean jar or small pitcher, pressing on the fruit to extract as much juice as possible. Taste and add more vinegar for tartness or more sugar for sweetness. Because the vinegar acts as a preservative, the shrub should last for weeks in the fridge.

  Step 2

  To make each aperitif, pour two tablespoons of the shrub into a champagne glass and top it off with sparkling wine. Garnish with berries or a lime slice. 

  Yields enough shrub for 4 to 6 drinks depending on the fruit.

Spotlight on Apple Balsamic Vinegar

A delicious modern-day creation

Much newer than most other vinegars, apple balsamic was invented just 27 years ago by Alois Gölles Jr. in Riegersburg, Austria. I’ve been a fan since I first tasted it in 2012, and it’s not hyperbole to say that Alois created a vinegar the likes of which the world had never seen.

Back in the late 1950s, his father, Alois Gölles Sr., switched from raising animals to being one of the first farmers in the area to cultivate apple trees and then black currants. Alois Jr., who runs the business today, literally grew up in the orchards. He initially created fruit wines, juices, and spirits, but had a revelation after a trip to Italy in the early ’80s, during which a cellar master told him about balsamic vinegar. “I then went to Modena, Italy, much like a tourist, to see the acetaias and learn about the process. I thought about doing something similar in Austria, but that was not possible because I wasn’t a wine grower, but an orchardist,” Alois said. “Since we were already working with apples and other fruits on wine and schnapps, it occurred to me to try a balsamic vinegar from apples.” 

He also had the foresight to use heirloom apples that had almost been forgotten. Varieties such as Maschansker, Ilzer Weinler, Rosenapfel, and Bohnapfel are sourced from just 30 or 40 small orchards in the region, some with just 10 to 20 apple trees, all chosen for their special characteristics. He also makes it a point to get every apple from each tree for a perfectly well-rounded taste. 

The fruit is first sorted and washed, then crushed and pressed into juice. Next, the juice is cooked in copper vessels for 24 hours to reduce it to a quarter of its original volume, which intensifies the flavors. The two-step fermentation process happens in big stainless-steel vats, after which the vinegar is moved into small oak barrels and aged for at least eight years, creating exceptional sweetness, a mild tartness, and a wonderfully strong aroma. I just love this unique Austrian artisanal vinegar!

Food Pairings

Enjoying apple balsamic vinegar

This vinegar gives a delicious twist to classic salads like caprese with its mozzarella, tomato, and basil; spinach, blue cheese, and walnut; and fruit-based salads. Pair it with pork dishes, grilled fish, carpaccio, goat cheese, pâtés, and terrines. Just a few drops brighten savory dishes, especially oven-roasted root vegetables, as well as sweet panna cotta-type puddings and vanilla ice cream. Use it for deglazing and making a quick reduction—add some butter and you have an amazing sauce for steak. 

Healthy Kitchen Nugget

Pairing vinegar varieties with your fresh-pressed olive oils 

While I don’t believe in any hard-and-fast rules, I do like using milder vinegars with milder oils so that one doesn’t overwhelm the other. If you’re using a fruitier mild olive oil from the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club, pair it with apple balsamic. If you’re using a bold selection, go with a bold vinegar like red wine vinegar. Think about the foods on the plate, too. If you’re making a salad with bitter greens, add sweetness with a balsamic or sherry vinegar. If you’re making a chopped salad with provolone and salami, use red wine vinegar to balance the richness of the meat and cheese. I also like to combine vinegars for a vinaigrette with great complexity—use half balsamic for sweetness and half red wine vinegar for tartness along with your extra virgin olive oil. 

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The Best BBQ Sauce and Red Wine Vinaigrette Recipes, Gastrique À L’Orange, Spotlight on Red Wine Vinegar

Ever since I introduced my fresh-pressed olive oils, I’ve been asked about the right vinegars to pair them with. I believe in having a full collection of vinegars, but red wine vinegar is a pantry essential—it’s amazingly versatile. And vinaigrettes are just the tip of the culinary iceberg when it comes to how many dishes red wine vinegar enhances. To show you what I mean, I’m sharing three very different recipes along with red wine vinegar’s intriguing history and why I went to Portugal to source it for my new collection of artisanal vinegars.

The Best BBQ Sauce

• The Best BBQ Sauce

  This sweet and tangy sauce is great on ribs as well as roast chicken—and it makes a terrific topping for your favorite style of burger!

  Ingredients

  • 3 cups ketchup
  • 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, such as Vinagre de Touriga Nacional
  • 6-ounce can tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons powdered yellow mustard
  • 2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated, or 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

  Directions

  Step 1

  Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and stir to mix.

  Step 2

  Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

  Yields about 4 cups

Red Wine Vinaigrette

• Red Wine Vinaigrette

  Simple and superb! This sweet and tangy sauce is great on ribs as well as roast chicken—and it makes a terrific topping for your favorite style of burger!

  Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, such as Vinaigre de Banyuls
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/2 small garlic clove, peeled and minced  
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

  Directions

  Step 1

  In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, honey, the 1/8 teaspoon of salt, and garlic.

  Step 2

  Gradually whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Season to taste with black pepper and more salt.

  Yields about 1/3 cup

Gastrique À L’Orange

• Gastrique À l’Orange

  This quintessential French sweet-and-sour sauce is a wonderful way to dress duck and beef, especially when the meat is seared. The ingredients are simple: sugar, vinegar, and fruit juice or purée. Here is the classic gastrique recipe, but have fun experimenting with different combinations using this basic technique. 

  Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, such as Vinagre de Touriga Nacional
  • Juice of one orange

  Directions

  Step 1

  In a sauté pan over medium heat and without stirring, slowly heat the sugar until it caramelizes. Lower the heat and carefully whisk in the vinegar.

  Step 2

  Next, add the juice, whisking continuously (if the mixture hardens, the heat will melt it again). Continue cooking until the liquid reaches a syrupy consistency, but don’t let it get too thick or it will solidify—take it off the heat just before you think it’s done.

  Yields about a 1/4 cup, enough to sauce two portions of your chosen protein
  

Spotlight on Red Wine Vinegar

The finest vinegar comes from the finest grapes

The history of red wine vinegar dates back to Roman times, but it was arguably the French who turned it into a culinary staple when, as legend has it, wine abandoned in the area of Orléans turned to vinegar on its own. The city became the de facto vinegar capital of France, and the Orléans method of barrel-aging was adopted around the world.

Of course, France doesn’t have a lock on making fine vinegar. I discovered the amazing Vinagre de Touriga Nacional offered in my Curated Culinary Collection of artisanal vinegars in Almendra, Portugal, at CARM, the Casa Agricola Roboredo Madeira (if you missed my email about the collection, just click on the link in the P.S. below!). Members of the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club have come to know my dear friends Filipe Roboredo Madeira, his brother, António, and their father, Celso—now 88 and still going strong—and the story of how Celso made the delicious decision more than two decades ago to revive the centuries-old olive groves on their estate. This is also where the country’s oldest-noted wine region begins—the Demarcated Douro and Port Wine Region was recognized in 1756 and made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001—and the grapes grown here are legendary. The family’s vineyards are at an average altitude of about 1,000 feet with an eastward exposure. The confluence of geography and climate enables the production of grapes that create aromatic, fresh, and elegant wines.

To craft a vinegar worthy of his olive oil, Filipe decided to use only Touriga Nacional grapes, considered by many the finest of Portugal’s red wine grapes. Both red wine and red wine vinegar are made by fermenting red grapes, but vinegar requires an additional step, a second fermentation that turns the wine’s natural sugars into acetic acid. It’s a painstaking endeavor, with the typical aging process for red wine vinegar being two years. Of course, Filipe had other ideas—the vinegar that’s part of my collection of artisanal vinegars has been aged for 20 years!

Food Pairings

Enjoying Red Wine Vinegar

Many red wine vinegars are very concentrated, including my Vinagre de Touriga Nacional, so use it judiciously—add, taste, and then add more as desired. Use it in soups and stews, in beans with chorizo and rice, with fried fish, and in the cod dish bacalao; in wild green and vegetable salads and sautés; in antipasto salads and with grilled cheeses; and in herb-based sauces and marinades. It’s perfect for quick-pickling cucumbers and red onions and as a finishing touch for caramelized vegetables such as onions, potatoes, and beets, and for fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and cod. 

Healthy Kitchen Nugget

Versatile vinegar

Here are two of my favorite ways to cook with red wine vinegar:

Deglazing. Use vinegar instead of (or even in addition to) wine to deglaze a pan and turn the fond—those dark, flavorful bits that collect on the bottom of your pan—into a rich and quick sauce.

Marinating. Because vinegar is acidic, it helps break down and tenderize protein fibers for juicier grilled meat.

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