How Rough Flavors Warm Food up

Posted on | January 19, 2010 |No Comments

Vinegar is bold, rough stuff. Just the thing for snapping up a ho-hum sauces, sautes and roasts. It’s an ancient brew relied on the ages for its medicinal properties as well as its culinary uses. It’s got a main role in preserving and fermenting as well as seasoning foods, too. Without vinegar, there’s no vinaigrette.
Leatherwood Vinegary, in Long Prairie, Minnesota is the first (if not the only) one of its kind in the state. It’s vinegar is made from the fruit grown in the Leatherwood orchards and in near by gardens. Ron and Nancy Leasman have been making vinegar commercially for about 5 years now, but it’s safe to say, they’ve been at it most of their lives. Ron has always made his own wine; Nancy is an herbalist who understands how to infuse the vinegars with assorted garden flavors. To make their vinegars, Ron uses a “mother” he keeps “alive” batch after batch. Check out their website for the many different flavors — from pure apple cider to ginger orange; from raspberry to garlic and dill. And, try this simple recipe for Honey Mustard Vinaigrette. It’s terrific on salads and makes a wonderful basting sauce for chicken, too. www.leatherwoodvinegary.com

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
Makes 1 generous cup

1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 small shallots, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons coarse Dijon mustard
½ cup honey
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Put all of the ingredients into a blender EXCEPT the oil and blend on high then add the oil in a slow, steady stream.

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