Vinegar Friday



Photo courtesy of Fran Hogan

 TGIVF!!

Well, here it is again, another Vinegar Friday. Yesterday while I was in my office working, the smell of stew wafted upstairs, tempting me with its voluptuousness. By the time we sat down to dinner, the ingredients, harmonizing in perfection (if I must say so myself), were in direct contrast to some of the so-called singers auditioning to be the next American Idol. Perhaps they just needed a dash of balsamic vinegar. After all, it proved to be the key ingredient in the stew.

If you have not discovered the virtues of balsamic vinegar, perhaps it is time to do so. This is one vinegar I am not going to extol because of its superior cleaning properties, or its ability to heal. This is vinegar that gets my highest praise based on taste alone.

Oddly enough, those of us living in North America have only recently discovered this gem over the last twenty years or so. It is the Italians who have reaped the rewards of knowing its value for centuries.

While many believe it to be a wine vinegar, the truth is balsamic vinegar is made from unfermented grape pressings from the white Trebbiano grapes. What makes true balsamic vinegar so costly is the aging process it must go through, starting with the dark syrup (a result of boiling down the grape pressings) in oaken kegs, where it remains, literally, for years. Eventually it is transferred to ash, cherrywood, chestnut, juniper and mulberry kegs, with each wood adding its unique properties to the vinegar. If you want to splurge on the most expensive balsamic vinegar, you can experience the flavoring of vinegar that has been aged for over one hundred years in Northern Italy in Modena. Let me know if you go that route!

Of course, you get what you pay for, so if you opt for the least expensive balsamic out there, expect to find sulfites (used as a preservative). As this can lead to an allergy problem in those with sensitivities to sulfites, watch out. There are sulfite-free balsamic vinegars available. You just have to pay a little more. What you want to look for are the words aceto balsamico tradizionale, indicating the traditional Modena aging and processing has been used.

Even without the preservatives, balsamic vinegar has a long shelf life. As a matter of fact, its shelf life is infinite. Just keep it away from heat.

If you are generally not a vinegar fan, try boiling some balsamic vinegar for awhile. What you will end up with is a sweet, non-acidic liquid that you will soon find yourself craving. Especially if you experience what it does to fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries or peaches when sprinkled with small amounts. Oh my. One word of caution, however: make sure you are not heating the vinegar in an aluminum pan or storing or marinating in an aluminum container. You want to use materials that are non-reactive.

What I discovered last night was how a splash of balsamic vinegar truly brings out the flavor of each unique component of stew. It leaves me wondering why I have never reached for this magic ingredient when cooking before. It is astonishing what a couple of teaspoons of it can do to liven up the flavor of stews, soups or sauces. If you are opting for low sodium, but not quite so yummy, canned soups, adding a touch of balsamic vinegar might be the very thing that takes the soup from okay to amazing.

So now that I have you adding balsamic vinegar to your grocery shopping list, I thought it would be nice if I provided a couple of recipes, starting with a barbecue sauce that would be delicious on wings for your Super Bowl party.

Balsamic Barbecue Sauce

1 1/2 cup ketchup                     

2/3 cup balsamic vinegar

2/3 cup light-colored corn syrup

1/2 cup finely diced onion

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Cayenne pepper to taste, optional

Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a non-aluminum saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.

Prepare wings as you normally do, brushing with sauce during the last 10 minutes of cooking time.                           

                            

***

Now this next recipe may not be for Super Bowl Sunday, but it sure would be a tasty addition to a roasted chicken meal or a vegetarian meal.

Balsamic Carrots

1 cup balsamic vinegar

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon dried dill or marjoram

1 pound fresh carrots, sliced

Bring the vinegar to a boil in a small, non-aluminum saucepan. Turn the heat to medium and keep the vinegar at a slow boil, reducing it to a thick, syrupy 3/4 cup or so.

Combine the next 3 ingredients in a bowl and add carrots. Toss gently to coat the carrots with the mixture. Remove carrots and place in a steamer. Steam for 15 minutes, or until slightly soft.

Heat the remaining oil mixture in a non-aluminum skillet. Add cooked carrots. Brush with the balsamic vinegar syrup and lightly brown.

***

Does that sound delicious, or what?! I think we're having carrots tonight!

Enjoy your weekend. And enjoy your new recipes. Mangia!

Keeping it tasty with vinegar,

Hana

Vinegar Friday

TGIVF!!

I spent most of Thursday in the library researching and writing a magazine article on pet nutrition. While I was there, I picked up a nifty little book called, what else?!...The Vinegar Book. It's just a simple book of tips compiled by Emily Thacker. Twelfth Edition. Must have been a popular resource. Much like I hope my own Vinegar Fridays book will be when it comes out.

As I was scanning through the pages, after my article was done, mind you...I was mildly annoyed by the sound of persistant coughing a few rows over. I wanted to tell this poor suffering soul to go home!! The amount of germs she was releasing into the library's atmosphere was startling! And disconcerting. And...well...annoying. She was actually irritating me more than the little boy who was talking incessantly and quite loudly a few feet away from me for a good ten minutes or so while his mother perused the shelves for a book in the crafts' section. Take him home! I wanted to say, every so politely.

You see, I was in the library. A place traditionally known as a quiet zone. I love quiet. I do not like noise...of any kind. When I am at home, I generally do not have the television on unless I am watching it. Occasionally, I will let music accompany my day, but usually, it is just quiet. The way I like it.

Not only was I in the library, but I was situated with my laptop and an array of research books in an area marked 'For Silent Study Only.' Coughing lady...I want silence! Little boy...I want silence! Young man on your cell phone...I want silence!

Well, guess what? You can't always get what you want. Which is probably what you are thinking as you are reading this...you came here wanting to read about vinegar and all you've got so far is the ranting of a somewhat mad woman. Sorry. It's been one of those weeks.

Back to The Vinegar Book. As I searched its pages, looking for a new tidbit of vinegar wisdom, trying not to be bothered by the hack, hack...cough, cough I was hearing, I actually discovered something new and potentially helpful to me in the future. If you, or someone you know, has asthma, this tip's for you!

"Asthma can be relieved by combining the advantages of accupressure with the benefits of apple cider vinegar. Use a wide rubber band to hold gauze pads, which have been soaked in vinegar, to the inside of the wrists."

Hmmm. I am almost wishing I had an asthma attack to try this one out. If any of you get the chance to try it, let me know how it works! Ms. Thacker does not specify how long you are to keep the gauze on your wrists, but I am certainly willing to give it a try. I was wishing I had some gauze and ACV at the library to pass it on to the hacking princess...

So, in addition to the asthma remedy, I discovered some other new-to-me remedies as well. Like this one for nausea:

"Banish the discomfort of nausea or vomiting by placing a cloth wrung out of warm apple cider vinegar on the stomach. Replace with another warm cloth when it cools."

I hope Emily doesn't mind my quoting directly from the book, but since these are such unique ideas, I would rather use her words than my own.

One more, cloth-soaked-in-vinegar tip:

"Soothe tired or sprained muscles by wrapping the afflicted area with a cloth wrung out of apple cider vinegar. Leave it on for 3 to 5 minutes and repeat as needed. For extra special relief, add a good dash of cayenne pepper to the vinegar."

While I am enjoying Emily Thacker's book, I do find one problem with it. She does not specify what type of apple cider vinegar to ingest for its healing properties. This is a major flaw in the book, as filtered ACV does not produce any particular health benefits when taken internally. She does dedicate a small section of the book to apple cider vinegar with the "mother," however.

And that's it for this cold snowy Vinegar Friday. I am looking forward to the upcoming Sabbath, starting with worship, followed by lunch with my children and grandchildren and ending with dinner and pinochle with friends.

Have a lovely weekend.

Keeping it healthy with vinegar,

Hana

Vinegar Friday

TGIVF!


Welcome to the first Vinegar Friday of 2011! Today we’re talking warm, swirling, muscle-relaxing water. Ahh, the pleasure of a hot tub.

Photo courtesy of Petr Kratochvil

I used to pay extra at hotels just so I could have one in my room. But after the research I have done lately, I think I will bypass that from now on. The problem is that, no matter how well the hotel maids scrub the tub, bacteria finds an ideal resting place inside the spray jets. There, basking in the warmth, it gets cozy and reproduces; then patiently waits for the jets to turn back on so it can spew out into the water, looking for a perfect host to nestle close to. Think I’m kidding? Unfortunately, I’m not.

According to researchers at Texas A&M University, nine out of ten water samples taken from hot tubs across the country was ripe with fecal bacteria. Yum. As a matter of fact, every sample was contaminated with something and these samples were taken from not only public places, but were collected in private homes as well. Here is what they found:

• Fungi – 81%
• Staph bacteria – 34%
• Fecal bacteria – 95%

Whoa! Makes you want to crawl right into another hot tub or whirlpool, doesn’t it?

Keep in mind that these samples were gathered from supposedly clean hot tubs. That’s what is scary! Even in your own home, your whirlpool tub could be harboring dangerous organisms and bacteria and you can’t even see them. Biofilms coat the inside of the pipes, creating a slime layer that is resistant to chemicals.

Hot tub rash, or pseudomonas folliculitis (inflammation of the hair follicles), which means your body will develop pus-filled red blisters. Lovely.

Other disorders that can result from bacteria in hot tubs include:

• Ear infections
• Respiratory infections
• Legionnaire’s Disease
• Pink eye and other eye infections
• Staphylococcus
• Genital infections and herpes
• Lower sperm count

While all those bubbles may feel good, respiratory infections, such as Hot Tub Lung, are caused by breathing in a bacteria called Mycobacterium avium (M. avium) when the bubbles start to burst around you. Legionnaire’s Disease results from inhaling the Legionella bacteria.

As you can see, the results of bacteria breeding in the pipes and then being released when the spray jets are turned on can range from bothersome to deadly.

So, what does all this good stuff have to do with Vinegar Fridays? What do you think?

While there is some debate over what I am about to share, there is evidence that good ol’ distilled white vinegar is the answer. Of course, in the cases where the infections can be deadly, I would be hesitant to count on this. But if you have a whirlpool or hot tub, and you know who is spending time in it, vinegar could be the answer to killing the organisms and bacteria lurking behind your spray jets.

The fact of the matter is that distilled white vinegar kills

• 99% of bacteria
• 80% of germs, as in viruses
• 82% of molds

And according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutritions, many bacteria are inactivated by the acetic acid in vinegar.

So what should you do? Dump a gallon of DWV into the water in the tub. Turn on the jets and let them run for a couple of hours. After you drain the water, wipe the tub down with a sponge soaked in full-strength vinegar. There’s no need to rinse, as the vinegar smell will dissipate quickly. To be safe, you want to do this at least twice a month.

Using vinegar is not only safer, but it is also far less expensive than the chemical products usually used. In addition to killing the bacteria, another advantage to these vinegar soaks is that your water stains will disappear, your jets will be clog-free and all residue and odors will be gone.

As for me, I think I will stick to my hot baths in my bathtub. The risk of diseases in hot tubs just makes me a little nervous.

Oh, and one more thing – if you are pregnant, especially in your first trimester, avoid hot tubs altogether. According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, exposure to the high temps in hot tubs can result in an increased risk of neural tube defects in the baby. Protect your little one – he or she is counting on it.

Keeping it healthy and green with vinegar,

Hana

Vinegar Friday

TGIVF!!

Well, here it is -- not only our last Vinegar Friday of the year, but the last day of the year as well. So, how did 2010 treat you? I know it was a hard year for a lot of you, but I hope there were some bright spots as well.

How will you spend your New Year's Eve? Do you take some time to reflect on the past year and make some plans, or resolutions, for the year ahead?

Today, I'm thinking about vinegar. It's only right, after all, since it is a Friday. I'm thinking about how much vinegar has changed my life this year and I am wondering if it has made a difference in your lives? So I am going to ask a favor of you. Would you mind letting me know, via the comment section here on the blog or by posting a comment on my Facebook wall, what vinegar tip or tips had an impact on you?

For me, there are several and here they are:

• Hair -- I love what rinsing with apple cider vinegar does for my hair. No more need for toxic dandruff shampoo. No more itchy scalp. No more dull hair.
• Skin -- my skin responds so well to ACV -- my face is softer than it has been in years and the foot baths and regular baths with two cups of ACV added are keeping my skin soft and itch-free!
• Stomach ulcer -- I have been taking Nexium for years to treat an ulcer. I was even up to two a day, following the flare-up I experienced from drinking green tea (which should be avoided if you have any kind of stomach problems). Now I'm happy to say I haven't taken anything for my stomach for over 60 days! Why? Because I take one to two tablespoons of Bragg's Organic Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar every day.
• Cleaning and laundry -- it is so nice to be living in a home with fewer toxins than were here a year ago. 2010 was a transforming year as far as ridding my home of toxic substances like bleach, fabric softener, ammonia, and other caustic chemicals and replacing them all with distilled white vinegar.
• Salads -- no more ranch dressing slathering my lettuce! Organic balsamic vinagrette has a permanent place on my table.

I will probably think of more things I love about vinegar as the day goes on, but this is a good start. Please take the time to let me know what your favorites are.

Have a blessed new year full of health, happiness, prosperity and, of course, vinegar!!

Hana

Vinegar Friday

TGIVF!

Can you believe Christmas Eve is one week away? Where did this year go?

As I deal with the busyness of the season, a sudden surge in work (hallelujah), a backed up sewer in the basement and a sore throat, headache and exhaustion, I quite honestly cannot think of a single thing to write about vinegar. Call it writer's block, blogger's block or simply a I-feel-like-crap-and-want-to-go-to-bed block...the label doesn't matter. But the content I would force out does. And it would simply stink at this point.

So I'll spare you that and ask that you just revisit a Vinegar Fridays Past. There's some good stuff there...guaranteed. Just scroll down to the search bar and type in "Vinegar Friday" and then take your pick. It's kind of like my Christmas gift to you...or not.

Heading to bed with a heated up corn bag,

Hana