Other Vinegars

Other Vinegars at vomFASS UK

This is the part of the vinegar range that sits outside the balsamic collection, and right now it holds a single bottle: Maletti Bianco. If you have landed here looking for the wider vinegar selection, most of it is listed under balsamic vinegars, where the fruit balsamics and the darker aged styles live. Below: what is on this page, where the rest of the range sits, and how to pick and use a vinegar for a given job.

What Is on This Page Right Now

Maletti Bianco

Maletti Bianco is the one vinegar currently listed in this collection. "Bianco" is Italian for white. It also turns up paired with an olive oil in the Santini extra virgin olive oil & Maletti bianco quadra gift set, which is the way to buy it with a matched oil rather than on its own.

Where the Rest of the Vinegar Range Lives

vomFASS lists most of its vinegars as balsamics, and that range is broader than the word suggests. The fruit balsamics are worth knowing about if the only balsamic you have met is the dark, syrupy kind:

• Quince Balsamic Vinegar, made with quince.
• Calamansi Balsam, made with calamansi, the small, sharp citrus used across South East Asia.

To taste several before committing to full bottles, the Ultimate Vinegar Sample set covers vinegars on their own, and the Ultimate Oil and Vinegar Sample Set pairs them with oils. Matched pairs also come boxed in the oil and vinegar gift sets range.

How to Choose and Use a Vinegar

Vinegar is dilute acetic acid produced by fermenting alcohol, which is why almost every drinking culture has its own: wine into wine vinegar, cider into cider vinegar, rice wine into rice vinegar, beer into malt vinegar. Wikipedia's vinegar article sets out the main types and how each is produced. The practical question in a British kitchen is less about type and more about how sharp or how sweet you want the result.

A few working rules:

• Dressings. Start at roughly three parts oil to one part vinegar, then adjust to taste. A sweeter, fruitier vinegar needs less oil to balance it than a sharp one does.
• Sweet and sharp together. A fruit vinegar over strawberries, peaches or vanilla ice cream is not a gimmick. The acid lifts the fruit the way a squeeze of lemon does.
• Deglazing. A splash into the hot pan after frying meat lifts the browned bits off the bottom and gives you a sauce in seconds.
• Cheese and cold cuts. A thicker, sweeter vinegar works next to hard cheese, cured meat and pate, where you might otherwise reach for chutney.
• Marinades. Acid tenderises, but it also cooks. Keep fish and shellfish to minutes rather than hours.
• Go easy. Vinegar is a seasoning. It is easier to add another few drops than to rescue a dressing that has gone too sharp.

Storage is undramatic: a cupboard, cap on, out of direct sun. Vinegar's own acidity keeps it stable, so it does not demand the care that a nut oil does.

About vomFASS UK

vomFASS pioneered the refill concept in 1994, and the model started in Germany. "vom Fass" is German for "from the barrel". Bring an empty vomFASS olive oil, balsamic vinegar or spirit bottle into the Stamford shop in Lincolnshire and we will refill it from the cask. vomFASS has been serving the United Kingdom for over 30 years.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is in the Other Vinegars collection?

Right now it holds a single bottle: Maletti Bianco. "Bianco" is Italian for white. Most of the vomFASS UK vinegar range is listed under balsamic vinegars instead, where the fruit balsamics and the darker aged styles sit.

What is vinegar made from?

Vinegar is dilute acetic acid produced by fermenting alcohol, which is why almost every drinking culture has its own: wine into wine vinegar, cider into cider vinegar, rice wine into rice vinegar, beer into malt vinegar.

How much vinegar goes into a salad dressing?

Start at roughly three parts oil to one part vinegar, then adjust to taste. A sweeter, fruitier vinegar needs less oil to balance it than a sharp one does.

How can I try several vinegars before buying a full bottle?

The Ultimate Vinegar Sample set covers vinegars on their own, and the Ultimate Oil and Vinegar Sample Set pairs them with oils.

The wider vinegar range sits under balsamic vinegars, and the oil and vinegar gift sets pair those bottles with an oil.