Category: Ingredients and Traditions

The subtle power of vinegar and how Italians balance flavour is something I appreciate in my own kitchen. Beyond acidity and preservation, vinegar brings balance, gives structure to a dish, and harmony in everyday cooking.Italian cuisine has always been attentive to relationships on the palate: fat is balanced with acidity, sweetness is moderated by bitterness and warm dishes are often refreshed with a sharp element. I often deglaze pans with vinegar. A small splash in a warm pan releases an aroma and sharpness that immediately awakens the senses.

Lemon brightens flavours and highlights bitterness, but vinegar behaves differently. It softens and steadies strong tastes, preventing them from becoming overpowering. Consequently, selecting the appropriate vinegar is a deliberate decision that is part of the cooking process.

In my pantry you will find several types of vinegar —  commercial red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, sherry vinegar and often homemade red wine vinegar. Over time I have learned to select each based on the dish’s requirements rather than habit. Understanding these differences is one of those small shifts that moves cooking from a mechanical to a thoughtful. process.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT VINEGAR

Red wine vinegar

Red wine vinegar is my preferred choice. Its consistent sharpness makes it a reliable ingredient for vinaigrettes, cooked vegetables, legume salads and the sweet-and-sour notes of agrodolce.

Its bold flavour is precisely its strength, allowing it to stand alongside robust ingredients without overpowering them.

White Wine Vinegar

White wine vinegar is lighter and less tannic than red wine vinegar, offering acidity without weight or colour. The acidity is expressed subtly.

I use it when working with tender leaves, fresh herbs, cucumber or zucchini and occasionally for deglazing fish or seafood when I prefer not to use wine. It is also suitable for some ceviche-style preparations, particularly for stronger-tasting fish, making it more suitable for lemon.

It also blends well into emulsified sauces such as mayonnaise or aioli, where lemon might otherwise dominate.

Sherry Vinegar

Sherry vinegar adds complexity rather than sharpness. A few drops are often sufficient.

I frequently drizzle it over simply roasted vegetables such as mushrooms, pumpkin, eggplant and beetroot, allowing their natural sweetness to complement its savoury depth. It is equally suitable for pan sauces for more strongly flavoured poultry such as duck or quail.

Sherry vinegar is the one I use when I want warmth rather than brightness.

Champagne Vinegar 

Champagne vinegar possesses a restrained acidity. It is a subtle taste that supports rather than dominates.

I use it for soft tasting ingredients like lettuces, dishes with delicate herbs such as tarragon or chervil and salads that include fruit, like oranges, peaches and pears, where excessive sharpness would disrupt the balance. Champagne vinegar preserves elegance rather than overwhelming it.

Understanding Balsamic Vinegar

 I am very careful with Balsamic vinegar and use it very sparingly because most varieties that are available are overly sweet and synthetic. Having tasted different batches of Balsamic Vinegar in Modena some years ago I  know what I should be tasting!

Proper Balsamic Vinegar is aged. As with much of Italian cooking, its depth is shaped more by time than by intervention. No additives.

The most revered style is traditional balsamic, produced in Modena or Reggio Emilia from slowly cooked grape must and aged in a succession of wooden barrels for at least twelve years, often far longer. As the seasons pass and the liquid gently concentrates, it becomes darker, denser, and quietly complex. Only a few drops are needed — on Parmigiano Reggiano, ripe strawberries, or a finished risotto — where it deepens rather than dominates. And it is very expensive so one is frugal.

Most bottles encountered today are Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP, is made from a blend of wine vinegar and grape must and matured for a shorter time. When well made, it is excellent to use in everyday cooking — vinaigrettes, used in agrodolce, or stirred through pan juices.

At the lower end, the type that is sold in supermarkets and labelled as Balsamic … and made in Italy…maturity is sometimes suggested rather than earned. Caramel for colour, thickeners for viscosity, and added sweetness offers quick roundness. Do the ingredients  listed mention grape must? Not likely. And how many additives are listed, and is the information correct?

For this reason, many Italian cooks keep two bottles — one for daily cooking, the other patiently aged, reserved for the final moment when a dish calls for depth and quiet resonance. And they are willing to pay for it .

Homemade Red Wine Vinegar 

Making homemade vinegar is a lesson in patience.

Its production is always slightly unpredictable, influenced by time, temperature and the vitality of its mother. When I am successful, in making it, the vinegar is softer and more layered than most commercial versions.

I treat it with the same respect as a high-quality extra virgin olive oil, often saving it for special salads or using it as a finishing touch, particularly with bitter leaves such as radicchio, chicory and endive.

When I have excess red wine left over, I begin another batch. Fermentation has its own schedule, and some jars take longer than anticipated. The waiting period becomes an integral part of the process.

For those who prefer not to make their own vinegar, a reputable delicatessen will often stock beautifully aged vinegars that are well worth purchasing.

RECIPE: A Traditional Method for Homemade Red Wine Vinegar

Rustic, reliable, and close to how vinegar is still produced in many homes across Italy and France.

Ingredients

• 750 ml–1 litre red wine (avoid heavily sulphated wines)
• 250–500 ml unpasteurised vinegar containing a live mother
• 1 small piece of rustic bread

Equipment

• Wide-mouth glass jar or crock
• Breathable cloth or cheesecloth
• Rubber band or string
• Wooden spoon

Method

1. Prepare the wine: Aim for an alcohol level of roughly 6–10%.

2. Add the starter culture: Pour the wine into the container, add the live vinegar, and drop in the bread — traditionally used to provide nutrients and encourage microbial activity.

3. Aerate and cover: Stir gently. Cover with cloth — oxygen is essential. Never seal airtight. When I have  used a crockpot I have also used a smaller lid to keep the mother down and then covered it with gauze. I have never had problems with vinegar flies, but maybe I am just lucky!

4. Ferment: Store somewhere warm (18–27°C), dark, and undisturbed. Within 1–3 weeks, a gelatinous film — the mother — should form, and the aroma will shift from wine to tangy vinegar.

5. Taste and monitor: Begin tasting after four weeks. Most batches take 4–8 weeks, sometimes longer.

6. Finish: Remove the bread and bottle, or age further for deeper flavour. Always reserve some mother to start the next batch.

Practical Tips

• Avoid metal lids touching the liquid.
• Do not disturb the mother once formed.
• Top up gradually with wine to create a continuous culture.
• Discard if fuzzy mould appears; a smooth, jelly-like mother is normal.

Bitterness, Balance, and the Italian Table

Italian cuisine embraces bitterness — radicchio, chicory, scarola, and Belgian endive (witlof) are favourites in my kitchen.

Whether served raw or braised, vinegar is the quiet mediator that softens bitterness and creates equilibrium.

The following recipes reflect northern Italian traditions, where radicchio is celebrated.

Here are a couple of recipes for radicchio.

Radicchio Agrodolce (Sweet–Sour Radicchio)

A classic example of bitterness balanced with acid and sweetness, widely associated with the Veneto region.

Ingredients

• 2 heads radicchio, quartered
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small red or white sliced onion or spring onion
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar or honey (I often use 1 tbsp balsamic and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar instead)
• Salt and black pepper

Optional: toasted or candied walnuts, pine nuts, raisins, or currants.

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a wide pan.
2. Sauté onion until soft and lightly sweet. If using spring onion sauté less (I overcooked mine)
3. Add radicchio cut-side down and cook until lightly charred.
4. Add vinegar and sweetener; toss gently.
5. Cook for 2–3 minutes until slightly wilted but still structured.
6. Season and serve warm.

Alternative Charred Version of Radicchio Agrodolce 

For a deeper flavour:

1. Sear the wedges vigorously without moving them.
2. Turn once.

1. Deglaze with vinegar or a vinegar-balsamic mixture.
2. Add a touch of honey and butter, basting the radicchio  on both sides in the pan until glossy or removing it before making the glaze.

Plating Tip: Serve wedges whole, slightly overlapped, with glaze spooned toward the core for visual structure.

Candied Walnuts (Perfect for Salads with bitter leaves)

Crisp, lightly glossy, and balanced — never overly sweet.

Ingredients

• 1 cup walnut halves
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp butter or olive oil
• Pinch of salt
• About a small teaspoon of wine vinegar

Method

1. Toast walnuts lightly in a dry pan until fragrant.
2. Add fat, sugar, and salt. Once the begin to melt add the vinegar.
3. Stir continuously until caramelised.
4. Spread on baking paper and cool completely.

Radicchio Salad with Balsamic and Parmigiano

Another northern Italian classic — simple, structured, and refined.

Ingredients

• Radicchio leaves, torn
• Parmigiano Reggiano shavings
• Toasted walnuts (optional)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Good-quality red wine vinegar, balsamic, or both
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Toss radicchio with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
2. Add vinegar gradually, tasting until the balance feels right — acidity should support, not dominate.

Plating Suggestions

• Use a large plate and leave some negative space.
• Build height rather than spreading the salad flat.
• Add contrasting textures such as shaved fennel, citrus segments, firm pears sliced, nuts and fried capers. I also use firm peaches or vanilla persimmons, although these are not traditional ingredients. However, cuisine evolves and even traditional cuisine changes.
• Finish with a final gloss of olive oil and intentionally placed shaved Parmigiano.

These small decisions/ finishing touches elevate salads from rustic home cooking to quietly sophisticated.

Other Radicchio recipes:

LASAGNA /LASAGNE. RECIPE FOR LASAGNA AL RADICCHIO

RISOTTO made with Radicchio

RISOTTO AL RADICCHIO ROSSO

COOKED RADICCHIO

Pan fried radicchio with pickled pears, walnuts, beetroot and gorgonzola

BIGOLI NOBILI (Bigoli pasta with red radicchio, borlotti and pork sausages)

Agro Dolce:

TONNO AL AGRO DOLCE; Sweet and sour tuna, Sicilian; ALBACORE TUNA

PEPERONATA(SICILIAN SWEET AND SOUR PEPPERS)

THE MANY VERSIONS OF CAPONATE and grilled food

Sicilian Pumpkin with vinegar, mint, sugar and cinnamon

ACETO DI VINO FATTO IN CASA (Home Made Wine Vinegar)