VINEGAR DRINKS

If you live in Italy it may not surprise you that the one drink craze comes from a bottle of vinegar drinks. They have recently become available here in the United States as Fairway Market has placed their name on a label. 

“The most delicious thing we have tasted in, like, forever” says Fairway Foodie, Hannah Howard.    “Highly addictive. A SWIG OF VINEGAR EVERY DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY. This is common, homeopathic claptrap-style knowledge and lore. Absolute immaculate purity from our Modenese partners, the Cremonini family, whose acetaia (vinegar factory) near Modena in Emilia Romagna, the origin of balsamic vinegar, is one of the most famous in all of Italy. These bottles of Fairway’s exclusive Drink Vinegar contain high levels of mono- and biphenols, which are natural anti-oxidants, the enemy of free radicals.”

Dilute 5 to 1 with seltzer or any kind of water or tonic. The “Drink Vinegar” is a great mixer for spirits such as vodka, gin, rum, and tequila.  Each of these bottles is the equivalent of three liters of this delicious liquid.

“For thousands of years”, says Hannah, “ vinegar has been beloved for its powerful properties in aiding digestion, boosting energy, curing disease, clearing skin, assisting weight loss, and more. This great juice contains high levels of mono- and biphenols, which are natural anti-oxidants, the enemy of free radicals. We’re not making any lofty claims, but drinking vinegar is clearly many times more righteous than, say, swigging soda. And cooler, and tastier”.

At first I thought that this drink was a simple combination of balsamic vinegar and fruit juice.  I combined that 5 to 1 ratio using cold water and tasted.   I expected a high acid vinegar taste and was surprised at its sweetness.   I later read the ingredients.  Each of the flavors had: grape must, balsamic vinegar of Bodena, apple vinegar and natural juice of either blueberry, cherry, pomegranate, ginger or apple.  I got enough sweetness from the grapes and dilution to have the acidity of the vinegar overcome it.   I don’t know about taking a swig but it certainly tastes great sipping it with my meal. 

Fairway Market has several locations in the tri-state area.  And while you’re at it, check out their label on imported hazelnut spread from Italy.  www.fairwaymarket.com

FAIRWAY THANKSGIVING PREVIEW

Went to the Fairway Market in Douglaston where they were having a free tasting from their Thanksgiving catering menu.  Got there before the lines were long.  Who says "there's no free lunch"?

Start at the beginning of a few hosted tables with a choice of either the Autumn Vegetable Soup or Butternut Squash Soup.  Me?  I had to sample both.  As much as I expected the butternut to be the winner for me, it was the vegetable that I thoroughly enjoyed more.  (Not that I didn't like the butternut). Here is one shopper opting for the veggie...

while another opted for the butternut.

Next tasting was of the roasted butternut squash....a bit different from the soup.  That was a good one.

Here's another shopper indulging.

Candied sweet potatoes is a must and what good is having turkey if you can't enjoy the stuffing.  Oh yes, there was turkey (white meat or dark meat), cranberry sauce, gravy.

The finale was dessert choice of either pumpkin or apple pie.

A copy of the catering menu was on hand and I'm told that if you just want the non-catered food....minus the cooked turkey...it will all be available at the deli counter. 

I was here for a few other things.  Fairway has their own hazelnut spread imported from Italy.  I'm doing a taste test between their yummy and Nutella.  Will get back on this.

Now, here's a new thing...craze?  Not sure. Fairway's Hannah Howard wrote about it.  Fruit flavored vinegars.  They are called Balsamic Drinks.  With a one to five ratio of vinegar to a liquid such as water, seltzer or even in a cocktail.  The stuff is supposed to be good for your system.  I'll do some searching on this.  In the meantime, not being one for vinegar in the first place, I wanted to at least taste some of them.

I picked out cherry, blueberry, pomegranate, and ginger, thinking of the health properties alone.  I mixed the cherry with water and blueberry with water and expected to get that acidic tart taste. OMG! Now I can understand the craze!  It is really delicious and slightly sweet from the ripe grapes. Now I'm going to look into how much can the stomach tolerate this.  It's imported from Italy, although I don't know if it comes from the same region as the hazelnut spread.

Finally...another comparison on ice cream.   Gifford's World Best Chocolate vs Graeter's Chocolate.  "World's Best" puts me in a challenge alone...being a chocoholic.   Quart size of Gifford's as no pint size is available.   Don't ever assume that the weight of a quart of ice cream is more than a pint.  It's all about how much air goes into it and how it's packed.  Sorry, Gifford's but your quart weighed less than the pint of Graeter's.   Didn't even have to put it on a scale.  Held it in my hand and made sure I used the same hand to get a sense of the weight. 

Ingredients of Gifford's. Cream, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Whey, Nonfat Dried Milk, Dextrose, Soy Lecithin, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Carrageenan, Vanilla.

Ingredients of Graeter's. Cream, milk, cane sugar, skim milk, cocoa (processed with alkali), eggs, carob bean gum, guar gum. All Natural

Satisfaction of Gifford's (Who the heck voted?  Is is sold all over the world?) was like having a very cold milk chocolate drink.  So full of air!  Taste was okay...after all...I am a chocoholic.