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Oils and Vinegars

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Oils and Vinegars

Postby mistakened » Tue Feb 09, 2021 3:37 pm

I was tidying up the Oil and Vinegar collection and realised that I has a variety of both
Good EVOO for salad, courtesy of Effie's father, Cooking olive oil, Corn oil and Sesame oil
Wine Vinegar, Cider Vinegar, Balsamic, Sherry and Rice Vinegars

Should I have anything else, please do not mention Cold Pressed Rape Seed Oil, it is a daft price here

Moira

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Feb 09, 2021 4:07 pm

I have Good EVOO for salads - currently Brindisa Spanish Arbequina which is very strongly flavoured & delicious
I have everyday olive oil for cooking, currently Morrison's Spanish EVOO, which is nice, I bought 2 litres as they put it on offer in November so this was Brexit-proofing, and in the same spirit I have a litre of nice looking Italian EVOO bought from the deli at half price - this may turn our to be salad or cooking when I taste it
I use sunflower as my neutral oil for stir frying etc, can't stand the smell of either corn oil or rapeseed oil
I have some Korean sesame oil for flavouring, it's nice but very expensive and I think I'll revert to cheaper brands from the Chinese grocery store, as even pre-Covid I couldn't really tell the difference
I have some lovely garlic infused EVOO from Aldi, which is great as it's hard to get just a hint of garlic into a salad or pasta for one by using fresh garlic, I like garlic but there are limits

I'll think about vinegars

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby KeenCook2 » Tue Feb 09, 2021 4:39 pm

I think our current favourite vinegar is Tarragon Vinegar. Funnily enough, the 4 bottle pack I got from Amazon is Greek!
It tarts up own brand mayonnaise brillliantly!

The Filippo Berio chilli flovoured olive oil is very good for us. We find it quite hot so we don't need to use much of it. Having discovered it in Lidl I now buy it when I see it on offer.

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby scullion » Tue Feb 09, 2021 5:42 pm

good extra virgin olive oil for dipping bread in,
light olive oil for pan frying, salad dressing, whisking up with butter to make spreadable butter, and in soap.
groundnut oil for stir frying
veg oil (probably rapeseed) for deep frying,
sesame oil for adding in to some asian stuff,
coconut oil for some asian cooking, in soap and face cream
mustard oil for some indian stuff.
avocado oil for some other stuff.
i've used up the chilli oil our son made - really good - only needed a little to make a big difference.

red wine vinegar - home made,
white wine vinegar - home made.
balsamic.
rice wine vinegar for something i made a while back.
white vinegar for cleaning (and some preserving, along with brown malt - otherwise i use any excess i've made for that).
can't think of any others at the moment.

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby Pepper Pig » Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:30 pm

I take a large spoon of apple cider vinegar every day.

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby Badger's Mate » Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:36 pm

Similar here

Good EVOO for dressings. Current one is from Terra Rossa, their flavoured OOs are very nice.

Supermarket EVOO for frying.

'Veg oil' (rapeseed or sunflower) for frying Asian dishes

Sesame for dressing Asian dishes.

Balsamic vinegar for dressings.

Cider vinegar for most things.

Malt vinegar for some things.

White malt vinegar for descaling the kettle.

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:57 pm

I forgot chilli oil, though in fact I don't use it much - I like groundnut oil for general purpose and mayonnaise, but it's so much more expensive than sunflower now I decided that neutral oil was, well, neutral, and it didn't really matter so I got a 5L container

Vinegar (mostly on hold, but this is what I normally have)

My default all purpose vinegar for cooking is Aspall's Cyder Vinegar, but I also have red wine vinegar for dishes that need it, sherry vinegar, a decent aged balsamic and white balsamic condiment - I got a beautiful bottle from TK Maxx a year ago mainly for the bottle, which turned out to be delicious on tomatoes.
I bought some malt vinegar for a Tom Kerridge recipe and was surprised to find I quite liked it, I'd forgotten it tastes much nicer than chip shop non-brewed condiment! Chinkiang black vinegar for various Fuchsia Dunlop dishes; if you can't get or dislike Chinese cabbage her stir-fried cabbage with black vinegar works as well, possibly better, with pointed spring cabbage
http://normandiekitchen.com/2016/01/17/ ... i-bao-cai/

I get cheap cider vinegar from the Turkish supermarket for making chutney, and I recently bought a bottle of colourless rice vinegar as my off taste isn't coping well with wine vinegar in some things

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby jeral » Wed Feb 17, 2021 9:53 pm

Grapeseed oil? I normally use groundnut or corn oil for crispy high-heat things, but do keep grapeseed oil (another high temp one). It's neutral and is a good emulsifier for sauces/soups/casseroles.

Otherwise, all the standard cupboard items as mentioned.

Specific flavoured oils and vinegars aren't my thing as they're like an unwanted "Use me!" challenge making me feel I have to make things just to use them up or chuck 'em after an initial recipe.

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby Renee » Sat Feb 20, 2021 10:53 pm

Speaking of tarragon vinegar, KC2, I've just found this recipe which I might make later this year:

https://www.sarahraven.com/articles/tar ... 20Products

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby KeenCook2 » Sun Feb 21, 2021 1:34 am

Renee wrote:Speaking of tarragon vinegar, KC2, I've just found this recipe which I might make later this year:

https://www.sarahraven.com/articles/tar ... 20Products


Fantastic if you have access to substantial amounts of fresh tarragon!! And easy!! The only herb I've ever had in abundance was sage, about two houses ago.

Btw, we've just finished a bottle of chilli oil. Do you think I can top up the chillis with olive oil, leave it for a bit, and then use it?

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby ZeroCook » Sun Feb 21, 2021 1:59 am

.

Why not? But as the original chili had infused into the original oil you might not get the full effect you liked so much unless it's one of those bottles full of chilies in which case, definitely. If not, or in any case, add some more dried chilis at hand or nice excuse to buy something you haven't tried. Or similar if your bottle says what they were. Warm the oil first for best results. Italian dried pepperoncini are wonderful and flavourful, as are chile de arbol and Sichuan chili.

- this sort of thing ...
https://www.italyum.com/specials/91-hot-chilli-oil.html

and this ...pepperoncini
https://tinyurl.com/1pudqaov

Might have to grow some ! :D

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby karadekoolaid » Sun Feb 21, 2021 2:39 pm

I agree with ZC. You can top up the chili oil but the chiles will have lost their power. Much better to buy a small packet of dried and make some fresh. My bottle of chile oil has been maturing for over a year now, and is a beautiful deep red.
I had some avocado oil a while back but was not overly impressed with it - far too subtle a flavour to be interesting.
I´ve also made basil-infused oil ( a long time ago), which is very tasty and beautiful on a plate.

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby scullion » Sun Feb 21, 2021 3:06 pm

interesting about the avocado oil's subtle flavour. when i made 'spreadable butter' with some the flavour was very pronounced - almost like having spread avocado on the bread rather than a mainly butter spread.

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby Renee » Sun Feb 21, 2021 7:53 pm

I like that idea Scullion. How much do you use of each?

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby halfateabag » Sun Feb 21, 2021 10:15 pm

I too am a bit of an Imelda when it comes to oils and vinegars.... One vinegar I have recently become a convert to is the vinegar left when a jar of pickled onions have been eaten. It's wonderful on F&C, don't chuck it, use it !!!

I adore walnut oil and buy it in France as it is so much more tasty and cheaper than here in the UK.

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby jeral » Sun Feb 21, 2021 11:44 pm

Another fan of walnut oil as it tastes unique to me, although bought only in summer or I get my fingers burned if I use it sparingly as it goes rancid quickly, so I have to remember to use it quickly.

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Feb 22, 2021 1:21 am

I too love walnut and hazelnut oils, but might need to stock up when travelling again

Had an amusing conversation on Wildfood with Ian in France, in the Correze, when he lives, they make salad dressing with nut oil and mustard as they think vinegar will ruin the flavour of the oil. In the neighbouring Dordogne, where I have connections, they think mustard ruins the oil and use a few drops of sherry vinegar or something like Viandox or Maggi seasoning.

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby scullion » Mon Feb 22, 2021 3:57 am

Renee wrote:I like that idea Scullion. How much do you use of each?


to one pack of unsalted butter, 160g of oil and a pinch of salt (more or none as wanted). room temperature butter, whizz together with a stick blender until completely mixed and put in a jar, in the 'fridge.
i usually use light olive oil. the avocado oil didn't really go with sweet things.

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby ZeroCook » Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:16 am

Avocado oil has a high smoke point - great for high temp frying which is what I mainly use it for - and no standout flavour to speak of which is perfect for when that's needed.

Speaking of brine, olive brine is excellent for adding flavour to various dishes, saices and dressings. . I'm particularly fond of kalamata olive brine and caper brine and bottled sweet pepper brine which I add to sauces, pasta sauces, vinaigrettes for example. I've also been known to occasionally take a little swig, ditto pickle vinegar. :D

Great story about local French philosophies of dressing salads, Stokey.

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Re: Oils and Vinegars

Postby scullion » Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:58 pm

also part of a 'dirty martini' !
i always use the olive brine in tomato based pasta sauces, too.

the avocado oil was bought for making popcorn in a solar cooker, for it's high smoke point and the fact that it didn't contain peanut oil.

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