Aspall's English Apple Balsamic Vinegar
02/06/08 13:07
Aspall’s Apple balsamic vinegar
Barry and Henry Chevallier-Guild are brothers and the eighth generation to manage the family business based on apples, cider and vinegars at Aspall, near Debenham in Suffolk. Seven or eight years ago, whilst visiting to taste their splendid range of ciders and take a tour of the operations, I asked whether it would be possible to create a balsamic-style cider vinegar, richer, thicker and sweeter than the vinegars that we are used to. “Wait and see” they replied. “We are already working on it!” Sure enough, not so very long afterwards, Aspall English Apple Balsamic Vinegar was launched, and it has been a Very Favourite Thing in my store-cupboard ever since.
Great balsamics from Modena in northern Italy can cost a small fortune, aged for 20 years or so in a progression of different wooden kegs and barrels to instil a complexity of flavours, unlike any other in the world of condiments, into the must of the local grapes. Such has been the international explosion in demand for balsamic that much of what is purchased now is but a cheap copy of the Real Thing, flavoured with caramel rather than passing time, craftsmanship and the seasons, to achieve a product which is in danger of becoming ubiquitous to the point of banality.
Apple Balsamic from Aspalls achieves a condiment for today which, whilst acknowledging a certain Italian style statement, remains gloriously British and is incredibly versatile. The depth of flavour obtained by evaporation over years in a traditional aceto balsamico is mimicked through the use of concentrated English Cox apple juice with just a little caramel. The result is, as Barry and Henry say, somewhere "between sweet and sour with a sharp cidery kick at the finish" - a fabulous aftertaste of apples. What do I use it for? Well, mainly for vinaigrettes, but also to drizzle over vegetables before barbecuing or roasting, to season soups and casseroles, and often to drizzle over salad leaves as a simple, single ingredient dressing. I have heard young children comment on it’s sweetness when tasted just on lettuce leaves. It is a Top Store-cupboard Essential.
Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette
Oil
Aspall English apple balsamic vinegar
Grey Poupon French mustard
Unrefined sugar - I use muscovado or Demerara
Fresh garlic or herbs
The best salt and black pepper that you have
You need two parts of oil to one of vinegar - I usually start with about 100ml oil as the dressing keeps for ages in the fridge and you might as well make a decent amount of it. If you use an extra virgin olive oil I suggest using a splash of either Mild & Light olive oil with it (which is just light in flavour), grapeseed or sunflower oil, so that the olive is not too dominant. That, however, is up to you. I am increasingly using cold pressed rapeseed oil in my dressings and all my cooking, especially as it is now being produced locally here in Sussex.
Add the vinegar, with about 1 tsp each of mustard and sugar, a crushed clove of garlic and some herbs, if you wish (I generally don’t as I like to ring the changes with them in my salads). Whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl, or shake them in a jam jar with it’s lid on, a good idea for storage. Be generous adding salt and pepper - dressings taste limp and unappetising without proper seasoning. Keep tasting and add extra mustard or sugar too if you wish. Use sparingly to dress your leaves or tomatoes - no salad should ever be drowned in dressing. Not only does it drip and make consumption difficult to achieve elegantly, it also destroys the texture of the leaves. The dressing will be dark brown because of the colour of the vinegar and sometimes becomes thick on refrigeration. I add extra oil, or a little orange juice to ‘let it down’ (chef-y term) as I use it.
Barry and Henry Chevallier-Guild are brothers and the eighth generation to manage the family business based on apples, cider and vinegars at Aspall, near Debenham in Suffolk. Seven or eight years ago, whilst visiting to taste their splendid range of ciders and take a tour of the operations, I asked whether it would be possible to create a balsamic-style cider vinegar, richer, thicker and sweeter than the vinegars that we are used to. “Wait and see” they replied. “We are already working on it!” Sure enough, not so very long afterwards, Aspall English Apple Balsamic Vinegar was launched, and it has been a Very Favourite Thing in my store-cupboard ever since.
Great balsamics from Modena in northern Italy can cost a small fortune, aged for 20 years or so in a progression of different wooden kegs and barrels to instil a complexity of flavours, unlike any other in the world of condiments, into the must of the local grapes. Such has been the international explosion in demand for balsamic that much of what is purchased now is but a cheap copy of the Real Thing, flavoured with caramel rather than passing time, craftsmanship and the seasons, to achieve a product which is in danger of becoming ubiquitous to the point of banality.
Apple Balsamic from Aspalls achieves a condiment for today which, whilst acknowledging a certain Italian style statement, remains gloriously British and is incredibly versatile. The depth of flavour obtained by evaporation over years in a traditional aceto balsamico is mimicked through the use of concentrated English Cox apple juice with just a little caramel. The result is, as Barry and Henry say, somewhere "between sweet and sour with a sharp cidery kick at the finish" - a fabulous aftertaste of apples. What do I use it for? Well, mainly for vinaigrettes, but also to drizzle over vegetables before barbecuing or roasting, to season soups and casseroles, and often to drizzle over salad leaves as a simple, single ingredient dressing. I have heard young children comment on it’s sweetness when tasted just on lettuce leaves. It is a Top Store-cupboard Essential.
Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette
Oil
Aspall English apple balsamic vinegar
Grey Poupon French mustard
Unrefined sugar - I use muscovado or Demerara
Fresh garlic or herbs
The best salt and black pepper that you have
You need two parts of oil to one of vinegar - I usually start with about 100ml oil as the dressing keeps for ages in the fridge and you might as well make a decent amount of it. If you use an extra virgin olive oil I suggest using a splash of either Mild & Light olive oil with it (which is just light in flavour), grapeseed or sunflower oil, so that the olive is not too dominant. That, however, is up to you. I am increasingly using cold pressed rapeseed oil in my dressings and all my cooking, especially as it is now being produced locally here in Sussex.
Add the vinegar, with about 1 tsp each of mustard and sugar, a crushed clove of garlic and some herbs, if you wish (I generally don’t as I like to ring the changes with them in my salads). Whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl, or shake them in a jam jar with it’s lid on, a good idea for storage. Be generous adding salt and pepper - dressings taste limp and unappetising without proper seasoning. Keep tasting and add extra mustard or sugar too if you wish. Use sparingly to dress your leaves or tomatoes - no salad should ever be drowned in dressing. Not only does it drip and make consumption difficult to achieve elegantly, it also destroys the texture of the leaves. The dressing will be dark brown because of the colour of the vinegar and sometimes becomes thick on refrigeration. I add extra oil, or a little orange juice to ‘let it down’ (chef-y term) as I use it.