Pineau des Charentes Vinegar Kit
£40.00
In a nutshell: This vinegar kit is a great introduction to the wonderful world of Rosé and White Pineau des Charentes vinegars, both aromatic and packed full of flavour.
Great Taste 2018 1-star and 2 -star award winners
Both these incredible vinegars are made from AOC Pineau des Charentes, the famous and delicious local aperitif wine of the Cognac region, aged for four years before acetification in old oak cognac barrels for a further four to five months. Then bottled unfiltered, they still maintain their bright colour and heady aromas.
Pineau des Charentes Rosé Vinegar
This gorgeous vinegar has a bright rosé colour, fruity flavour and aroma. Use it for bright and breezy salad dressings, marinades, pickles, fruit and veg chutneys and sweet and sour sauces. It's particularly good when sautéing veal or chicken, marinading quail or cooking with guinea fowl, pigeon, and pheasant. Try it in fruit compotes, coulis and caramels. Keep to hand when deglazing the pan after frying a quick steak and drizzle over raspberries and strawberries for a great taste sensation.
Pineau des Charentes White Vinegar
This superb vinegar has a sweet, mellow flavour and honeyed aroma. Try it with fish, rabbit or chicken and use when making mayonnaise or beurre blanc. Particularly good with seafood salads and sprinkled over avocados with a little olive oil. We also like to poach to quinces and pears or stone fruits like apricots, peaches, nectarines with it.
Details Pineau des Charentes Rosé Vinegar (250ml) + Pineau des Charentes White Vinegar (250ml); both 6° acidity
About Fleuriet
We discovered the wonderful Fleuriet vinegars on a sourcing trip in France. Philippe and Françoise Fleuriet live in a charming old house in Rouillac deep in the heart of the 'Fins Bois' area, one of the six crus (delineated growth areas) of the Cognac region. The couple left their jobs in northern France 25 years ago to move to this quiet area. Their vinegar-making adventure began a decade ago when they accidentally created a vinegar mother out of Pineau des Charentes, the local aperitif made with wine fortified with a little cognac. Their production is small, ageing four-year-old white or rosé AOC Pineau des Charentes in old cognac barrels, each given names like 'Camille' and 'Pierre', in their vinaigrerie (vinegar cellar) next to the house. The vinegar then undergoes a slow, natural acetification for a further four or five months before bottling, unfiltered and without preservatives, or turning into a superb range of fruit flavoured vinegars. In their kitchen, they also use it to make small-batch additive-free confits, chutneys, jams and soups with home-grown seasonal heritage vegetables and fruits from their garden. Listed as one of top 100 French artisan producers by the prestigious Collège Culinaire de France - one of the best culinary institutes in the country founded by chefs like Alain Ducasse, Paul Bocuse, Joel Robuchon and Guy Savoy who all use their vinegar in their restaurants.