Normandy Cider Vinegar Kit

In a nutshell: This duo of Great taste 2017 1-star award-winning, small-batch Normandy cider vinegars are the best we've ever tasted with myriad kitchen uses - the cider vinegar with "Mother'  is unfiltered, fragrant and fruity and the Aigre Doux perfect for cooking sweet and sour dishes.  

This stunning Normandy cider vinegar is one of the best we've ever tasted. The Dupont family are famed for their calvados but also put as much love and passion into making their ciders and vinegar. Only 4000 bottles are made annually, siphoning off some of their notable cider to create this delicious, fruity amber blend. Like the best cider vinegars, it is left unfiltered, so elements of the vinegar mother remain inside the bottle and it can be either cloudy or clear. It's mild acidity (6°) makes its perfect for pickling vegetables and eggs (see our pickled quail egg recipe or use when making meringues. Try it with our easy to make mushrooms a la Grecque or Normandy-style sole with shallots, crème fraiche and cider vinegar.

They also make limited quantities of Aigre Doux - an intriguing 'Sweet and sour' blend of cider vinegar, honey and givre (a sticky apple ice cider similar to a dessert-style wine) aged outdoors for a minimum of 12 months in oak barrels before bottling. Only 2000 bottles are made each year and we are very happy to have some in stock.  The result is a complex and intriguing blend that enhances many desserts and savoury dishes. Its brilliant in classic Venetian-style 'sweet and sour' dishes such as sarde en soar ( sardines with raisins, onions and vinegar) or calves liver with onions and vinegar. We love to sprinkle it into the pan when frying duck breasts and it's superb drizzled over vanilla or salted caramel ice cream. We use it to poach figs, sultanas and raisins which we keep in jars in the fridge ready to combine with our morning porridge or granola and add to lovely fruit salads and compotes. It is also simply divine on a slow-roasted peach and see our recipe for rhubarb with Aigre Doux, bay leaves, blood oranges and vanilla.

We also drink nips of both every day for restorative purposes.

Details Cider Vinegar with "Mother' (500ml) + Aigre Doux Apple Ice Wine Vinegar (375ml) 

About Famille Dupont
Famille Dupont is one of our favourite Normandy calvados estates in the heart of the Pays d'Auge region. We recommend a visit if you're ever in the region to taste and buy calvados and cider. Since 1980, Etienne Dupont and his children, Jérôme and Anne-Pamy have reinvigorated their farm estate. Particular attention is paid to the quality of apples that go into their products, with over 13 varieties being hand-picked before crushing during the annual Autumn harvest. We are very excited to be sole UK distributor of this product.