Raspberry Vinegar – 250 ml

Raspberry vinegar from Gölles. Whole raspberries for dressing, sauce and dessert.

Raspberry vinegar in the 250-ml bottle is the fruit vinegar of the Styrian craft brewery Gölles, pressed from whole raspberries. No wine vinegar with raspberry flavoring, no syrup, no mild balsamic product.

Raspberry vinegar is a fermented vinegar from Riegersburg, in which the whole raspberry goes into the press and is first turned into fruit wine, then into vinegar. Many raspberry vinegars on the market are made differently: a finished wine vinegar is mixed with fruit or flavoring. At Gölles, the berry is the raw material, not an addition. You can taste it as soon as the first drop lands on a leaf of lamb's lettuce. The fruit comes before the acidity.

Red fruit with lively acidity

The raspberry vinegar from Gölles combines an intense fruit flavor with a fresh acidity of five percent. On the nose, it reminds one of raspberries that have just been crushed between the fingers.

The color is a deep, bright red. Gölles likes to refer to the raspberry as the queen of berries, and with this, it alludes to exactly this expressiveness. The vinegar only brings traces of sweetness, it remains a true carrier of acidity. Behind the berry, the manufacturer describes a savory undertone that reminds one of tomato paste, dark mushrooms and morels.

Keep the color in mind when cooking: A light butter sauce or a beurre blanc will turn pink with raspberry vinegar. If you need a colorless acidity, you are better advised with a white wine vinegar.

Vinaigrette, roast sauce and marinated berries

According to Gölles, this fruit vinegar goes well with asparagus, arugula, Waldorf salad, desserts and lamb's lettuce, as the Austrians call it. For a classic vinaigrette, mix 1 tbsp raspberry vinegar with 3 tbsp hazelnut oil, a pinch of salt and half a teaspoon of mustard. This goes well with lamb's lettuce with roasted hazelnuts. Mixed with walnut oil, the same vinaigrette accompanies chicory with sliced pears and blue cheese.

A roasted duck breast is another area of application. Pour off the fat from the pan and deglaze the roasting residue with 3 tbsp raspberry vinegar. Reduce briefly, add 100 ml of stock, and bind with a piece of cold butter.

For desserts, marinate 250 g of fresh raspberries or strawberries with 1 tsp vinegar and 1 tsp sugar for fifteen minutes. Afterwards, the berries taste fruitier and less flat. Diluted with water, the vinegar can even be drunk, according to Gölles.

For beginners: For seasoning at the table, the raspberry vinegar in the spray bottle is suitable, which you can refill from this bottle. Raspberry vinegar is not suitable for pickling cucumbers or pumpkin, as its fruit would overpower the vegetables.

The whole berry and at least one year of steel

Gölles began in 1994 with intensive experiments around fruit vinegars, followed by the creative vinegar line in 1996 with varieties such as this raspberry vinegar. The craft brewery in Riegersburg was known until then for fine spirits and balsamic vinegar from apples.

At the beginning are sorting, washing, mashing and pressing the berries. The whole fruit is pressed, because the aroma and color are also in the skin and seeds. From the fruit sugar of the juice, alcohol is then formed naturally. Then the mother of vinegar comes into play. These bacteria of the genus Acetobacter convert the alcohol into acetic acid with the help of oxygen.

The mother of vinegar is sensitive: It must not be too warm or too cold, and it does not tolerate sulfur. Once the fermentation is complete, the vinegar is stored for at least twelve months in stainless steel tanks. Unlike in a wooden barrel, the aroma and color of the fruit remain unchanged there.

A fruit vinegar with color for fine cuisine

Fruit vinegar from whole raspberries is more elaborate than flavored vinegar, because the delicate berry requires care at every work step. This effort shows in the result: The raspberry tastes of fruit, not of a flavoring bottle.

Thanks to its own acidity, vinegar is practically indefinitely shelf-stable when sealed. It does not spoil even after opening, but the fruit aroma is preserved longer in the refrigerator. Stored in the dark, it also retains its red color, because the pigment of the berry reacts to light. A light sediment is newly formed mother of vinegar and can be easily strained off.

As a gift to bring to a dinner with game or duck, the bottle makes a good impression, as does a nut oil for salad lovers. Anyone who has only known supermarket raspberry vinegar until now will quickly notice the difference in the fruit in a direct comparison.

One spoonful of raspberry vinegar, and out of a simple lamb's lettuce becomes a plate that smells of summer and berry bushes.