One of the neatest aspects of attending the Fancy Food Shows was the ability to simply taste a broad range of suppliers of a particular ingredient, both domestic and foreign. We Cuisinettes always learned a lot. And it was often surprising to see what we agreed on and where our opinions diverged.
As an example, the Cuisinettes were all over the place on olive oils. In the end, we decided that we would look for unique and long-lasting flavors of olive oils in terms of regions. But one of the areas we all agreed on was that for wine vinegars, Martin Pouret was the best choice, based on our NASFT tastings.
Of course there are other types of vinegars, and I will write about my exploration of those in another post. Basically, vinegar is the end-product of a chemical reaction that occurs when a particular bacterium (Acetobacter aceti) comes into contact with alcohol, and the former turns the latter to acetic acid and water. It is the character and treatment of the alcohol that has turned acidic that provides vinegar’s unique taste and quality.
You can thank Louis Pasteur for several discoveries, one of them being to ascertain and put a scientific name to the bacterium — Acetobacter aceti — that can work with warm air to turn the alcohol in wine into acetic acid. This discovery, according to William Grimes who wrote an nsightful article in the New York Times: “helped make industrial production of vinegar possible. Today, by raising the temperature of wine and speeding up the fermentation, producers can turn out thousands of gallons of vinegar in 24 hours from giant steel tanks.” But that is not the process at Martin Pouret.
The initial acetification of a Pouret wine vinegar takes about a month and then, depending on the style of vinegar desired, the
In a classic waste-not-want-not progression, entrepreneurs in Orleans had by the beginning of the 15th century established a guild of “vinaigriers, buffetiers, sauciers et moutardiers d’Orléans”. Orleans became host to about 200-300 vinegar production houses, and the codifying and patenting of the production of wine vinegars was registered in 1597. The firm of Pouret was established in 1797 by a wine negociant with that last name. His first name is not known. As silting overtook canals and the network of railroads grew, the importance of Orleans as a port city faded. Louis Pasteur’s identification and processing of the bacterium that creates vinegar introduced a new way to produce large steel tanks of vinegar, and both the city and its method for producing wine vinegar faded into the past.
Martin was added to the Pouret name as Martin-Pouret after Jeanne Pouret married Robert Martin in 1910. A grandson ran the company until
My favorite white vinegar for sauces and dressings is the Martin Pouret Champagne vinegar, and I purchase the large bottle of their red wine version as I use that more frequently. The other faves in my cupboard are the Raspberry White Wine Vinegar and another one flavored with tarragon leaves. The raspberry one I use to make a duck recipe that I learned from Jacqueline Panel of Chocolaterie Panel and for fruit-based salads. The tarragon version I use in chicken and fish dishes as well as potato salad. A good source for this company’s vinegars is Simply Gourmand which also carries the French flavoring essences we used to sell at La Cuisine. If you have not used your KD code WELCOME15% for a 15% discount on your first order, it is still available. Alternatively Simply Gourmand currently offers a 10% discount for people who sign up for their VIP text list.
After owning one of the best cooking stores in the US for 47 years, Nancy Pollard writes a blog about food in all its aspects – recipes, film, books, travel, superior sources and food related issues.
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