Artisan vinegars and vinaigrettes are forging in popularity. But is there a significant different in taste in the supermarket brand you've been buying for ages and these specialty products. And are there regional differences to the making process? I talked to expert Lesley K. Roberts of Nuovoterra Products about the unique differences in traditional Argentine vinaigrettes.
How is Argentine Vinaigrette made differently than what we get at the supermarket?
From a food standpoint, current supermarket vinaigrettes rarely contain 100% percent olive oil as their oil base. They may have a small percentage in their product, but typically in order for companies to maximize their profits, consumers will find the products contain only a percentage of olive oil mixed with some other cost cutting oil such as Canola. Additionally, they rarely use "first cold pressed" olive oil which is the best olive oil you can purchase and contains the heart healthy properties that makes olive oil such an important ingredient.
Some consumers have argued that regardless of the olive oil in their current supermarket choice, they save money by purchasing these inexpensive vinaigrette's.
The Argentine aspect of the dressing comes down to two key ingredients - mustard and vinegar(s). Vinaigrette originated in France and contains mustard, typical Argentinian vinaigrette does not. If you visit Argentina, restaurants and homes will usually place a container of olive oil on the table, along with a few different wine vinegars and sometimes a balsamic. You mix those together and season with salt and maybe a few spices to achieve what we call "Argentine style Vinaigrette". Aside from the mustard, Argentinian's tend to use a mix of wine vinegars.
At Nuovoterra, we use several wine vinegars from a California company that start with local Napa valley wines and barrel age them in an artisanal process that turns them into gourmet vinegars. The last layer we add is a different balsamic to slightly change the finish of that base recipe, ranging from a stronger taste to a sweeter flavor depending on the balsamic, and making our recipe more robust or mellow.
Should we notice a significant difference in taste?
A lot of vinaigrettes have a diluted vinegar taste, bordering on the sweet side. Our product is true to vinaigrette form in that its purpose and taste has a bold yet refined flavor.
Besides the taste, what should people look for in purchasing vinaigrettes?
If they are looking for an authentic taste, they should make sure the vinaigrette contains actual olive oil and a blend of vinegars, usually at least one wine vinegar. The product should not have any sugar added in the ingredients. In general, a good rule of thumb for most products is to have the least amount of scientific named ingredients and even better if it does not contain preservatives. If the person is looking to maximize the health benefits, they should look for a vinaigrette that has 100% olive oil base at minimum and better yet, a first cold pressed olive oil. If the ingredients are fresh or sourced by the closest available area that provides those ingredients, that is going to add to the freshness of the product and also lessen the carbon footprint if that is something important to a consumer.
What makes your products unique and what future products are on the horizon?
Our motto is that we take old world recipes and craft them with new world gourmet ingredients as would have been done in the past because good traditions like that should never be forgotten. We use the best ingredients for our recipes that we can find from the closest sources available because it is good for the products, for the consumer and because we support fellow American businesses.
Currently Nuovoterra is working on a signature chimichurri recipe that my grandfather passed on to me. Argentine food is finally making a name for itself rather than being lumped in with Italian food as it always has in the past.
