Champangne Vinegar in Van

[vandan]

anyone know where i might find it, other than Gourmet Warehouse( if they even have it)

[Sushicat]

The two stores in Vancouver with the best vinegar selections are: La Grotta Del Formaggio (Commercial and 2nd) and Parthenon (Broadway a few blocks west of McDonald). Les Amis has a good selection of higher end vinegars.

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La Grotta Del Formaggio
1791 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC V5N4A4, CA

[fmed]

I was at La Grotta this morning. They do have a nice selection of vinegars including a good selection of Vilux brand stuff. Surprisingly I didn't find champagne vinegar. (The shelves could have been poorly stocked today.)

[vandan]

i will give GW their due though as most places with a big selection, don"t have a great variety,i.e they have 15 different vinegars but 10 of them are different brands of balsamics( and generally of the same price/quality range) whereas GW has a great selection without much of an overlap

[fmed]

I hear ya. I'm a little sick of balsamic, personally and I do like to have a larger palette of simple vinegars.

I was also at the Bosa on Victoria Dr - they have Clovis brand champagne vinegar (approx $5 IIRC - I should have included the price in the photo):

[ck1234]

As I was looking at my vinegars after this thread, I found a balsamic that's been in my cupboard for at least 10 years if not longer - does it improve with age - or should I throw it away? All my wine vinegars are in the fridge but for some reason I keep the balsamics with the oil in my cupboard...

[fmed]

It doesn't improve with age once bottled. It should be fine if you don't expose it to extremes in temperature and you keep it tightly closed in a cool dark place. It doesn't need refrigeration and it will not go bad. You might notice some sediments forming over time - that's OK too.

I have about 3 or 4 bottles that I almost never use....the odd reduction here and there, but I rarely cook that kind of food these days.

[ck1234]

Thanks! As per usual... :-)

[vandan]

maybe a dumb question, but has it been opened?,

[ck1234]

Yes...in my cupboard, I found two balsamics - one cheap, one expensive I paid for, for some recipe I can't remember...then I saw this cheap bottle in the back that I remembered buying when my son was a child...he's almost 20 now...it's opened and I remember using it to dip bread in with olive oil!

[fmed]

Balsamic vinegar: Fad or Pantry Staple?

[ck1234]

hahaha, back then it was a fad! Now it's a staple, though I use it MUCH less!

[fmed]

I'm using a lot of sherry vinegar (my go-to vinegar) these days...also a lot of rice vinegar, and coconut vinegar for certain Asian foods. Also in my pantry are a couple of different bottles of Yuzu juice (a Japanese citrus fruit) - just awesome.

Balsamic has taken a back seat to some new fads :-)

[vandan]

hmm coconut vinegar,thats one i've never come across and lately i've been really keeping an eye out at wherever i'm shopping, seen lots of different ones, where might one find it?

[fmed]

Filipino stores and Indian stores. It is harder to find Indian brands. There are Thai brands too, but I have never seen any here. I have some Palm vinegar as well (which is closely related and similar in flavour though often much more sour) and also Cane vinegar.

The easiest brand of coconut vinegar to find is Datu Puti from the Philippines - it is pretty potent and acidic. I'm sure T&T has it, but if not, look for it at Filipino shops on Fraser, etc. The Filipino stores often have "artisinal" vinegars often labeled "native" vinegars for some reason.

Check out this blog post :
http://burntlumpia.typepad.com/burnt_...

[julesincoq]

I have no idea where you get it but I'd love to know what you are making! I've heard of it but have not come across any recipes calling for it.

[vandan]

i'm just kind of an oil and vinegar nut, having numerous varieties of each in my pantry, i just love to experiment with new ones

[harryharry]

Have you tried Minus 8 vinegar - so very expensive... but soooo good!

[vandan]

woh, man i checked out their web-site and at those prices it better be really great

[harryharry]

Yup... wouldn't make salad dressing with it though - I use it over caramel roasted pears and vanilla ice cream - w/ Foie gras and w/ duck breasts. They should really come up w/ a new word for it.... very different but similar to aged balsamic vin.

[eatrustic]

Both Zaras and Dussos on Granville Island have the Vilux 250 ml bottles for about $7.75 or so.

[vandan]

thanks for the intel, will try to check out tommorow

[food604]

I use the Vilux Vinegars often and find them fantastic

[eatrustic]

Found the best deal so far as a byproduct of a visit to Ploger German deli. They have a nice looking 500ml. bottle of Champagne vinegar for $7.95.

[vandan]

did you buy any? well when i looked at the crazy prices being charged( before i read your post) i decided to temporarily ignore my boycott of GW( and believe me, that took alot) because i called them and they have a 500ml bottle for $5.99 that i ended up buying

[eatrustic]

No, I didn't buy any. I think I have some already. Like you I have all kinds for every occasion...

[farman]

I'm pretty sure I got some a few months back at Famous Foods on Kingsway.

[vandan]

famous foods doesn't carry it, at least not any more, meinhardts was charging an absurd amount and i'm glad i asked because it was only a 250 ml bottle, whcih made it waay over the top

[eatrustic]

I thought I had seen it at Dusa's on Granville Island as well, I'll look next time I'm there.
Yeah, Meinhardt's, can't remember the last time I actually bought something there - but sometimes we get desperate.

Might be a long shot but a place like Santa Barbara on Commercial that has such a great selection of reasonably priced olive oils might just have the champers.

[vandan]

ya santa barbara seems to have every other type, i'm there all the time , and have never seen it

[ck1234]

I just looked at Whole Foods and it was $15.99 for a 200 ml bottle. They had a walnut champagne vinegar too for the same price. Both are by Sparrow Lane which sell for $8 each on their website but I have no idea what the shipping charges would be.

[ck1234]

Yikes, out of curiousity, I did find out what the shipping would cost - $17.87!

[farman]

I was at Famous Foods again today and they definitely have some. I forgot to check the price though.

[eatrustic]

I'm sure they would have it. Meinhardts would as well. It's not as rare as you might think. Most stores that have a good selection of oils and vinegars usually carries it (or used to as I haven't bought any in a while).