Fig vinegar is made from fermented figs and can be flavored with herbs or spices. It can be purchased in specialty stores or made at home. It is used in marinades, dressings, and as a complement to dishes like salads and fruit pies.
Fig vinegar is a special vinegar that can be made from many varieties of figs. In some countries, culinary schools specialize in making fig vinegar from the fig varieties of their regions. Fig vinegars can be purchased in the specialty aisles of grocery stores or gourmet food stores, through mail-order and online specialty stores, or at local farmers’ markets. The purchase price of these vinegars is likely to be high, because figs tend to be expensive. Fig vinegars can also be made from wines, producing a sweet and sour acidity that animates various dishes.
Fig vinegars come in varieties flavored with mixed herbs or spices. Some people prefer them with herbs like basil and garlic added, while others prefer the sweetness of cinnamon or cloves added to the tangy vinegar. Winemakers in northern Italy’s wine regions offer fermented fig vinegar, which can be used as a marinade or glaze for duck or chicken. Farmers’ markets sometimes feature fig vinegars made with sweet mission or brown turkey figs with vanilla or cinnamon dressings; these make excellent hospitality or holiday gifts.
Making good fig vinegar is a two-step process. The first step is to ferment the figs in an alcohol base, as the yeast transforms the natural sugars in the figs into alcohol. The final stage occurs when bacterial cultures called acetobacter convert the alcohol into an acid that becomes vinegar. While it requires only two steps, the timing and great care during the brewing process produces the best thick, sticky vinegar for use in marinades and dressings.
Recipes for making fig vinegar from many varieties of figs can be found online or in many good cookbooks. Homemade fig vinegar can be stored in sterilized glass jars or bottles; some recipes call for refrigeration and others for room temperature storage in a dark cabinet. Fig vinegars can be combined with a balsamic vinegar and lemony olive oils to make salad dressings or dressed with salad ingredients, melons, asparagus spears or avocados. Dishes that combine nuts such as pecans or walnuts, fruits such as raspberries or cranberries, and cheeses with salad greens are well complemented by fig vinegar dressings. Dark fig vinegars can also be added in fruit pies such as cherries, apples, rhubarb or spicy pumpkin pies as the tartness will be immediately detected.
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