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Tarragon Vinegar

A vinegar steeped in tarragon leaves, clarified with isinglass.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Why it works: Vinegar and cider are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,431 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓

Tarragon Vinegar

Ingredients

Directions

Make the vinegar

  1. Place the tarragon leaves in a stone jar.

  2. Pour the white wine vinegar over the tarragon.

  3. Let it steep for two weeks.

Clarify and bottle

  1. Filter the mixture through a flannel jelly bag.

  2. Add the dissolved isinglass to clarify the vinegar.

  3. Bottle the vinegar and let it stand for one month before using.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Vinegar + cidertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,431 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

  2. White wine + cidertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together194 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).

  3. Tarragon + vinegartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,547 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Tarragon + white winetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together409 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  5. White wine + vinegartop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,776 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Green tarragon leaves
Supply the main flavour and aroma that the vinegar takes up during steeping.
White wine vinegar
Acts as the solvent that extracts flavour from the tarragon leaves.
Isinglass
Fines the vinegar, helping suspended particles settle so it becomes clear.

Swap the tarragon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (white wine, vinegar, cider):

  1. Tarragonthe original
  2. Thymefits about as well
  3. Garlicfits less well
  4. Peppermintfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against white wine, vinegar, cider. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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