Speciality Food Magazine May 2024

blackberries my husband would say ‘could you make blackberry vinegar?’. I’d never heard of it, but he used to have it on pancakes or Yorkshire puddings for dessert.” Today, it’s still the blackberry flavour that shoppers are most drawn to, for its familiar, traditional flavour. “It’s really versatile,” says Dawn, who adds that fruit vinegars are becoming more mainstream and are being used by customers in more ways than ever before. She takes her plum and ginger variety as an example. “Lots of people use this as a drink. I think they’re looking for different things, more interesting things, to drink that aren’t alcohol or regular soft drinks. There’s so much choice available to them now, like drinking vinegars, and kombucha and water kefir.” The burgeoning understanding of what fruit vinegars are and the myriad ways they can bring a ‘little something special’ into the kitchen, is what’s making them a winner, adds Dawn. “They can drink them, use them in dressings or on salads, and they can even be used in gravies (which taste amazing), or as a glaze for meats or sauce for steak.” Dawn gives direct customers and retailers recipe sheets to help inspire them. “And to show them all the potential the vinegars have. If you can explain all the ways they can be used (I even use them to make cocktails), it really helps.” Apple cider vinegar riding high on its health claims is giving sales a boost too. “People are listening to podcasts and seeing reports and pieces on television about it,” says Dawn. “I’m not here to make health claims, but a lot of people are saying they use it for their joints and inflammation.” This is often indefatigable passion, caused ripples in both domestic and professional kitchens. Particularly her thoughts on acid. The way a squeeze of lemon juice, or a splash of the right type of vinegar can elevate and brighten even the most humble of dishes. More recently vinegar and acid have come to the fore as The Glucose Goddess (biochemist and author Jessie Inchauspe) rocked the health, nutrition and diet world with her bestseller, The Glucose Revolution. Jessie has become a poster child for so-called ‘glucose hacks’, such as taking ACV (apple cider vinegar) before meals to reduce blood sugar spikes, leading to many hours of airtime, and soaring sales of vinegar. Jessie can be credited with helping to boost ACV’s shelf appeal, with a whole new generation of functional drinks and vinegar products being marketed outside of the health food sector. Another product that’s been gaining traction amongst the health conscious, as they look to improve their diets, is EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), which has particularly been lauded by Professor Tim Spector for its apparent gut-friendly, anti- inflammatory properties, though the oil’s renaissance in the UK has been scuppered somewhat by fluctuating and increasing olive oil prices, as the industry in the Mediterranean is hammered by the effects of flooding, draught and disease. Anecdotally, some retailers say, however, their customers aren’t being driven away by rising costs, as they increasingly put their diet and health first. The acid test According to Fortune Business Insights, the global ACV market is projected to grow by 4.5% in the period from 2021 to 2028. Dawn Knutton runs a small gourmet marshmallow and apple cider-based fruit vinegar business, Yaffle House, and says she’s definitely seen growing interest from retailers and at the markets she attends. 16 @specialityfood T he impact food writers (and social media content creators) have on informing consumer tastes and buying patterns is undeniable. Delia Smith, Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver and Mary Berry have all been responsible for shopping frenzies for everything from Smash (dehydrated mashed potato) to cupcakes and pork shoulder. A series of categories that have seen their stars rise in the last few years (especially since Covid times) having had their moment in the spotlight, include oils, vinegars and dressings. When she published her best-selling book, Salt Acid Fat Heat in 2017, later followed by a smash hit Netflix series, Samin Nosrat changed the way a whole generation (particularly younger cooks) thinks about food. Her bold, confident approach to cooking, and “More people are aware of fruit vinegars and what they can use them for,” she explains. “They’re even coming up to me now saying things like ‘you can put this in drinks can’t you?’ or ‘I’ve heard about this on the radio’. There’s a lot more experimentation going on, and a willingness to try new things.” Dawn started her business as an innovative way of using up blackberries when approached by a friend to take a stall at a local farmers’ market. “Whenever I picked ALL DRESSED UP A drizzle of great-tasting oil, vinegar or dressing can make or break a dish. Speciality Food discovers the bottles consumers are reaching for right now ANGUS FERGUSON DEMIJOHN DAWN KNUTTON YAFFLE HOUSE GIANFRANCO PERRI JUST GOURMET FOODS MARIA DAWSON CLEARSPRING COMMENTATORS a starting point from customers approaching Dawn, who steers them towards the culinary benefits of fruit vinegar. Sous Chef founder Nicola Lando has a thing for Huilerie Beaujolaise fruit vinegars, which are taking off for the online foodie portal. “Pour a dash of any of their fruit juice vinegar over salad leaves or roasted vegetables, then a splash of good olive oil and a pinch of salt. I promise it rivals any more complex dressing you might make yourself.” At the moment Nicola says she’s keeping raspberry and quince vinegar to hand, but she’s also excited about