Robert Bauer and Josef Reiterer make a series of vinegars in Germany all of them from French wine made from the fruit: in this case black currants (crème de cassis). It is my all time favorite vinegar for mixing with club soda in the summer. Just a splash in soda turns the whole drink into a pink sweet summer spritzer!
Blackcurrants were banned from the United States in the early 1900s because they carried a disease that affected the pine logging industry. The federal ban was lifted in 1966, but several states still outlaw its cultivation.
The color of this almost forgotten fruit is dark and intense. The flavor of the vinegar is complex and unique – sweetness comes through as does the small bite from the acidic acid. You can use the vinegar in your soda, to deglaze a pan, on top of a chicken salad, or with fresh peaches!
