What's Fabulous: Belberry Fresh Lime Vinegar
Belberry is a Belgian company formed in 1956 and best known for its jams and marmalades. But they also make a superb line of fruit vinegars, produced in small batches and with no colors or preservatives added.
My favorite of their eight flavors is their Royal Selection Fresh Lime Vinegar. Presented in a pretty, clear glass, 200 ml bottle, the Fresh Lime Vinegar has the sweet tang of fresh lime with the soft acidity of a fine vinegar. I often use it whenever fresh lime juice is called for in a recipe.
How To Use Fresh Lime Vinegar
- In gazpacho in place of red wine vinegar.
- In Asian dressings, whenever fresh lime juice is called for, alongside such ingredients as fish sauce and rice vinegar.
- To finish a sauce with a teaspoon or two to brighten its flavor.
- Drizzled on fish carpaccio.
- In marinades along with wine and olive oil.
- With olive oil and herbs to make a salad vinaigrette.
- In a gastrique, a mixture of sugar and acid (juice and/or vinegar) that becomes a sauce-like flavor base, as in this recipe for Seared Scallops With Lime Gastrique from Central Market in Austin, Texas.
Where To Buy
In New York, Belberry fruit vinegars are sold at Zabar's and Fairway and other better markets. Online it is often found at igourmet.com and Amazon. Prices vary and I've seen the 200 ml bottles sold for prices ranging from $8.00 to $11.00, but keep in mind that this is vinegar so you only use it sparingly.
Other Belberry fruit vinegar flavors are Sweet Raspberry, Cameroon Mango (which is a gorgeous shade of orange), Green Cucumber, Black Currant, Sweet Tomato, Red Bell Pepper, and Kalamansi Citrus.
