Oil & Vinegar Launches Customized Vinegar Box, “Lo Scrigno,” Just In Time for the Holiday Season

Growing Chain Continues to Provide Unique, Gourmet Products to Culinary Industry

SEATTLE —In addition to supporting the everyday foodies’ craving to become top-chef, Oil & Vinegar, an interactive gourmet culinary specialty shop packed with international flair, flavor and passion, has captured the culinary gift-giving segment. This holiday season, Oil & Vinegar, has launched its most unique product, “Lo Scrigno,” a customized Vinegar Box with some of the highest quality vinegars in the world, Giusti Vinegars. This customized gift is extremely exclusive and can only be found in the U.S. at selective locations, including Oil & Vinegar.

“We look forward to the Holiday season every year at Oil & Vinegar,” says Debbie Gokhan, COO and Chicago franchisee of Oil & Vinegar, “It is a time of gift-giving and we love being able to add some gourmet flavor through our customized gifts to families across the country.”

Giusti is the oldest and most awarded producer of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. Founded 1605, first in writing Balsamic Vinegar recipe 1865, Giusti was awarded 14 gold medals during 1800’s prestigious exhibitions, granted Royal Seal of Approval in 1929 as supplier of King of Italy. Giusti boasts the largest and most recognized collection of ancient casks, dating back 1600-1800, drawing aromas and flavours created centuries before.

This collection of Balsamic Vinegars of Modena, originally created on the December 4, 2006 for a special request of the late tenor Luciano Pavarotti for a Red Cross Charity Auction, contains many different types of vinegars, each of which are made up of cooked must and wine vinegar.

The five types include “Silver Medal - Profumato,” which has a firm flavour, good balsamic acidity and intense bouquet of aroma. This vinegar is ideal for salads or raw vegetables and can be lightly heated to be added to sauces and condiments. The second type is “Gold Medals - The Classic”, which has a rich bouquet and perfect balance between sweet and sour that makes it and is the most versatile product. Its perfume makes it a high class choice for salads, meat and fish.

The third type is “Gold Medals - Riccardo Giusti” which is extraordinarily dense with a pleasantly sweet aftertaste. Rich and thick to the palate, it is ideal for barbecues, cheeses, fruit, and also devoured alone. The fourth is “Gold Medals - Fourth Centenary” which was extracted in limited quantity from casks from 1800’s, this quality, celebrating the four centuries of Giusti activity, is rich, full bodied and deeply aromatic Balsamic, to be used in drops for the highest culinary art.

And last is the “Gold Medals - Banda Rossa” which is the pride of the Collection, a very limited quantity of an irresistible Balsamic aged for many years in the most precious Giusti casks, dating from 1600s-1700s. This vinegar has a high density, intense perfume, and fruity notes. Gold Medals can be used for the most noble and special occasions. These five bottles are finished by hand with a selection of balsamic vinegars ripened in ancient casks of the “Gran Deposito Ace to Balsamico Giuseppe Giusti” collection and are matured respectively in oak, chestnut, cherry, mulberry and ash casks”

“We are honored to be able to offer this traditional, rare and high quality Vinegar Box for the Holiday Season,” said Gokhan, “We are looking forward to sharing it with our guests for gifts and to be able to have so much history and richness at each of our stores.”

In addition to the Vinegar Box, this holiday season guests can create their own gifts or meal flavorings with the “on-tap” oils and vinegars, along with mustards, sauces, pestos, tapenades, olives, marinated vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes, honeys, fig spreads, fondue chocolates, dried herb mixes, sea salts, spices and a variety of flavored pastas.

With Autumn Sprouts Some New Delicious Food

Autumn is setting in and some amazing food is blossoming with the new season. It’s time for delicious soups, squash, and pumpkin. So many delicious vegetables prompt an endless list of recipes in my mind. One of the great flavors I enjoy using this time of year is Pumpkin Seed Oil.

Pumpkin seed oil is a staple in Austrian cooking, but it is just now making favor with chefs and foodies worldwide. At Oil & Vinegar we carry pumpkin seed oil from Styria, Austria which is considered the highest quality and is DOP protected.

Pumpkin seed oil has this wonderful, nutty flavor that blends so well with squash, pumpkin, potatoes, and other autumn vegetables, and an intense green color that comes from the husks of the seeds. Pumpkin seed, like many other oils, is cold pressed, and because of its delicate nature, it is used cold or as a finishing oil, so it won’t lose flavor or nutritional value. Pumpkin seed oil has valuable health benefits and is full of vitamins and minerals, but it is the culinary adventure you will experience that is truly a delight.

Pumpkin seed oil makes a simple dressing for a salad when mixes with muscat wine vinegar and a bit of fresh ground pepper. It is also amazing as a finishing oil in squash or pumpkin soup. You can even toss steamed vegetables in a bit of the oil. Though I haven’t tried it myself, I have even seen recipes for vanilla ice cream with pumpkin seed oil!

A Business to Fit Your Passion and Lifestyle

Finding a unique niche community that seeks out your product/services and connects with you on a personal level, should be the goal for all franchise concepts around the country. Oil & Vinegar distinguishes itself in the franchise industry because unlike the restaurant concepts, it connects with people involved in all facets of the food industry. Whether it be chefs, food enthusiasts, or the average “foodie”; Oil & Vinegar is a great opportunity to get involved in their own business and still have an attractive lifestyle prospect.

Oil & Vinegar gives people who are looking for a unique, exotic, international concept, a chance to have that option here in the U.S. While you may live in America, it is always nice to experience international cultures, foods, and lifestyles. Joining the Oil & Vinegar brand is a great way to enjoy international flair on a day-to-day basis and also to share that experience with your community and neighbors.

Many entrepreneurs are interested in being a part of the “food community” when selecting their own business venture. Often people immediately think the restaurant industry is the only way to delve into this field. Unlike the restaurant industry, which requires extensive hours, retail concepts allow a more attractive lifestyle and “family-friendly” appeal. Oil & Vinegar combines the best of the both worlds allowing the opportunity to be involved in the food industry, for passionate foodies, and an accessible lifestyle that the entire family can be a part of.

Being able to tackle your life-long passion and open a business that fits your lifestyle are two incredibly important issues to explore before committing to a business investment. Oil & Vinegar allows the chefs and food enthusiasts to bring a unique concept of which they are passionate about to their local communities, giving consumers an exotic retail experience never done before.

Passionate About Pasta

At Oil & Vinegar, celebrating Holidays, new seasons, and events is always an exciting time for us. We are entering a new season and to celebrate the beginning of fall, we have launched our newest promotion: “Passionate About Pasta”. As autumn is approaching quickly and it's back to school, back to routine and back to basics. Switching back to a routine is never easy, but Oil & Vinegar can help with quick, easy to use pasta recipes that are delicious and always a crowd pleaser.

Discover a new world of flavor prepared with old world traditions in our San Marzano Tomato Sauces available in 4 flavors; Marinara, Seafood Marinara, Artichoke and Garlic with Zucchini Flower

Our pastas are made by an expert artisanal pasta maker and contain wheat germ in the semola (bran) that the large commercial pasta makers are not able to use, giving our pasta an extraordinary, unique taste. The pasta is slow pressed, laid out by hand and slow dried at a low temperature to capture the fresh tastes. Available in traditional, squid ink, garlic & basil, saffron, tomato, truffle, lemon & pepper, salmon and chili pepper.

Here are some customized recipes for your enjoyment, come visit Oil & Vinegar for some of these ingredients:

Papardelle Pasta Salad
Cook 1 bag of Tomato Papardelle Pasta according to the package directions, drain, rinse with cold water and mix with a bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to keep the pasta from sticking together. Add 1 ½ cups of diced vine ripe tomatoes, 8 oz package, drained of boccocini mozzarella, or 1 large fresh mozzarella, diced, 1 ½ Tbsp Miscuglio spice mix, ¼ cup Bonsecco Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp Garlic Olive Oil and 1 Tbsp series 7 balsamic vinegar. Mix well and serve cold

Seafood Tubetti
Cook 1 package of Tubetti al Limone e Pepe Pasta according to the package. In another pan sauté in Extra Virgin Olive Oil 3 cloves of crushed garlic together with 2 stalks of chopped celery and 4 ounces of fresh tuna. When the tuna is fully cooked add ½ glass of white wine and 2 Tbsp of Muscat Vinegar. Puree the mixture in a blender until creamy. Return the mixture to the pan, add 1 can of tuna fish and 6 Pomodori Sunpomo, cook until hot. Mix the sauce well with the Tubetti al Limone e Peppe pasta.

Tagliolini with truffle salsa
Lightly sauté two sliced cloves of garlic and 4 chilli peppers finely chopped or 2 tsp of crushed chillies in extra virgin olive oil. When the garlic begins to become transparent, remove from heat. Cook the tagliolini in plenty of boiling water with sea salt, ‘al dente’. Drain the pasta and add it to the oil, garlic and chilli, add one jar of truffle salsa and draw the oil mixture and truffle salsa through the pasta until evenly coated. Top with grated parmesan cheese.

The World of Balsamic Vinegar (Part Two)

Well, now that it is clear to us what actually is recognized as balsamic vinegar, here are a few more questions that Claudio clarified for us:

D: Sometimes we see Balsamic Condiment on a label; what is the difference between a Balsamic Vinegar and a Balsamic Condiment?

C: Actually, there is no such thing as a Balsamic Condiment. Remember, the only recognized Balsamics are those we discussed before. Using the name ‘condiment’ is for marketing purposes because the producers are not allowed to label it as vinegar unless they follow the rules we talked about. Often the acidity level is lower than the required 6% for a balsamic.

D: How can a consumer know if they are buying a quality aged Balsamic Vinegar?

C: No one can tell you how aged a Balsamic Vinegar is. In fact it is prohibit by law. If it is from the consortium you will know it is high quality, if it is not, the consortium has created a classification with ‘leaves’ for other balsamics. It is rated from 1 to 4 leaves (4 is the maximum). So the more leaves the higher the quality; you can assume the higher the number of leaves the more aged, but no one can indicate it.

D: We see ‘white’ balsamic in the market, yet have heard that there is no such thing. What is it?

C: White balsamic is an unaccepted denomination that is supposed to be less and less on the market since the IGP will make more controls. Technically it is a condiment which is white as the must is “decolorated”, filtered. There is no connection to the fact that white grapes are used, in fact white grapes are the grapes for normal Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, they become black because the must is cooked and therefore becomes black. It is possible that a “white condiment” tastes like balsamic, but it is not recognized as balsamic and there are no rules to the making of or ingredients of the “white condiment”.

So there you have it. As you can see, balsamic vinegar is such an interesting subject and we could probably talk about it for weeks!

There are a few things I would like to add from my own experience with balsamic vinegar. First of all, because there is such a wide variety of qualities and flavors out there, the most important thing is that you enjoy the taste.

Remember that traditional balsamic vinegar is extremely expensive and used for special occasions, or for special uses, such as an aperitif, drizzled on fruit or on ice cream. There are no rules, but I wouldn’t recommend a traditional extra vecchio balsamic for salads!

Keep in mind that balsamic vinegar is made from grape must, so read the label. You can find anything from pure grape must, to white wine vinegar with caramel additives and just a small quantity of grape must. Be wary of super inexpensive “aged” balsamics, as we learned, there is no such thing, and you get what you pay for!