White vinegar (Recipe: peach salsa)
A fun thing to know about white vinegar:
If you believe Mary Poppins (and who doesn't?), a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, but did you know that a spoonful of white vinegar helps meringues go up? It also helps set the color of vegetables when you're boiling or blanching; helps add moisture to chocolate cakes; helps keep frosting white and shiny; helps keep eggs from cracking as they're boiling; and helps perk up wilted vegetables (soak them in cold water with a teaspoon of white vinegar).
So, take your medicine if you must, but keep white vinegar (which isn't really white; it's clear) in your pantry for everything else.
Storage:
In the cupboard, at room temperature, indefinitely. Vinegar is a natural preservative.
Pantry items used in this recipe:
White vinegar (more facts and ingredient photo)
Honey
Garlic
Cumin
Cayenne pepper
Peach salsa
Every summer my friend Lucia makes this peach salsa, and I make black bean and peach salsa soup. This year, I delivered the peaches from our friends Bob and Charlotte, who have a couple of very lovely peach trees, to Lucia, who adapted this recipe from That's My Home and gave me a precious jar of salsa, some which I'm going to turn into a barbecue sauce for Bob and Charlotte. Good deal, all around. Makes 5-6 cups.
Ingredients
6 cups of peeled and diced peaches
1-1/4 cups diced red onion
4 jalapeño peppers, minced (or less, to taste)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, loosely packed and then chopped
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Directions
Place all ingredients in a heavy, nonreactive pot. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Either pack into hot, sterilized jars and process in a boiling water bath; or store in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to two weeks.
More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Half-sour dill pickles
Cantonese pineapple-cucumber salad
Wacky cake
Rhubarb-apricot chutney
Backyard barbecue sauce
Other recipes that use white vinegar:
Rolled gingerbread cookies, from The Cooking Photographer
Carne asada, from Simply Recipes
Cucumbers in sour cream, from Rah Cha Chow
Red velvet cake, from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody
Salt and vinegar broiled fingerling potatoes, from Umami Girl
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i love peachy salsa - brilliant sweet savory flavors and always works incredibly well with poultry i find!
I like your format very much, and enjoy learning about the different ingredients that you use. I'm moving the white vinegar to a place in my cubboard where I can be reminded to use it more often.
Looks fabulous! A friend gave me his special mango salsa recipe and I haven't even made it yet. But I was thinking of using half mangos half peaches. I'll compare his recipe to yours! Looks too scrumptious!
Love peach salsas--my grandmother made them all peach season- I recently made pulled pork tacos with peach salsa and shredded spinach. Yum! Also she always added nutmeg to it. And agallon of vinegar was always was within arms reach. The Scandnavian in her. Maybe??????? Keep up your format..Love it!
And white vinegar helps unclog sinks too! That and baking soda are the wonder pantry ingredients.
The salsa looks great! And the peaches at the farmers' market are amazing too!
Love the info--and what a perfectly seasonal recipe! Mmmm, peach salsa. Will have to try this one.
I'm craving peaches the last few days. Love the idea of using them in salsa.
This looks simply delightful. I bet this sort of sweet/spicy salsa would be great with carnitas!
Oh, and your format is just fine. I'm having fun digging through your archives right now. :-)
I loved all the "tidbits" about white vinegar! I had forgotten so many of those. I made shrimp tacos with peach salsa recently and it was yummy!
Great tips on white vinegar, Lydia. And the peach salsa looks incredible!
This Looks Wonderful! I love peaches but I've never try them in salsa. This is a great recipe and will definitely try it!
Thanks Lydia!
Meeta, I agree. Peaches and chicken, peaches and turkey -- and also peaches and fish work really well together.
Mary, I'm laughing, because I often find too many bottles of white vinegar languishing in the back of the pantry shelves. I need to move it up front, too.
Jamie, that sounds like it would be fabulous. My husband is a big mango fan; he'd love the combination.
Pat, I'm not a pork eater, but I think pork and peaches would be a great pairing. In fact, there's a recipe here for pork and peaches, written by a guest blogger a couple of years ago. You can find it with the search box.
Julia, and it kills weeds in my gravel path, too!
Deena, the time to try it is now, while peaches are still in season. Yum.
Kalyn, ripe peaches dripping down my chin remind me of childhood. Nothing better (except maybe ripe tomatoes, fresh from the garden).
TrippyTexan, have fun in the archives. There's lots of good stuff there!
Debbie, shrimp tacos with peach salsa sounds divine. Next time, invite me for lunch!
Christine, it's really good. I look forward to Lucia making it every year.
Aldy, the sweet and hot flavors in this salsa work really well together. I hope you try it.
I am simply starving now!
great new format - great tips.
Thanks for reminding me about what a wonder white vinegar is!!
As I look to the late summer farmer's markets, most farms here in Virginia say this is the last week for their peaches. I will have to give this salsa a go! I made some summer peach salsa and canned it last year, but gotta say this recipe looks much better. Thanks for sharing.