Vinegar: Mas Portell Moscatel

We don't know why, but for some reason it's incredibly difficult to find good vinegar in Muscat. Sure, there's your apple vinegar (horrible!) and your cheap balsamic (enriched with all kinds of artificial flavouring), but those don't make us particularly happy. We were very pleasantly surprised, therefore, when we stumbled upon a Moscatel Vinegar. At Lulu, nonetheless!

This Spanish vinegar is made from the Moscatel grape, which normally produces very aromatic, full white wines, that can reach phenomonal sweetness levels. The grape works very well for vinegar too. Many producers let their vinegar age for a number of years, to reach a more concentrated and complex flavour. These can get pretty expensive. A cheaper option is to add a bit of concentrated grape juice to the base vinegar. This adds a touch of sweetness and body, and it is exactly what the people of Mas Portell have done. Not as good as an aged vinegar of course, but perfect for daily use.

The Mas Portell Moscatel Vinegar is available at Lulu for 2.090 OMR per bottle (500ml). A very reasonable price for a good product. Now all we can do is hope that Lulu keeps it in stock...