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Vermouth

© Lindsay W. McSweeney

Julia Child's ability to make the home chef comfortable was partly due to her lack of cooking snobbery. She once said that the only mistake in cooking that can't be fixed is a fallen soufflé. This column is a tribute to more of her practical advice, from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. "We have found that a good, dry white vermouth is an excellent substitute (for white wine), and much better than the wrong kind of white wine". While most of us know vermouth as a cocktail ingredient, you should also learn to regard it as a cooking staple.

Why substitute dry vermouth for white wine? An open bottle keeps almost forever, so you can add whatever amount the recipe calls for without needing to consume the rest of the bottle. Its botanicals add interesting taste elements to a dish, whereas white wine's subtler flavors can get lost when heated. Vermouth is effective at cutting odors, especially with seafood. Vermouth also cuts fat absorption. Finally, it's inexpensive.

When substituting vermouth for white wine, use white dry vermouth. Red vermouth is sweet, about 14% sugar, and is not a good substitute. It can, however, be added to dishes for its own unique flavor. To see what vermouth can do for a classic dish, see the recipe below for steamed mussels. Using the vermouth eliminates the need to add a variety of fresh herbs.

All vermouth is white wine flavored with a combination of up to 200 different botanicals, e.g. herbs, spices, fruits, flowers. Caramel is added to make sweet, red vermouth. These additives are infused, macerated, or distilled in a base white wine. Vermouth is inexpensive as the base wine needs to be neutral and can be mass-produced. The liquid is filtered, pasteurized, and fortified, i.e. additional alcohol is added. Vermouth's alcohol level is 16% for dry vermouth and 18% for sweet vermouth. Because it's fortified, vermouth stores well even after opening.

Vermouth was invented to be used medicinally. Its original primary ingredient was wormwood - the name "vermouth" is derived from "vermut" which is German for wormwood. Wormwood is a plant with powerful medicinal and psychoactive qualities and was used to cure stomach problems, including intestinal worms. Wormwood, however, is a very bitter plant. Wormwood as an ingredient was eventually outlawed due to its mind-bending properties, but vermouth today is still characterized by a bitter undertone moderated by the botanicals.

Apart from its use as medicines, the Italians developed a taste for vermouth as an aperitif - a drink consumed before a meal to stimulate the appetite. The first aperitif formulation, sweet red vermouth, was created in Turin in the 1700's. The French were not far behind, developing a dry version later that century. Traditionally, Italian vermouth is supposed to be sweet and French vermouth to be dry; however this distinction is no longer valid as both countries produce both sweet and dry. The three most common categories are white (dry), bianco (white and slightly sweet), and red (sweet) vermouth.

The copyright of the article Vermouth in Cooking Basics is owned by Lindsay W. McSweeney. Permission to republish Vermouth in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.