Sam explains why vinegar lends itself so well to seafood.
“You need something to cut through the protein and that’s why citrus works with seafood. Fish takes acidic flavours really well and vinegar replaces the citrus. Scallops, in particular, are very sweet, so you need to combat that. Our malt vinegar goes with slightly more robust seafood; scallops, turbot, monkfish.”
“The good thing about using vinegar instead is that, with its various flavours, it gives another dimension and a different background flavour. If you are doing a light fish – John Dory for example – it is lighter and fresher, and the Rhubarb, Kelp or Honey & Meadowsweet Vinegar would go better. The benchmark is really what wine would you pair with a particular fish dish.”
“Oysters in a mignonette, or just a few drops of the neat Sugar Kelp Vinegar instead of lemon. We are looking forward to native oysters next year from Orkney Oysters!”
“Hand-dived is obviously more sustainable with low impact on shellfish as opposed to dredged, which is like ploughing a field.”