What is the difference between...

korbo, Feb 17, 9:43am
malt and white vinegar for pickling....does malt alter the colour of some pickles, like the green tomato one, was a horrid grey/greenish colour, so i added some green food colouring. now have a nice dark green pickle.

Also why do some relish recipes, say to leave overnight in salt, and others you boil up from start....get what i mean.....

lx4000, Feb 17, 8:09pm
I would think taste and color. But not game to taste test! hehehe

greg.n.michelle, Feb 17, 9:31pm
ok Kob found the book so will start typing it out

greg.n.michelle, Feb 17, 9:34pm
Red and white vinegards are usually 6 per cent acid and are suitable for all pickle and chutney making, they have a good clean flavour. Cider vinegar has an acidity of about 5 percent it has a soft smooth taste and is excellent choice for chutneys ans similar but is not acid enough for pickles.

greg.n.michelle, Feb 17, 9:35pm
malt vinegars usually have an acidity of 6 percent making them suitable for all forms of chutney and pickle making, malt vinegars have a distinct flavour, distilled malt vinegar is flavourless.

greg.n.michelle, Feb 17, 9:36pm
Rice wine vinegar is a soft tasting vinegar and tends to have an acidity of only 5 percent. pickles made with it will not have a long shelf life and should be stored in the fridge..

greg.n.michelle, Feb 17, 9:38pm
This is from the book Jams and chutneys by Thane Prince and gives lots of good advice cheers.

korbo, Feb 18, 12:45am
wowee, thanks so much for that greg....very interesting. have printed out, and will put in my recipe book.

cgvl, Feb 18, 1:07am
I have found that if a recipe asks you to salt vegies overnight it is to draw out excess water ... my understanding. I always rinse off the salt very very well otherwise you end up with a salty horrid taste to the finished product.

The vinegar one I think os really a taste/look thing. I tend to use malt vinegar for all my chutneys/relishes unless the recipe states that you must use a white vinegar.
Usually white vinegar for delicate tastes, where you dont want the malt to over power the fruit/vegies.

susieq9, Apr 28, 8:10pm
I have used half white and half malt in my recipes with no problems. This is only if the recipe states for malt vinegar.