The Secret Sweetener

     "Vinegar is a powerhouse seasoning when you add a little heat," so says Lynne Kasper & Sally Swift in their book, How to Eat Weekends.  "For instance, cook off the acid and vinegar becomes sweet.  Reducing it is also a great way to bring new flavor to inexpensive vinegars and to get bonuses of spendy ones."

     "Cook it with a little fat and it becomes syrupy, which makes it an ideal glaze for anything from savories to sweets."

     "When you boil it down with sugar to a syrup, you get a seasoning the French call gastric -- an unfortunate name, yes, but one of the great secrets behind a proper canard a l'orange and so many of those other streaky sauces you find on your place in fancy restaurants.  Gild your own gastric by throwing spices, bits of fruit, garlic, chile, or bits of bacon into that simmering reduction and you have a fast and fabulous sauce."

Mais oui!