Vinegar makes Austria bigger in the map

Just before a recent flight returning from Vienna, an astonishing display of five different Austrian vinegar types was witnessed at the Austrian Airlines lounge. Visiting Vienna as a tourist does not easily allow one to realize the importance of vinegar in the country. Oil and vinegar are not usual restaurant table companions to salt and pepper unlike in Mediterranean countries. Famous Viennese schnitzel calls for acid condiment like British fish and chips does. That need is actually filled at first sight by freshly cut lemon. Malt vinegar bottles, so demanded in UK pubs, don't play a similar role within Austrian restaurants. What is then the explanation for the impactful vinegar display at one airport lounge?

Thinking twice, you will realize vinegar is actually the key condiment when preparing one of the most popular Viennese side dishes: potato salad. It is not only served in a dedicated bowl complementing the schnitzel, but also surprisingly found at the bottom of lettuce and tomato salads. Perhaps the fact that potato salad arrives fully seasoned to the customer's table, makes vinegar bottles unnecessary. Goulash soup is another example of popular Viennese dish that requires vinegar during its preparation. This savoury soup recipe, which was assimilated from Hungary, also hides vinegar from tourists' sight.

Secondary research on the Internet confirms Austrians value vinegar above the average European citizen. Being the fourteenth most populated country within the EU [1], in 2021 Austria was the eighth largest vinegar exporter and eighth largest vinegar importer in the region [2]. Actually from 2007 to 2018, Austria featured the most notable vinegar consumption growth rate among main consuming countries in Europe [3].

Austrian vinegar variety is also surprising for Southern European visitors, who tend to have higher gastronomic self-perception. When you search for Austrian vinegar on the Internet, specialized online shops position balsamic pear and balsamic apple vinegars on top of their bestsellers. One would have assumed in the balsamic world there was no room for anything besides the ubiquitous Italian balsamic vinegar. Austrian brands such as Gegenbauer, Gölles and Hirmann actually produce vinegars from an extensive list of pressed fruit juices, including peach, apricot, fig, cherry, blueberry, currant, plum, melon, date, quince and a very exclusive Austrian type: white asparagus.

Vinegar producers in Austria are also particularly committed to circularity and waste reduction. Gegenbauer for instance produces balsamic honey thanks to feeding bees on the sugars that seep through the wood of ageing apple balsamic vinegar barrels. It also produces tasteful eggs from chickens eating the raspberry seeds [4]. On its side Gölles uses dried seeds from multiple fruits to feed its heating system [5].

[1] Worldometer (July 16th, 2023). Countries in the EU by population (2023). https://www.worldometers.info/population/countries-in-the-eu-by-population/

[2] Vinegar and substitutes for vinegar obtained from acetic acid. OEC. Retrieved June 19th, 2023, from https://oec.world/en/profile/hs/vinegar

[3] IndexBox (January 21st, 2020). Vinegar market in the EU increases for the third consecutive year, reaching $871M. Global Trade Magazine. https://www.globaltrademag.com/vinegar-market-in-the-eu-increases-for-the-third-consecutive-year-reaching-871m/

[4] National Geographic (August 3rd, 2018). Meet the maker: the man behind Austria's finest vinegar. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/meet-maker-man-behind-austrias-finest-vinegar

[5] Unser Obst. Zur Gänze verarbeitet. Gölles. Retrieved October 22nd, 2023 from https://www.goelles.at/unser-obst-zur-gaenze-verarbeitet/