One of the first booths that caught my attention at the Farmers' Market was the “Chaparral Gardens Artisan Vinegars” under the care of Craig Clark.

The name says it all, really, since these vinegars truly are a work of art: from growing and picking the ingredients themselves, to taking the time to carefully process the few gallons they will bottle later on. Free tastings of the vinegars convinced me that it was necessary to procure one of them.

We took careful consideration of all the flavors, and finally decided to take home a Roasted Pepper and Blackberry Vinegar. We experimented with it almost on the point of arrival, sprinkling it over angel food cake topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. It was delicious, and added a nice twist to a traditional American dessert, leading us to try it with other desserts, such as ice cream.

“Chaparral Gardens Artisan Vinegars” is truly unique, and with a selection of eight handcrafted vinegars (Blackberry, Raspberry, Italian, Peach Fuzzy Navel, Raspberry and Basil, Roasted Pepper and Blackberry, Winter Ambrosia, and Pacific Spice) they have started what is without a doubt an amazing culinary experience for all of us. They have been working on their infusions for three seasons already, and have recently made their move to make their products more accessible to the public.

They can be found at the San Luis Obispo Farmers' Market every Thursday afternoon (from six to nine) at the corner of Broad Street and Higuera Street.

Craig really likes the Farmers' Market because he gets the opportunity to see and interact with people who want to taste his vinegars, which is great because it gave me a perfect opportunity to talk to him. He is very polite and approachable, and was happy to grant me an interview for this project. While talking he told me about their web page, which you should visit frequently to see what's new, and told me a bit about the story behind producing these tasty vinegars.

How did this all start? Well it turns out that Craig and his wife Cari used to grow organic vegetables and fruits at their ranch to sell at the Farmers' Market. As legend has it, after a particularly large crop of Raspberries turned up, Cari, not liking the idea of letting them go to waste, decided to create a vinegar out of them.

They tried it, and it was great! So, that Christmas, they gave bottles away as presents, then produced a few to sell at the Farmer's Market in Avila Beach and San Luis Obispo. The vinegars sold out pretty quickly. And so, they started creating new flavors to our delight.

Besides the recipes featured in their Web Page, Craig also recommends using their vinegars to make glazes.

He says the Roasted Pepper and Blackberry Vinegar is an excellent addition to Grilled Salmon and the Pacific Spice is perfect to go with white fish, shrimp, scallops and even shark steaks. Another good use is Chinese chicken salad, or adding it to coleslaw.

He also blatantly advised me never to mix the vinegars with Cottage or Chèvre Cheese.

So how would you use any of these wonderful vinegars in the kitchen? A simple but tasty option is to sprinkle some on top of a strawberry shortcake as we did, but the man himself, recommended trying it on grilled salmon, so here is a quick way to grill a salmon and use your vinegar:

Roasted Black Pepper and Blackberry Vinegar Glazed Salmon

1. Choose salmon fillets about one inch thick.

2. Remove skin if desired. (I like the skin on the salmon, but that's me)

3. Season with some salt and pepper.

4. Preheat the grill to medium-high.

5. Lightly oil the grill.

6. Depending on the thickness of the fillets, cook the fish 3 minutes on each side. (Ideally, you should turn it only once. If the fish is thicker by an inch, increase the time by 2 minutes per side per added inch)

7. Once it is ready, sprinkle it with a table spoon of your Chaparral Gardens Roasted Black Pepper and Blackberry Vinegar. (You can also make a glaze with the vinegar and some butter and then brush it on top.)

8. My suggestion is to serve it with a simple green salad; lettuce, blue-cheese crumbles, with spinach, chopped red onion and bits of bacon.