What is a reduction sauce? I briefly remember coming across this term on one of my weekly Food Network binges but never have I ever attempted to make one or work with one. So when Vintage Valley reached out and personally had a selection of their new range of reduction sauces sent to my work and my colleagues asked what it was or what I was going to do.. I had no clue.

So first things first as we fast forward a few weeks let me share with you my favourite answer found on the internet to that first question I posed:

"A reduction sauce is simple what the name implies-reduction. It is an elegant way to make use of all those delicious pan drippings from a pan grilled steak or a sautéd chicken breast. It is adding liquid and reducing it by heat so as to concentrate the flavors and infuse thosescrumptious flavors in the pan you may have previously thrown away. A reduction sauce is NOT a gravy. It is a sauce. The difference is a thickening of the flavor without thickening the sauce itself." 

(Woody, firefoods.co.uk)

With this in mind I had set out to experiment and cook up as many different new recipes as I could using the six different bottles of reduction sauces sent to me by Vintage Valley.

Which requires me to pop down another definition. This one for "vincotto/vinocotto", the general style of sauces in this range.

"Vincotto, which translates literally as “cooked wine”, isn’t actually a reduction of wine but of the unfermented crushed fruit and skins of dark grapes, known as “must” (vincotto is also known as mosto cotto or “cooked must”). What results is a light syrup with a sweet and sour flavour, known in Italian as agrodolce, and this perfect balance makes vincotto equally at home in sweet and savoury dishes. In classical times, it was used in tandem with honey as a basic sweetener before sugar cane took centre stage. These days, vincotto is generally used in the same fashion as balsamic vinegar: for dressings, de-glazing and drizzling over fruit and dairy-based desserts." 

(Christine Osmond, 2013, SBS)

The six flavours I had were: Vino Cotto, Cherry Vino Cotto, Fig Vino Cotto, Blood Orange Vino Cotto, Caramelised White Wine Vinegar, and Caramelised Red Wine Vinegar.

All completely unique and delicious and special in their own ways. The general flavour overall is definitely as described by the above definition. Kind of sweet, kind of sour, kind of like balsamic, kind of like sugar syrup. 

The cherry vino cotto is very deep and rich in flavour and aroma. It is quite smooth with no bitterness and I love how it authentically resembles black cherries. I felt like cherry vino cotto would pair well with red meat and wanting to go just a little further outside of the box, I chose some lean cuts of kangaroo steak to bring you guys this recipe.

Ingredients:

• Kangaroo steaks
• Marinade: Vintage Valley - Cherry Vino Cotto, salt, pepper, herbs of choice
• Asparagus, washed
• Sweet potato, cubed
• Tomatoes of choice
• Mushrooms
• Butter/Oil

Method:

1. Marinade the kangaroo steaks in the the marinade mix for up to an hour to overnight
2. Steam the asparagus and sweet potato in a covered microwave-proof bowl with 3tbsp of water until tender
3. Heat up frying pan with butter/oil and sauté mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat
4. Sauté baby tomatoes until skins start to wrinkle, around 3 minutes. Remove from heat
5. Fry kangaroo steaks on each side for around 4-5 minutes. Remove from pan and cover with foil for approx. 10 minutes
6. Slice meat when ready to serve

This fig vino motto is honestly like a big warm hug. It has the 'deep earthy flavours' of mature figs and a gritty and much welcome texture thanks to the inclusion of the small fig seeds. This sauce would work perfectly in a dessert and is so delicious with ice cream, but how about with a meal? 

Yep.

Just perfect.

Ingredients:

• Pork scotch fillets
• Marinade: Vintage Valley - Fig Vino Cotto, oyster sauce, salt and pepper
• Mandarin segments, peeled
• Brussel sprouts
• Butter/oil

Method:

1. Marinade pork scotch fillets in marinade mix for up to an hour or overnight
2. Roughly chop Brussel sprouts. Season with salt and pepper and saute with butter/oil in frying pan. Alternatively leave whole if preferred 
3. Fry pork scotch fillets on each side for around 4-6 minutes depending on thickness. Remove from heat
4. Deglaze the pan with Vintage Valley Fig vino cotto to create a drizzle sauce 
5. Assemble the pork, mandarin segments and brussel sprouts when ready to serve 

This is one of my favourite sauces of the lot! 

It truly has such a luxurious and velvety taste. Definitely sharper and more savoury than the rest because of being a vinegar. To add, I found this sauce extremely versatile. I've used it as a marinade, a salad dressing, a reduction sauce - but to be honest my new found favourite way to use it is by making caramelised red wine onions. And I've never liked caramelised onions but with this, now I do.  They're the perfect way to boost the flavours and textures in your dish, and pairs so well with steak!

Ingredients: 

• 1-2 large yellow onions, halved and sliced from root to stem
• 1tbsp butter
• Salt 
• 1/4 cup of Vintage Valley - Caramelised Red Wine Vinegar

Method:

1. Heat butter up in pan. Add sliced onions and gently stir to coat
2. Check every 5-10 minutes to ensure onions are not burning in their caramelisation process! Keep the heat at medium. At around 20 minutes they should be quite golden brown and jammy looking. Cook according to your taste
3. When you're happy with the taste, deglaze the pan with some Vintage Valley caramelised red wine vinegar and stir into the onions
4. Serve with your choice of dish. 

When I think of blood oranges, I think of a sour and bitter fruit. It's not something I prefer compared to normal oranges. But with this vino cotto the inevitable sourness and bitterness balance each other out and produce something that is somewhat sweet and reminds me of orange peel and zest. I really have come to like this sauce. It recommends that it is good with poultry which brings me back to my this orange chicken with roasted veggies my mum created one Christmas. This is me trying to recreate that with the help of the vino cotto.

Ingredients:

• Chicken thigh fillets
• Marinade: Vintage Valley - Blood Orange Vino Cotto, turmeric, ginger powder, onion powder, orange juice, olive oil, salt and pepper
• Orange slices
• Vegetables: yellow onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, brussel sprouts
• Olive oil

Method:

1. Marinade chicken thighs in marinade mix
2. Preheat oven to 180
3. Cut vegetables into preferred shapes and sizes. Toss in olive oil and season with salt and pepper
4. Place chicken with orange slices on top into oven, surround with vegetables 
5. Roast for around 40 minutes until chicken is cooked through
6. Serve when ready!

This sauce is quite similar to its red wine vinegar counterpart in the way that it is sharp and luxurious. Notably it is also the most crisp tasting sauce of the lot and I can see this being the perfect thing to use in delivering a bittersweet flavour to dishes. I tried this with the pork recipe at first and I really enjoyed it with potatoes which soaked up all the flavours. But in my most recent attempt, I have to say it is very uplifting as a salad dressing.

Ingredients:

• Salad mix of choice
• Prosciutto
• Bocconcini/buffalo mozzarella 
• Figs
• Vintage Valley - Caramelised White Wine Vinegar

Method:

1. Assemble salad with salad mix, prosciutto, cheese, cut figs
2. Dress with Vintage Valley caramelised white white vinegar!

And last but not least, good old classic Vino Cotto. My actual favourite of the lot and the one that I can't imagine anyone not absolutely loving. It is so tasty and versatile and it goes well with literally everything. Entrees, sides, mains, desserts, snacks - you got it. It has such a fruity aroma that I find very more-ish. I chose to put this into a dessert recipe which I'm sure you will all love once you give it a try.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 medium Corella pears
• 500ml water
• 4tbsp white sugar
• 1/3 cup Vintage Valley - Vino Cotto
• Vanilla bean (or substitute 3tsp vanilla essence)
• Orange rind strips
• Mascarpone
• Sponge cake (optional)

Method:

1. Peel the pears
2. Add the water, sugar, Vintage Valley vino cotton, vanilla bean, orange to a small/medium saucepan
3. Turn on the heat to medium and stir until sugar dissolved. Add the pears in and ensure they are covered with syrup
4. Simmer uncovered for approx. 20 minutes until pears are soaked and tender
5. Remove pears from syrup. Reserve the syrup, it can have other uses in the future. Leave around  3/4 cup syrup in the pan and simmer over medium-high heat for 10 minutes until a thick syrupy consistency
6. Serve poached pears with a generous spoon of mascarpone, sponge cake and syrup sauce!

Hope you guys enjoyed my post about Vintage Valley reduction sauces and will give some of my recipes a go! They are currently available in select supermarkets and grocers so if you find it, I promise you won't regret it. It was such a new flavour experience for me and I'm truly thankful for the opportunity. A big thank you to Vintage Valley and Chris for reaching out to me xx 

Kimmiebites was invited to review this product by robotklan and Vintage Valley. All opinions and recipes in this post are genuine, honest and highly recommended. I wouldn't post about it if I didn't like it or thought it was bad :)