What is the function of vinegar in cooking adobo besides giving flavor?

Question

What is the function of vinegar in cooking adobo besides giving flavor?

Answer 1

breaking down connective tissue..

Answer 2

A couple theories behind using vinegar, besides for flavor.

1. It is believed the acid will help tenederize the meat.  

2. The vinegar will mask any off flavors from using meat that's a little ripe (due to lack of refrigeration).

Answer 3

it add nourishment to the food we eat.

Answer 4

Besides the vinegars we know made from wine (vin aigre means, literally, sour wine), beer hops (malt vinegar), apple cider (cider vinegar) and grain (spirit or white vinegar), there is a whole other world of vinegars in the Asia-Pacific region.

The acetic acid in vinegar is a tenderiser and preservative. The Chinese were making vinegar from grains (barley, millet and rice), fruits (dates, cherries, grapes and peaches) and honey long before the Japanese borrowed the technique and began making rice vinegar in the 4th or 5th century. Further south and west across Asia, vinegar is less depended upon as a souring agent, with lime juice and tamarind performing this function. There are also a number of acid fruits and leaves which add a piquant bite to dishes from Sri Lanka to Thailand.

Perhaps the most common vinegar in South East Asia and the Pacific, particularly favoured in the Philippines, is palm vinegar. Made from the sap of palms, the inflorescence of the coconut palm or kitul palm is tapped and the sap collected and stored in wooden barrels. A starter is added and it is left to mature, after which it is strained and distilled.

There are dishes which depend on vinegar for their piquant flavour. For examples of these, see vindaloo, sorpotel and adobo under PORK. In addition, there are various kinds of pickle (achar) which are as necessary to the Indian and South East Asian table as pepper and salt in the West.

The distinctive flavour of sushi, Japan's most popular finger food, is contributed to by sushi rice, made by sprinkling cooked rice with a 'dressing' of vinegar and sugar.Japan also makes a sweet vinegar called yamabukusu.

Answer 5

aside from giving it a great mouth waterring flavor, it helps to keep the ADOBO good for hours, even DAYS... vinegar keeps foods fresh for days... it avoids the food from getting bad early... (sorry, im not that good in english, heheh!) one time, my brother cooked adobo so we will have a lunch on our way to ilocos... it was a long trip,. it took us 16hours before we got there.. of course the adobo is inside a cooler.. GOD! hours after we ate the adobo he cooked, we started rushing to the toilet one by one!,,. then, we found out that my brother forgot to put vinegar!!! so that's the reason for the tasteless and bad adobo.. we're confident that the adobo will not get bad before we arrive to ilocos coz we tot my brother put vinegar... the next year, again, my brother cooked adobo for our 16 hour trip to ilocos, THIS TIME HE DIDN't FORGOT the VINEGAR... then, well... it was a very delicious and we didn't rushed to the toilet that time...! heheh!!!

sorry for such a long story... i only want to share!!! THANKZ!