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Vodka
Also called plain vodka
A near-neutral distilled spirit. In the kitchen it is a solvent — spicy vodka pasta uses a shot to pull tomato and cream into one emulsion — not a flavour you should taste as vodka. Decent supermarket vodka is enough; flavoured bottles are usually worse.
Origin
Eastern European distillation, now global industrial alcohol. The pasta-sauce habit is Italian-American, not a Slavic stew tradition.
Flavour
Almost none if it is clean. Harsh vodka tastes of ethanol until it cooks off. You should not be able to name the brand in the dish.
How it is made
Fermented mash is distilled to a high proof and filtered. The cooking difference between cheap and fancy is smaller than the internet claims.
How to use it
Add the shot after the tomato paste has fried, then simmer until the raw alcohol smell goes — a minute or two. The spirit helps tomato and fat mix. A cream-and-tomato sauce without vodka still works; it just splits more easily. Gin will perfume the pot with juniper; skip it. Water is not a substitute for the solvent job.
Storage
Cupboard, cap on. It does not go off in any timeframe you will cook in.
Recipes using it
Checking your allergy settings…