18 year aged balsamic
balsamico Vinegar
is a authentic thick flavored vinegar ordinarily used
in Italian gourmet cooking. It is sometimes used as a salad
dressing when combined with vinegar or as a marinade. It
is a traditional food product originating in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Produced since the Middle Ages and the
brand is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
table vinegars, it is very dark and thick with a complex,
sweet taste and is much more costly. True Balsamico
vinegar has been aged fifteen years or more.
The finest balsamic vinegars
have no other ingredients added to them - only
the trebbiano grapes. Lesser ones will add brown sugar or caramel
to mimic the sweetness of the balsamic vinegars. If a company
produces a "traditional" balsamic vinegar,
they will also make a less costly, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Balsamic vinaigrette Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Salad dressings.
Balsamic vinegar is Made
by reduced white grapes (typically,
trebbiano grapes) that has been boiled down to about
50% ("must") and fermenting that into alcohol.
It is then once again fermented to balsamico vinegar,
with a slow aging process
done in wood barrels that concentrates
the flavors. The flavor is intensified over decades,
with the vinegar being kept in fine wood barrels, becoming
sweet, thick and very concentrated in flavour. Some
older balsamico vinegar is added to the "must"
to create a more complex and intricate taste, and to
add acidity.
The thick syrup is transferred
to oak casks to ferment in the open
air and then begins the long dehydration and aging process
that makes aged balsamico vinegar unusual. Balsamic vinegar
does not go bad after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can cherish your finest bottle
and use it on special recipes. Do
not heat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will ruin the flavor.
As a key component
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic blends
particularly well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is great with scallops,
artichokes and asparagus. A balsamic dressing does well
with winter veggies such as carrots, turnips, squash
and sweet potatoes, as well as fresh mixed greens or
baby spinach.
The Mediterranean diet,
characterized by cuisine such as Italian food, has been
gaining popularity in North America, where the consumption
of traditional Mediterranean foods, such as cold pressed
olive oil and balsamic vinegar, has been increasing.
Many people are finding this diet as a healthy alternative
to fatty foods and deep fried food preparation.
