18 year aged balsamic
aged balsamic Vinegar
is a authentic heavy flavored vinegar ordinarily used
in Tuscan cooking. It is often used as a salad
dressing when combined with olive oil or as a marinade. It
is a traditional product that was developed in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Made since the Middle Ages and the
name is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
most common vinegars, it is very dark and viscous with a complex,
sweet flavor and is much more expensive. True Balsamico
vinegar has been aged 15 years and upwards.
The finest balsamico vinegars
have nothing else added to them - only
the trebbiano grapes. Lesser ones will add brown sugar or caramel
to mimic the sweetness of the true balsamico. If a company
produces a "traditional" balsamic vinegar,
they will also create a less costly, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our complimentary Balsamic Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Salad dressings.
Balsamic vinegar is Created
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 procedure
done in oak barrels that concentrates
the flavours. The flavour is magnified over decades,
with the aged balsamic vinegar being kept in fine wood barrels, becoming
sweet, viscous and very concentrated in flavor. Some
older balsamic 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 starts the long dehydration and aging process
that makes aged balsamic vinegar unusual. Balsamic vinegar
does not go bad after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can treasure your best bottle
and use it on special entrees. Do
not overheat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will ruin the flavour.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic blends
especially well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is wonderful with scallops,
spinach and asparagus. A balsamic vinaigrette does well
with winter vegetables such as carrots, turnips, squash
and sweet potatoes, as well as spring 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.
