18 year aged balsamic
balsamic Vinegar
is a authentic viscous flavored vinegar commonly used
in Italian food preparation. It is typically used as a salad
vinaigrette when combined with oil or as a marinade. It
is a traditional food product originating in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Created since the Middle Ages and the
name is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
table vinegars, it is dark and heavy with a complex,
sweet flavor and is much more pricey. True Balsamico
vinegar has been aged fifteen years or more.
The primo balsamic vinegars
have no other ingredients added to them - only
the grapes. Lesser common vinegars will include brown sugar or caramel
to imitate the sweetness of the true balsamic vinegars. If a company
creates a "traditional" balsamic vinegar,
they will also produce a less costly, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Gourmet Balsamic vinaigrette Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Salad dressings.
Balsamic vinegar is Created
by concentrated white grapes (typically,
trebbiano grapes) that has been boiled down to approximately
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 flavours. The flavor is magnified over decades,
with the balsamic vinegar being kept in fine oak barrels, becoming
sweet, syrupy 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 starts the long evaporation and aging process
that makes aged balsamico vinegar unique. Balsamic vinegar
does not degenerate after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can cherish your best bottle
and use it on special entrees. Do
not overheat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will destroy the flavor.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic goes
particularly well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is wonderful with scallops,
spinach and asparagus. A balsamic salad dressing does well
with winter vegetables 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.
