18 year aged balsamic
balsamico Vinegar
is a authentic heavy flavored vinegar normally used
in Tuscan recipes. It is sometimes used as a salad
vinaigrette when combined with vinegar or as a marinade. It
is a traditional import 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 viscous with a complex,
sweet taste and is much more pricey. True Balsamico
vinegar has been aged in casks fifteen years and upwards.
The primo balsamic vinegars
have nothing else added to them - only
the trebbiano grapes. Lesser ones will add brown sugar or caramel
to feign the sweetness of the true balsamic vinegars. If a company
creates a "traditional" balsamic vinegar,
they will also develop a less costly, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Balsamic Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Vinaigrettes.
Balsamic vinegar is Produced
by concentrated 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 balsamic vinegar,
with a slow aging procedure
done in oak casks that concentrates
the flavours. The flavour is magnified over decades,
with the aged balsamic vinegar being kept in fine oak barrels, becoming
sweet, syrupy and very concentrated in flavor. Some
older balsamic vinegar is added to the "must"
to make 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 evaporation 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 appreciate your finest bottle
and use it on special recipes. Do
not overheat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will ruin the flavor.
As a key component
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic goes
very well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is great with lobster,
artichokes and asparagus. A balsamic vinaigrette 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.
