18 year aged balsamic
aged balsamic Vinegar
is a traditional heavy flavored vinegar normally used
in Italian gourmet cooking. It is typically used as a salad
vinaigrette when combined with olive oil or as a marinade. It
is a traditional import developed in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Produced since the Middle Ages and the
name is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
common vinegars, it is very dark and thick with a complex,
sweet flavor and is much more costly. True Balsamic
vinegar has been aged in casks 15 years and upwards.
The finest balsamic vinegars
have nothing else added to them - only
the grapes. Lesser common vinegars will include brown sugar or caramel
to feign the sweetness of the better ones. If a company
produces a "traditional" balsamic vinegar,
they will also develop a less expensive, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our complimentary Balsamic vinaigrette Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Vinaigrettes.
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 balsamic vinegar,
with a slow aging procedure
done in oak barrels that concentrates
the flavours. The flavour is magnified over years,
with the vinegar being kept in fine oak barrels, becoming
sweet, syrupy and very concentrated in flavour. Some
older balsamic vinegar is added to the "must"
to make a more complex and intricate taste, and to
add acidity.
The 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 unique. Balsamic vinegar
does not go bad after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can appreciate your best bottle
and use it on special occasions. Do
not heat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will ruin the flavor.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic pairs
particularly well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is great with seafood,
fresh spinach and asparagus. A balsamic dressing does well
with winter vegetables such as carrots, turnips, squash
and sweet potatoes, as well as new 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.
