The primo balsamico vinegars have nothing else added to them - only the trebbiano grapes. Lesser vinegars will add brown sugar or caramel to feign the sweetness of the true balsamico. If a company makes a "traditional" balsamico vinegar, they will also create a less expensive, but high quality vinegar as well.

View our free Gourmet Balsamic vinaigrette Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Dressings.

Balsamic vinegar is Produced 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 oak casks that concentrates the flavors. The flavor is magnified over years, with the vinegar being kept in fine wood barrels, becoming sweet, syrupy and very concentrated in flavour. Some older balsamico 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 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 appreciate your best 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 especially well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic vinaigrette is outstanding with lobster and scallops, fresh spinach and asparagus. A balsamic vinaigrette does well with winter veggies 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.

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