18 year aged balsamic
balsamico Vinegar
is a traditional thick flavoured vinegar commonly used
in Italian gourmet cooking. It is often used as a salad
dressing when combined with vinegar or as a marinade. It
is a traditional product originating in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Produced since the Middle Ages and the
name is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
most common vinegars, it is dark and viscous with a complex,
sweet flavor and is much more costly. True Aged balsamic
vinegar has been aged in casks 15 years or more.
The best balsamic vinegars
have nothing else added to them - only
the trebbiano grapes. Lesser vinegars will add brown sugar or caramel
to mimic the sweetness of the better ones. If a company
creates a "traditional" balsamic vinegar,
they will also produce a less costly, but high quality
vinegar as well.
View
our complimentary Balsamic vinaigrette Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Dressings.
Balsamic vinegar is Created
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 balsamico vinegar,
with a slow aging process
done in wood barrels that concentrates
the flavours. The flavor is heightened over decades,
with the balsamic vinegar being kept in fine wood barrels, becoming
sweet, syrupy and very concentrated in flavor. Some
aged 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 dehydration and aging process
that makes aged balsamico vinegar unusual. Balsamic vinegar
does not deteriorate after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can cherish your best bottle
and use it on special entrees. Do
not heat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will destroy the flavor.
As a key component
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic blends
particularly well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is great with scallops,
fresh spinach 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.
