18 year aged balsamic
balsamico Vinegar
is a authentic thick flavored vinegar commonly used
in Tuscan gourmet cooking. It is sometimes used as a salad
dressing when combined with vinegar or as a marinade. It
is a traditional product developed in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Produced since the Middle Ages and the
brand is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
most common vinegars, it is dark and heavy with a complex,
sweet flavor and is much more costly. True Balsamic
vinegar has been aged fifteen years or more.
The finest balsamic vinegars
have nothing else added to them - only
the trebbiano grapes. Lesser common vinegars will add brown sugar or caramel
to mimic the sweetness of the balsamic vinegars. If a company
produces a "traditional" aged balsamic vinegar,
they will also produce a less costly, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our complimentary Balsamic vinaigrette Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Dressings.
Balsamic vinegar is Created
by reduced 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 procedure
done in oak casks that concentrates
the flavors. The flavour is deepened over years,
with the vinegar being kept in fine wood barrels, becoming
sweet, thick and very concentrated in flavor. Some
older balsamic vinegar is added to the "must"
to create 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 begins 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 finest bottle
and use it on special recipes. Do
not overheat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will ruin the flavour.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic goes
very well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is great with lobster,
spinach and asparagus. A balsamic dressing does well
with winter veggies 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.
