Caroliva balsamic
balsamico Vinegar
is a authentic viscous flavoured vinegar usually used
in Tuscan recipes. It is often used as a salad
vinaigrette when combined with vinegar or as a marinade. It
is a traditional food product that was developed in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Created since the Middle Ages and the
brand is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
table vinegars, it is very dark and heavy with a complex,
sweet flavor and is much more expensive. True Balsamico
vinegar has been aged 15 years or more.
The finest aged balsamic vinegars
have nothing else added to them - only
the trebbiano grapes. Lesser vinegars will include brown sugar or caramel
to simulate the sweetness of the better ones. If a company
creates a "traditional" balsamic vinegar,
they will also create a less expensive, but high quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Gourmet Balsamic Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Dressings.
Balsamic vinegar is Made
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 process
done in wood barrels that concentrates
the flavours. The flavour is magnified over decades,
with the aged balsamic vinegar being kept in fine oak barrels, becoming
sweet, viscous and very concentrated in flavour. Some
aged 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 evaporation and aging process
that makes aged balsamico vinegar unique. Balsamic vinegar
does not degenerate after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can cherish your best bottle
and use it on special occasions. Do
not heat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will destroy the taste.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic pairs
especially well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is outstanding with lobster,
spinach and asparagus. A balsamic salad dressing does well
with winter veggies 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.
