The best aged balsamic vinegars have nothing else added to them - only the grapes. Lesser ones will include brown sugar or caramel to mimic the sweetness of the true balsamico. If a company creates a "traditional" aged 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 Made by reduced 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 casks that concentrates the flavours. The flavour is magnified over decades, with the vinegar being kept in fine oak barrels, becoming sweet, viscous and very concentrated in flavor. Some aged balsamico vinegar is added to the "must" to produce 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 begins the long evaporation and aging process that makes aged balsamico 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 destroy the flavour.

As a key ingredient in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic pairs particularly well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic vinaigrette is great with lobster and scallops, spinach and asparagus. A balsamic dressing does well with winter vegetables 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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