Pedro Ximenez balsamic
balsamico Vinegar
is a traditional heavy flavored vinegar typically used
in Tuscan food preparation. It is typically used as a salad
vinaigrette when combined with virgin olive oil or as a marinade. It
is a traditional food product developed in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Made since the Middle Ages and the
name is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
most common vinegars, it is very dark and viscous with a complex,
sweet taste and is much more costly. True Aged balsamic
vinegar has been aged fifteen years and upwards.
The best aged balsamic vinegars
have no other ingredients added to them - only
the grapes. Lesser common vinegars will add brown sugar or caramel
to feign the sweetness of the true balsamic vinegars. If a company
produces a "traditional" aged balsamic vinegar,
they will also produce a less expensive, but high quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Gourmet Balsamic vinaigrette Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Salad dressings.
Balsamic vinegar is Produced
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 process
done in oak casks that concentrates
the flavors. The flavor is intensified over years,
with the vinegar being kept in fine wood barrels, becoming
sweet, thick and very concentrated in flavor. Some
older 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 starts the long evaporation and aging process
that makes aged balsamic 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 entrees. Do
not overheat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will ruin the flavor.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic goes
particularly well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is wonderful with seafood,
fresh spinach and asparagus. A balsamic salad 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.
