Pedro Ximenez balsamic
aged balsamic Vinegar
is a authentic thick flavoured vinegar ordinarily used
in Tuscan cooking. It is typically used as a salad
vinaigrette when combined with oil or as a marinade. It
is a traditional food product developed in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Produced since the Middle Ages and the
name is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
common vinegars, it is very dark and thick with a complex,
sweet flavor and is much more expensive. True Balsamic
vinegar has been aged in casks 15 years and upwards.
The best aged balsamic vinegars
have nothing else added to them - only
the grapes. Lesser ones will include brown sugar or caramel
to feign the sweetness of the true balsamic vinegars. If a company
produces a "traditional" balsamic vinegar,
they will also make a less costly, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our complimentary Balsamic Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Vinaigrettes.
Balsamic vinegar is Produced
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 oak barrels that concentrates
the flavors. The flavour is intensified over decades,
with the vinegar being kept in fine oak barrels, becoming
sweet, thick and very concentrated in flavour. Some
older balsamic 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 balsamico vinegar striking and unique. Balsamic vinegar
does not degenerate after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can treasure your best bottle
and use it on special entrees. Do
not overheat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will destroy the flavor.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic goes
especially well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is wonderful with lobster,
artichokes 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.
