Pedro Ximenez balsamic
balsamico Vinegar
is a traditional heavy flavoured vinegar ordinarily used
in Italian gourmet cooking. It is typically used as a salad
dressing when combined with vinegar or as a marinade. It
is a traditional product originating in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Produced since the Middle Ages and the
name is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
most common vinegars, it is very dark and heavy with a complex,
sweet taste and is much more costly. True Balsamico
vinegar has been aged in casks fifteen years or more.
The finest balsamic vinegars
have nothing else added to them - only
the trebbiano grapes. Lesser ones will add brown sugar or caramel
to simulate the sweetness of the true balsamic vinegars. If a company
creates a "traditional" balsamico vinegar,
they will also produce a less expensive, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Balsamic vinaigrette Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Vinaigrettes.
Balsamic vinegar is Made
by concentrated 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 barrels that concentrates
the flavours. The flavor is heightened over decades,
with the vinegar being kept in fine wood barrels, becoming
sweet, syrupy and very concentrated in flavor. Some
aged balsamico 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 starts the long evaporation and aging process
that makes aged balsamico vinegar unique. Balsamic vinegar
does not deteriorate after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can cherish your finest bottle
and use it on special entrees. Do
not heat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will destroy the taste.
As a key component
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic goes
especially well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is outstanding with lobster and scallops,
spinach and asparagus. A balsamic vinaigrette 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.
