Spanish balsamic
balsamico Vinegar
is a traditional thick flavored vinegar usually used
in Italian cooking. It is frequently 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 Created since the Middle Ages and the
brand is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
table vinegars, it is dark and viscous with a complex,
sweet taste and is much more pricey. True Aged balsamic
vinegar has been aged in casks fifteen years or more.
The best balsamico vinegars
have no other ingredients added to them - only
the trebbiano grapes. Lesser vinegars will add brown sugar or caramel
to mimic the sweetness of the better ones. If a company
makes a "traditional" aged balsamic vinegar,
they will also make a less costly, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Gourmet Balsamic vinaigrette Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Vinaigrettes.
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 balsamico vinegar,
with a slow aging procedure
done in wood casks that concentrates
the flavors. The flavor is deepened over decades,
with the vinegar being kept in fine wood barrels, becoming
sweet, viscous 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 begins the long evaporation and aging process
that makes aged balsamic vinegar unusual. Balsamic vinegar
does not deteriorate after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can appreciate 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 component
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic goes
particularly well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is wonderful with scallops,
spinach and asparagus. A balsamic salad dressing does well
with winter veggies 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.
