aceto balsamico
balsamic Vinegar
is a authentic viscous flavored vinegar ordinarily used
in Italian recipes. It is typically used as a salad
dressing when combined with 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 thick with a complex,
sweet flavor and is much more costly. True Balsamico
vinegar has been aged in casks fifteen years or more.
The best balsamic vinegars
have no other ingredients added to them - only
the grapes. Lesser vinegars will include brown sugar or caramel
to imitate the sweetness of the better ones. If a company
creates a "traditional" balsamic vinegar,
they will also develop a less costly, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Gourmet Balsamic Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Dressings.
Balsamic vinegar is Produced
by reduced 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 procedure
done in wood barrels that concentrates
the flavours. The flavor is intensified over decades,
with the vinegar being kept in fine wood barrels, becoming
sweet, syrupy 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 balsamico vinegar unusual. Balsamic vinegar
does not degenerate 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 destroy the flavor.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic blends
very well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is outstanding with scallops,
spinach and asparagus. A balsamic 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.
