aceto balsamico tradizionale
balsamic Vinegar
is a traditional thick flavoured vinegar typically used
in Tuscan recipes. It is typically used as a salad
dressing when combined with oil or as a marinade. It
is a traditional food product originating 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 dark and viscous with a complex,
sweet taste and is much more expensive. True Balsamic
vinegar has been aged fifteen years and upwards.
The primo balsamico vinegars
have nothing else added to them - only
the trebbiano grapes. Lesser ones will add brown sugar or caramel
to imitate the sweetness of the balsamic vinegars. If a company
produces a "traditional" aged balsamic vinegar,
they will also develop a less expensive, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our complimentary Balsamic vinaigrette Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Vinaigrettes.
Balsamic vinegar is Created
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 barrels that concentrates
the flavors. The flavor is intensified over years,
with the balsamic vinegar being kept in fine oak barrels, becoming
sweet, viscous and very concentrated in flavour. Some
aged balsamico vinegar is added to the "must"
to make 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 unique. 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 recipes. Do
not heat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will ruin the taste.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic blends
very well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is wonderful with lobster and scallops,
spinach and asparagus. A balsamic salad dressing does well
with winter veggies such as carrots, turnips, squash
and sweet potatoes, as well as fresh 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.
