aged balsamic vinegar
balsamic Vinegar
is a authentic thick flavoured vinegar usually used
in Tuscan gourmet cooking. It is sometimes 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 Made 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 flavor and is much more costly. True Aged balsamic
vinegar has been aged 15 years or more.
The best aged balsamic vinegars
have no other ingredients added to them - only
the grapes. Lesser common vinegars will add brown sugar or caramel
to feign the sweetness of the better ones. If a company
produces a "traditional" balsamic vinegar,
they will also create 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 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 balsamic vinegar,
with a slow aging procedure
done in wood barrels that concentrates
the flavours. The flavour is deepened over years,
with the aged balsamic vinegar being kept in fine oak barrels, becoming
sweet, syrupy and very concentrated in flavour. Some
aged balsamico vinegar is added to the "must"
to create 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 balsamico vinegar striking and unique. Balsamic vinegar
does not go bad after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can treasure your best bottle
and use it on special recipes. Do
not overheat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will ruin the flavor.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic pairs
particularly well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is wonderful with lobster,
spinach and asparagus. A balsamic salad dressing does well
with winter vegetables 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.
