balsamic
balsamic Vinegar
is a traditional thick flavored vinegar usually used
in Tuscan recipes. It is sometimes used as a salad
vinaigrette when combined with virgin olive oil or as a marinade. It
is a traditional food product that was developed in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Produced since the Middle Ages and the
name is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
table vinegars, it is very dark and viscous with a complex,
sweet taste and is much more costly. True Balsamico
vinegar has been aged 15 years and upwards.
The finest balsamic vinegars
have no other ingredients added to them - only
the trebbiano grapes. Lesser ones will include brown sugar or caramel
to mimic the sweetness of the true balsamic vinegars. If a company
makes a "traditional" aged balsamic vinegar,
they will also create a less expensive, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our complimentary Balsamic 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 balsamic vinegar,
with a slow aging process
done in oak barrels that concentrates
the flavors. The flavour is heightened over decades,
with the vinegar being kept in fine wood barrels, becoming
sweet, syrupy and very concentrated in flavor. Some
aged balsamic 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 dehydration and aging process
that makes aged balsamico vinegar unusual. Balsamic vinegar
does not go bad after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can cherish your finest bottle
and use it on special recipes. 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 wonderful with lobster,
artichokes and asparagus. A balsamic dressing does well
with winter vegetables 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.
