balsamic vinager
balsamic Vinegar
is a traditional viscous flavoured vinegar normally used
in Tuscan recipes. It is typically used as a salad
vinaigrette when combined with olive 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
common vinegars, it is very dark and heavy with a complex,
sweet taste and is much more expensive. True Balsamic
vinegar has been aged in casks fifteen years or more.
The finest balsamic vinegars
have no other ingredients added to them - only
the grapes. Lesser common vinegars will add brown sugar or caramel
to model the sweetness of the true balsamic vinegars. If a company
makes a "traditional" aged balsamic vinegar,
they will also produce a less costly, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Gourmet 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 balsamic vinegar,
with a slow aging procedure
done in oak casks that concentrates
the flavors. The flavor is intensified over decades,
with the vinegar being kept in fine wood barrels, becoming
sweet, thick and very concentrated in flavor. Some
aged balsamic 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 starts the long dehydration and aging process
that makes aged balsamico vinegar unique. 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 heat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will destroy the flavour.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic blends
particularly well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is outstanding with lobster and scallops,
spinach and asparagus. A balsamic vinaigrette 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.
