balsamic vinager
balsamic Vinegar
is a traditional thick flavoured vinegar typically used
in Italian gourmet cooking. It is frequently used as a salad
vinaigrette when combined with vinegar or as a marinade. It
is a traditional import originating in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Produced since the Middle Ages and the
brand is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
common vinegars, it is very dark and thick with a complex,
sweet taste and is much more expensive. True Aged balsamic
vinegar has been aged fifteen years and upwards.
The finest aged balsamic vinegars
have no other ingredients added to them - only
the grapes. Lesser ones will add brown sugar or caramel
to feign the sweetness of the true balsamic vinegars. If a company
makes a "traditional" aged balsamic vinegar,
they will also produce a less expensive, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Balsamic vinaigrette Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Salad dressings.
Balsamic vinegar is Produced
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 flavors. The flavour is magnified over decades,
with the vinegar being kept in fine wood barrels, becoming
sweet, viscous and very concentrated in flavour. Some
aged balsamico vinegar is added to the "must"
to produce 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 balsamic vinegar striking and unique. Balsamic vinegar
does not go bad after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can cherish 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 goes
particularly well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is great with lobster,
artichokes and asparagus. A balsamic salad dressing does well
with winter veggies 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.
