balsamic
balsamico Vinegar
is a authentic thick flavoured vinegar usually used
in Italian food preparation. It is often used as a salad
dressing when combined with vinegar 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
brand is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
most common vinegars, it is dark and thick with a complex,
sweet taste and is much more expensive. True Balsamico
vinegar has been aged 15 years and upwards.
The best balsamic vinegars
have no other ingredients added to them - only
the trebbiano grapes. Lesser common vinegars will add brown sugar or caramel
to simulate the sweetness of the better ones. If a company
produces a "traditional" balsamic vinegar,
they will also create a less costly, but high quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Gourmet Balsamic Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Vinaigrettes.
Balsamic vinegar is Created
by reduced 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 balsamico vinegar,
with a slow aging process
done in oak barrels that concentrates
the flavours. The flavour is magnified over decades,
with the vinegar being kept in fine oak barrels, becoming
sweet, thick and very concentrated in flavour. Some
older 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 begins the long dehydration and aging process
that makes aged balsamico vinegar 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 entrees. Do
not heat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will ruin the flavor.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic pairs
especially well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is wonderful with seafood,
fresh spinach and asparagus. A balsamic vinaigrette 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.
