modena balsamic vinegar
balsamic Vinegar
is a traditional viscous flavoured vinegar usually used
in Tuscan recipes. It is often used as a salad
dressing when combined with virgin olive oil or as a marinade. It
is a traditional food product developed in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Created since the Middle Ages and the
brand is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
common vinegars, it is very dark and heavy with a complex,
sweet taste and is much more costly. True Aged balsamic
vinegar has been aged fifteen years and upwards.
The finest aged balsamic vinegars
have nothing else added to them - only
the grapes. Lesser vinegars will add brown sugar or caramel
to imitate the sweetness of the better ones. If a company
creates a "traditional" aged balsamic vinegar,
they will also create a less expensive, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Balsamic vinaigrette Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Vinaigrettes.
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 flavor is heightened over decades,
with the balsamic vinegar being kept in fine oak barrels, becoming
sweet, syrupy and very concentrated in flavour. Some
older 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 begins the long dehydration and aging process
that makes aged balsamic 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 taste.
As a key component
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 veggies 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.
