modena balsamic vinegar
balsamico Vinegar
is a authentic thick flavoured vinegar ordinarily used
in Italian cooking. It is frequently used as a salad
vinaigrette when combined with oil or as a marinade. It
is a traditional food product that was 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 dark and viscous with a complex,
sweet taste and is much more costly. True Balsamic
vinegar has been aged in casks fifteen years or more.
The primo balsamic vinegars
have no other ingredients added to them - only
the grapes. Lesser vinegars will include brown sugar or caramel
to mimic the sweetness of the balsamic vinegars. If a company
produces a "traditional" balsamico vinegar,
they will also develop a less costly, but high quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Gourmet Balsamic Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Dressings.
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 balsamico vinegar,
with a slow aging procedure
done in wood casks that concentrates
the flavors. The flavor is deepened over years,
with the vinegar being kept in fine wood barrels, becoming
sweet, syrupy and very concentrated in flavour. Some
older 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 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 ruin the taste.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic blends
particularly well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is great with lobster,
fresh spinach and asparagus. A balsamic salad dressing does well
with winter vegetables 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.
