traditional balsamic vinegar
balsamico Vinegar
is a authentic thick flavored vinegar usually used
in Italian food preparation. It is often used as a salad
vinaigrette when combined with virgin olive oil or as a marinade. It
is a traditional food product originating in Modena, Italy,
where it has been Produced since the Middle Ages and the
name is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
common vinegars, it is very dark and viscous with a complex,
sweet taste and is much more expensive. True Balsamico
vinegar has been aged in casks fifteen years and upwards.
The primo balsamico vinegars
have nothing else added to them - only
the grapes. Lesser common vinegars will include brown sugar or caramel
to model the sweetness of the better ones. If a company
creates a "traditional" aged balsamic vinegar,
they will also develop a less costly, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Balsamic Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic Salad dressings.
Balsamic vinegar is Made
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 procedure
done in wood barrels that concentrates
the flavours. The flavor is magnified over decades,
with the balsamic vinegar being kept in fine oak barrels, becoming
sweet, syrupy and very concentrated in flavor. 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 evaporation and aging process
that makes aged balsamic vinegar unusual. Balsamic vinegar
does not deteriorate after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can cherish your best bottle
and use it on special occasions. Do
not overheat or cook balsamic vinegar
as it will destroy the flavor.
As a key ingredient
in vinaigrette dressings, balsamic blends
very well with olive oil. Olive oil-balsamic
vinaigrette is wonderful with lobster and scallops,
artichokes and asparagus. A balsamic vinaigrette 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.
