traditional balsamic vinegar
balsamico Vinegar
is a authentic thick flavored vinegar normally used
in Tuscan recipes. 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 Produced since the Middle Ages and the
name is protected by the Italian government. Unlike
table vinegars, it is very dark and heavy with a complex,
sweet taste and is much more pricey. True Balsamic
vinegar has been aged in casks fifteen years and upwards.
The finest balsamico vinegars
have nothing else added to them - only
the trebbiano grapes. Lesser vinegars will add brown sugar or caramel
to feign the sweetness of the better ones. If a company
produces a "traditional" aged balsamic vinegar,
they will also create a less costly, but quality
vinegar as well.
View
our free Gourmet Balsamic Recipes.
Oil and vinegar Balsamic 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 oak barrels that concentrates
the flavors. The flavor is heightened over decades,
with the balsamic vinegar being kept in fine oak barrels, becoming
sweet, thick and very concentrated in flavour. Some
aged balsamico 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 balsamico vinegar unusual. Balsamic vinegar
does not deteriorate after opening as oxygen is part
of the aging process, you can cherish your finest bottle
and use it on special entrees. 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 outstanding with seafood,
fresh spinach and asparagus. A balsamic salad dressing 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.
