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Balsamic Vinegar
The balsamic vinegar with which most of us
are familiar, selling from $3.99 up, is not traditional balsamic vinegar.
Instead, it is decent wine vinegar flavored with herbs and caramel to mimic
the flavor of traditional balsamic.
The expense of aceto balsamico traditionale, with its seductive,
characteristic scents of herbs and woods depends on two factors: the length
of time it takes to make — twelve years minimum — and the very
large amount of grapes needed to produce even a small amount of vinegar.
The traditional vinegar differs from all other vinegar in that the grape
juice is concentrated by boiling in copper cauldrons before the alcoholic
and the vinegar fermentations begin.
Traditional balsamic by law must be at least twelve years old before sale
but it is often much older. Aging takes place in a series of wooden barrels.
Over the years the vinegar moves from larger to smaller barrels made of several
woods including oak, chestnut, ash, mulberry, juniper, locust, and cherry.
Each of the woods adds its flavor to the vinegar while evaporation claims
about ten percent of the volume each year.
If you are lucky enough to acquire a bottle of aceto balsamico
traditionale, use it, drop by drop, on ripe strawberries, on fresh grilled
steak, on mushrooms, and slivers of Parmesan cheese. Add just a few drops
to heighten the flavor of vinaigrettes made with less expensive balsamic
and wine vinegar. For every day use, shop for a balsamic that smells pleasantly
of a rich blend of herbal and woodsy scents, and has a smooth, rich taste,
at once sweet and tart.
Buy Balsamic Vinegar.
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