Balsamic vinegar is versatile in the kitchen. We help you choose the right variant for dinners during the holidays.
Balsamic vinegar is a type of vinegar from the Italian region of Modena. The ratio between must and vinegar partly determines the quality. The traditional preparation to which no vinegar is added is expensive and is under strict control to guarantee the quality.
Oil &Vinegar shares with us some helpful facts about balsamic vinegar. You will find an extensive range of balsamic vinegars in the Oil &Vinegar store and webshop.
A good balsamic vinegar is a unique product:sweet and sour are in balance, the taste is complex and you can taste and smell the wood of the barrels in which it has matured. The texture is delicious. Older balsamics are sweeter, richer in taste and more viscous than young ones.
Unlike ordinary vinegar, balsamic vinegar is not prepared from alcohol, but from must:the unfermented juice of late-harvested white Trebbiano and/or Lambrusco grapes. Balsamic vinegar comes in many types and qualities. The less wine vinegar added to the must and the longer the balsamic has aged, the better. The purest and most expensive, the balsamic tradizionale, consists of pure grape must (without wine vinegar) and has matured for at least 12 years.
The best balsamic vinegars are made according to the Solera method. The vinegar maker uses a series of barrels for this. The youngest balsamic is in the largest barrel and the oldest and most precious in the smallest. Whenever enough moisture has evaporated in the smallest vessel, it is replenished with balsamic vinegar from the second smallest vessel. This is again supplemented with balsamic from the third smallest barrel, and so on. When the balsamic has matured sufficiently in the smallest barrel, it is bottled. The barrels are located in large, drafty attics and are exposed to natural temperature changes. The type of wood of the barrels partly determines the aroma. There are barrels of oak, chestnut, cherry, mulberry, ash and juniper wood.
What do you combine balsamic vinegar with? Balsamic vinegar is versatile in the kitchen. You can use it as a bread dip (combine with extra virgin olive oil), with fried or grilled meat, in salads, with cooked vegetables (green asparagus, green beans, chicory, broccoli…), with grilled vegetables (eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper), on hard cheeses such as Parmesan cheese or Pecorino, but also mozzarella and desserts such as fruit ice cream and pannacotta.
– White balsamic:white balsamic is made from uncooked grape must and therefore light in color. Chefs choose this variety if they do not want to darken a dish.
– Indicazione Geografica Protetta:these are so-called IGP balsamics with a Modena quality mark. At Oil &Vinegar, these have a special medal to recognize them:from red to gold, from good to great.
– Extra vecchio:this balsamic has aged for at least 25 years in old barrels. It has a complex and powerful taste. You only need a few drops to flavor your dish.
– With the addition:nowadays there are also balsamics with flavor accents, such as raspberry, truffle, blood orange and more.
Text:Oil &Vinegar | Image:Shutterstock
