I have 2 bottles of it at home, but I'm trying to understand how best to use it. Is it stronger or milder than other vinegars? How is the taste different? Do the expensive ones taste better, or are they just older? Thanks.
xnyorkr
Mar 14, 2007 11:02AM
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The expensive ones should be great on their own as a last touch to anoint a dish, great with red meat and bitter greens. The cheap ones I would avoid or reduce with sugar until thickened, though this really stinks the house up. You can also use to make a simple vinaigrette, I like to balance it with honey and whisk with olive oil, as a dressing for salad don't worry about too much whisking, it's better unemulsified really, could also be warmed up and served over fish. At work I briefly marinate tuna with balsamic gastrique( the vinegar reduced with sugar), soy sauce and olive oil: a great raw snack, or simply seared. Hope all that is of some help.
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Great balsamic vinegars are aged, for a minimum of 12 years in a "batterie" of wood casks (each cask is also made with a different wood). As the vinegar ages, it begins acquiring the flavors of the wood, much like a wine would in an oak barrel. A great deal of evaporation also occurs over the years, and the vinegar becomes slightly syrup-y, or thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. The last change is the most miraculous: the vinegar actually changes from being vinegar-y to being slightly sweet. It's at this time the vinegar seems to revert back to its original form -- that of grape juice -- or more properly, cooked grape juice (mosto cotto). It's that sweet-tartness and 12 years of wood-aging that make it, in my mind, nectar of the gods.
It's best used sparingly: a few drops over fresh raspberries or strawberries, sometimes
with a crack of fresh pepper. Over roasted root vegetables, it's sublime. Or drizzled onto
a hunk of Parmigiano Reggiano, especially if you have some Amarone wine near.
Most grocery store "balsamic" vinegars are red wine vinegar with caramel coloring.
To get a cheap approximation of the expensive stuff, dump the entire bottle into a saucepan
and reduce the vinegar to one-third its original volume. You'll need to have the kitchen fan
on for this. I use a wooden skewer to record the height of the original volume so that it's easy to ascertain when the mixture has been reduced to a third of that. Sometimes I add two teaspoons of brown sugar to this, transfer the liquid to a squeeze bottle and keep it in the fridge.
There happens to be a great deal of deception and shady practices in the selling of balsamic vinegar. Make sure you are dealing with a reputable dealer. Balsamico traditionale is the most expensive, and that is from the Modena region.
Traditionally aged balsamic outside the Modena region is sometimes called Salsa di Balsamico.
I also like what is called condimenti balsamico, a syrup-y, not new but not aged balsamic either. My favorite is SABA, from Corti Brothers in Sacramento, California.
But then, just about everything about Corti Brothers grocery store is wonderful. And they have a wonderful mail order catalog. http://www.cortibros.biz/
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I suggest you go to Williams-Sonoma or your local gourmet or Italian store (like DiBruno's in Philly or Dean & Deluca's in NYC), where they will likely have a tasting bar of their balsamic vinegars of different ages, sources and brands. That's the best way to find which one you like best, particularly given that some of the better ones can cost $30 - $50 a bottle. Thank you.
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Balsamic vinegar is a dark, thick, sweeter-then-most flavored vinegar. The quality can be so widely variable it's crazy.
The delicious ones are delicious -- the disgusting ones are disgusting and can get very sufite-tasting which is the epitomy of nasty. I'd throw out the disgusting ones -- would rather use a more basic vinegar in a dish than a bad balsamic. Sometimes there can be sediment at the bottom so be careful how you pour.
Tigerbitesman's balsamic gastrique (above) sounds delicious to me. Never tried. I sometimes mix with olive oil and using to dip bread, sometimes mix with olive oil and serve over asparagus. Another tasty, slightly more unusual use is over fresh fruit -- esp strawberries.
Here's a link where you can get ma pretty good primer on the stuff:
Here's a link to a good primer:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balsamic...
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There's a great article in the current issue of Cook's Illustrated called "How to Buy a Good Balsamic Vinegar". The did taste tests and they rate the best, which are not necessarily always the most expensive.
You can also go here...
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-balsa...
Hope that helps!
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Why not just open up a bottle and taste it? The good ones are sweet, balanced and almost syrupy. I only have the 10 year aged. There are ones labeled Modena that are more like $50 a bottle which I do not have the pleasure of trying yet.
I like it as a garnish, not to cook with. Great drizzled over a grilled steak, or use as salad dressing with olive oil. My favorite is arugula, shaved (good) parmesan, then drizzle with good olive oil & balsamic. I have also dip ripe strawberries into balsamic.
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Reduce 1 cup balsamic with cherries (frozen work fine) and 1/2 cup of good red wine (any variatal) and 2-3 tsps butter and you'll have a great sauce for venison or steak.
Just simmer everything till syrupy.
I've also made reductions of balsamic with ginger, or figs, or dried apricots, or sake, or blackberries, or beer or any combination.
I did one of a nice sauvingnon blank, balsamic, butter, a little soy sauce and pre-boiled (3 min) and peeled cippoline onions. It was a great side dish!
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Oh, my God... the price!! Good balsamic can cost $50 a cup.
I use it in half-teaspoons on things like vanilla or sweet-cream ice cream.
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I found that one can get good basic balsamic vinegar from Surfas for a good price-less then $30 a bottle(this is Italian imported, but not super old) This is affordable, and reduces to a fabulous syrup.
You don't honestly think that all the reductions you eat in fine dining places are made from $50 per cup balsamico?
You can also reduce the fake stuff. With other ingredients added to the reduction, such as figs, fruit, wine or whatnot, only the most discerning of palates would complain.
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Of course not... and since I don't eat in many fine-dining places I tend to be stuck with the people who take the red wine vinegar crap and try to pass it off as balsamic.
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How do you store balsamic vinegar? Once a bottle is opened, how long does it last? Does it ever sour or spoil?
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Mine's stored at room temp. I don't know how it can spoil - it's already vinegar...
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Yep, taste it and go with your senses. I would add that a good vinegar should not be musty or harsh. If the vinegar just tastes bad to you, throw it out. I really like it in salad dressings or as a sauce for Asian dumplings or cooked greens if I don't have black vinegar on hand. (Or cube an avocado, then toss gently with salt, pepper, and the vinegar - fabulous!)
http://frugalcuisine.blogspot.com
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Expensive balsamic vinegar isn't a typical vinegar. Its more sweet than than sour. One recommended use is as a drink, like a dessert port. The sky is the limit on price.
Cheap balsamic vinegar (say the $2/bottle at Trader Joe's) is a more typical vinegar - definitely something you would not drink straight. I prefer cheaper balsamic vinegars for vinaigrettes.
Given the huge differences, it's disappointing we apply the label the entire range as balsamic vinegar. Varieties on both the cheap expensive ends have their uses, but you probably wouldn't want to substitute cheap for expensive or vice versa.
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There are three types.
First, the supermarket ones that go for under $10, which are flavored with the real stuff. They can give a nice flavor to a salad dressing, particularly if you reduce them by about 20%.
Second, the older ones, usually in tall, narrow bottles, going for $10 to $50, but not labeled "traditionale." There's so much variation and hype that it's impossible to say much about them, other than take recommendations from people who have tried them.
Instead of the first or second level, go to a Chinese market and get aged vinegar, "Shenxi," which costs around $7 for a liter. My favorite is the "China's Secret" brand.
Third are the "true" balsamics, always labeled with the magic word is "traditionale." They come in small bottles, bulbous at the bottom, and range from $90 to astronomical. These are aged for years and periodically switched to small barrels of varying kinds of wood.
The least expensive traditionales (often called "silver label") are great, but if you're going to pay that much, go to the second level (often called "gold label"), at $125 to $175. They're syrupy and much more concentrated and intense. You use a few drops on simply steamed vegetables, sliced fruit (especially strawberries), as an after-dinner aperetif or as a sore throat cure. For a special gift, the third level ones are amazing.
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wow. great little explanation KRS. i have to admit that i have never gone the SHENXI route. will try it, tho.
a little extra bit for everyone: good-tasting (i.e. to your tastes, forget the price) balsamic drizzled on most desserts is wonderful. berries with whipped cream drizzled this way are pretty crazygood.
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Balsamic vinegar is richer and sweeter than regular vinegar--mix a few splashes of it with olive oil on a salad and toss--see how it tastes and use accordingly--blood orange salad with a splash of balsamac is great--I don't like regular vinegar since I started using Balsamic 20 years ago--good luck...
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Due to the sweetness balsamic vinegar can act as a counterbalance to say blue cheese in a salad. I enjoy with mixed greens including arugula, radicchio, and frisee with walnuts, blue cheese and of course good olive oil.
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It's good as a seasoning in a stewed fruit compote, or even (if it's decent stuff) sprinkled onto cut-up fresh fruit, especially stone fruits. I also like to use it on lamb chops that I'm going to pan-broil - spread some on both sides, then salt and pepper, and let'em sit at room temp for about an hour before cooking. This is something I used to do with worcestershire sauce, but the balsamic has a sharper and cleaner flavor. Don't even know exactly what brand I have - it's in a squatty square bottle with a wooden/cork stopper.
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I like a good salad dressing made with balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard and oil. Also try some of the flavored vinegars, love the fig balsamic which tastes great just be itself.
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We buy our balsamico and olive oils through Rare Wine Company of Sonoma. Their annual balsamico newsletter is always a great read (as are all their newsletters). They have a section of their website dedicated to balsamicos - enjoy!
http://www.rarewineco.com/html/bals.htm
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try pouring a bit from each bottle into a teaspoon and tasting it straight -- that'll tell you a lot about what to do with it and what your tastes prefer.
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I'm actually doing this since I started this post. I was really surprised at what I tasted. Great suggestions!
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And when you do find one you like, try a few drops on a piece of freshly shaved Parmigiano Reggiano. I think that will get you much closer to understanding Balsamico, per your original post.
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Please also see a recent Chowhound thread devoted to balsamic vinegar
at http://www.chowhound.com/topics/368746
Mimosa makes some excellent purchasing suggestions there.
And we agree on the balsamic/reggiano thing, as I mentioned above. Though I think
it's nice to have a glass of Amarone near to pair with them...just like they do in Verona at the enoteca Bottega del Vino.
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Great balsamics are used in small amounts.....true balsamics are the 12 year old (or older) varieties. Once you get beyond 12 years, however, most commercial processes change slightly. Instead of moving the vinegar into smaller and smaller barrels (as in true balsamics)....red wine vinegar is used to replace the evaporated portion each year. A true balsamic aged beyond 12 years will probably run in the $50 to $100 price range.
Also, I'm in culinary school, and we did a taste tasting of oils and vinegars. One of the things we learned is that for a reduction sauce, 99.99999% of restaurants are going to use a mass produced lesser quality vinegar. Its awful tough to justify taking a 12 year old balsamic and reducing it further, since it already has been reduced greatly through the process of production.
I would highly recommend finding an oil/vinegar bar in your area. They're becoming more popular, and have alternatives such as pomegranate, blood orange, strawberry, etc...all made from 12 year old, along with a great variety of olive oils. Take a tip, and don't use the bread to dip when you try.....just taste!
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