About Gourmet Vinegar
_________________Balsamic vinegar is a traditional condiment made from a reduction of cooked grape juice (not fermented into wine) and aged in wooden barrels. In order to make sure you are purchasing the real thing, look for the words aceto balsamico tradizionale on the bottle. True balsamic vinegar comes from the province of Emilia Romagna, in northern Italy, with the towns of Modena and Reggio Emilia being the epicenters of balsamic vinegar production. In the traditional method, white grapes (often of the Trebbiano variety) are boiled into dark syrup and then aged in attics in wooden barrels with a vinegar mother.The attic location exposes the vinegar to the extremes of weather it needs to develop – the dry heat of summer aiding in concentration, and the cold of winter in sedimentation and clarification. In the strictest aging process, the vinegar begins in wooden barrels, then as it ages and concentrates, it is put into successively smaller barrels made of different woods: chestnut, cherrywood, ash, mulberry, acacia, juniper, and oak. Each different wood imparts its character to the vinegar, which becomes dark and glossy, sweet and viscous. Chestnut deepens the color while cherry sweetens the vinegar, for example. An artisanal process of topping up the vinegar from the next barrel up is performed annually by a master vinegar maker. The aging process is at least twelve years; the finest balsamic vinegars are aged 100 years or more. Due to this topping up process, a vinegar making family’s smallest, last barrel would contain the oldest vinegar, perhaps from two or three generations previous, forming a tangible link with the ancestral family heritage. It is also traditional for a family to put up a barrel when a baby is born, then serve the resulting balsamic vinegar on the child’s 21st birthday. Barrels of balsamic vinegar were often given as dowries in the Emilia Romagna region. The wooden barrels themselves are valuable heirlooms, passed on through the centuries and generations.
A less expensive condiment grade balsamic vinegar can be produced, although it will not have the approved labeling of the original. These are sometimes simply not aged for the full twelve years, or are an unaged product made of wine vinegar with the reduction of grape juice added to it. They may also be traditionally made, but outside the two approved regions. We do offer balsamic vinegars that have been aged for eight, nine, or ten years, as well as twelve, 25 and 100 year balsamics. Euro Gourmet also carries cream of balsamic vinegar, which is thicker so that it does not drip off foods, which is a very versatile product for chefs – or home chefs!
Although balsamic vinegar has been used through the ages in Italy, where it originated, it is only since the late 20th century that it has been well known in the United States. Much like olive oil, it was originally used extensively as a medicine for everything from childbirth to indigestion to snakebite. The term “balsamic” comes from this use as a balm for whatever ailed one. It was also considered to be an aphrodisiac. Balsamic vinegar is used not only where you might expect to find vinegar, i.e. paired with oil to dress a salad, but often drizzled over cheese or fresh fruit. It is often used as a sauce for steak or fish. The fine aged versions are sometimes taken in a tiny glass as a digestif after a meal. Balsamic vinegar has a complex flavor balancing sweet and sour, which serves as a dazzling counterpoint or evocative for flavors in other foods. When using the tradizionale, aged balsamic, it is not cooked for long periods as this diminishes the flavor and aroma that have been years in the making. Generally it is added at the end of cooking, just to heat through, or sprinkled on to a cooked (or raw) dish – even vanilla ice cream! For simmered sauces or marinades – uses of more than a few drops, and exposure to heat, the condiment grade balsamic vinegars are used.
Related to balsamic vinegar is the condiment saba reale, which begins with the same cooked down grape must that balsamic vinegar does, but rather than a short cooking and a long aging, the grape must for saba reale is cooked for a longer time period – as long as 30 hours - then aged briefly, perhaps for two or three years. Sometimes it is not aged at all. Cooking the grape must down condenses the sweetness; the short aging period adds complexity. When sugar was expensive, saba was the sweetener used by the poor. In the south of Italy, saba is called vino cotto, or cooked wine. It adds not only sweetness, but flavor. This sweet grape syrup is used in much the same way as balsamic vinegar – as a condiment for vegetables, soup, rice, ice cream, or cheese. It can be used as a drink when diluted with water or sparkling water. We have not only the classic vino cotto, but fig, apple, pear, plum, even black truffle vino cotto. Our product line includes some very distinctive wine vinegars. Wine vinegar is the most commonly used vinegar in the Mediterranean countries, whereas in the US white vinegar is the most common. The finer wine vinegars are often wood aged for up to two years and tend to have a lower acidity than white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. We stock both red and white wine vinegars, as well as Spanish sherry vinegar.
We also carry an unusual Italian condiment, colatura di acciughe, syrup of anchovies. Originating from the Campania region, it is a byproduct of the anchovy curing process, which takes up to five months. It is considered a “protected” ingredient by Slow Food International, as not very much is produced nowadays. Colatura di acciughe, or colatura di alici, has its origins in Ancient Rome and is a rich, salty condiment used most commonly to flavor pasta dishes. It can also be interchanged with fish sauce in Asian cuisines.
If balsamic vinegar on its own isn’t complex enough for your needs, we also have truffle flavored balsamic vinegar – with either black or white truffles – for an even more intense flavor sensation.
CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SPECIFIC PRODUCTS AND THEIR RICH HISTORY:
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PASTA | OLIVE OIL | VINEGARS | FISH & SEAFOOD | VEGETABLES | MUSHROOMS
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