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Balsamic Vinegar In supermarkets and food shops, one can easily find aceto balsamico di Modena – balsamic vinegar from Modena. Its packaging and pricing range from the plain and cheap to the exquisite and exorbitant. There is also another vinegar that has a much higher price tag known as – aceto balsamico tradizionale. The key word here being “traditional”. This vinegar begins its life in autumn. After the grape harvest in September, the must (newly pressed juice of grapes) is boiled down by two thirds to produce a caramel like substance. As it cools, this syrup begins to ferment as the natural grape sugars turn to alcohol. After being strained, it is placed in large oak barrels where it continues to ferment than then into smaller barrels made of various woods. Almost
every batch spends at least one year in a barrel made of juniper wood,
which imparts an intense flavour. Traditionally, these barrels are
stored in the attics of farmhouses where they are exposed to the local
climate –hot in the summer and cold in the winter. The changing
temperatures speed up and slow down the fermentation. The barrels are
also graduated in size, and each year a small amount of vinegar is
removed from the last and smallest barrel to be replaced with some from
the previous barrel. This process continues until there is space in the
first or largest barrel, which is then filled by newly cooked must. No
barrel is ever emptied, so that the vinegar is a blend of many years’
harvests, dating back to when the barrels were first made. The end
product is a liquid with the consistency of honey. This age-old
technique yields a singular balsamic vinegar that, once tasted, cannot
be confused with any other. To
give a perspective on this process, it requires about 25 pounds of
grapes to made a single 6 ounce bottle of balsamic vinegar. That kind of
reduction represents a great investment in many ways but especially in
terms of time and the price tag always reflects it. The
other balsamic vinegar of Modena is the one found on supermarket shelves
all over the world. The legal definition of this vinegar is so loose
that there is a wide variation in quality from producer to producer. In
fact, balsamic vinegar of Modena can be made from nothing more than wine
vinegar combined with caramel colouring and flavouring and put straight
into the bottle. This is not to say that this industrial vinegar is bad,
it is simply different. Like wine vinegar, it can be used in salads and
marinades and in cooking. It
is easy to recognize tradizionale by the two sorts of bottles that it
comes in. The first, created by Giorgetto Giugiaro
- also a renowned designer of cars for Fiat, is a short, stocky
100ml bottle with its own glass stand. The capsules placed over the
corks are colour coded according to age: gold for extravecchio, usually
a minimum of twenty-five years, ivory for twelve years. In the province
of Reggio Emilia, producers have been allowed to bottle their own and
these bottled are sealed with red wax. The label comes in three colours,
red for twelve years, silver for twenty years or more and gold for over
twenty five years. Despite
all of these idiosyncrasies, there are countless imitations. The dilemma
for all makers of good quality balsamic vinegar, both traditional and
industrial is the lack of consistent standards and production codes. As
a cook, I tend to seek out the middle ground of balsamic vinegar’s
that begin with the grape must but which are aged in a variety of woods
for periods of only three to five years. In addition to being much less
expensive they are wonderful when added to sauces or tossed with grilled
vegetables. Balsamico
in Brief Aceto
balsamico tradizionale Traditional
balsamic vinegar from Modena comes in a short stocky bottle with its own
stand. The seal of guarantee is placed over the cork and individually
numbered. The consortium in Reggio Emilia uses a tall, vase-like bottle
with a cork sealed with red wax. Its label is round, with the AB logo on
it. Colour:
Dark brown, full of warmth and light Density:
fluid, but with a thick consistency. Aroma:
Complex, with tones of wood and grapes. Flavour:
rich, sweet and sour perfectly proportioned. Uses:
As a condiment – excellent on roasted meats, vegetables, fresh
strawberries or vanilla ice cream. Aceto
balsamico di Modena Remember
that this is made from vinegar. The price may give you some indication
of quality, as will the list of ingredients. If it is made with cook
must, or caramel colouring and added flavouring it will say so. Choose a
product that has spent some time in wood, although “aged in wood”
can mean many things –sometimes wood chips are added to aging vinegar. Colour:
Dark brown Density:
A thin, watery consistency. Aroma:
wine vinegar, sugar and caramel. Flavour:
Acidic with a caramel aftertaste Uses:
Salad dressings, sauces, as a marinade. |
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