An Introduction to Balsamic Vinegar  

Overview

Today, a kitchen without balsamic vinegar is hard to imagine. Yet as recently as the late 1980's, balsamic was an obscure Italian ingredient, prized by cognoscenti but little noticed outside its native province of Emilia Romagna.  Now trendy chefs scatter it on anything and everything from abalone to zebra.  However, some food lovers would argue that a little gourmet balsamic vinegar is a blessing, but an overdose can be fatal to any ingredient. 

So where does balsamic vinegar do best?  Most industry insiders agree that it is truly splendid as a seasoning, adding inimitable depth of taste to marinades for fish and poultry, and to grilled vegetables such as eggplant and bell peppers.  (In principle, balsamic vinegar will do well wherever a touch of sweetness is welcome!)  Onion or leek confit flavored with balsamic has become a classic, as has the dash of balsamic in a tomato-and- mozzarella insalata caprese.  We all think of pears with blue cheese, but in Italy pears with well-aged Parmesan (see below) and a few drops of the very best gourmet balsamic are the traditional combination to end a meal.

It is important to understand that fine gourmet balsamic, aged 25 years or more, can be sipped from the glass like Port. (The name comes from "balsam," the plant resin that is rubbed on the skin as medicinal balm.)  Ripe strawberries have a particular affinity for the dense, aromatic taste of balsamic, and many gourmands worldwide agree that a freshly picked heirloom tomato, its acid and sweetness intensified with a sprinkling of the best balsamic, can be one of the most elegant desserts imaginable.

As a key ingredient in vinaigrette dressing, balsamic pairs particularly well with olive, walnut or hazelnut oils.  An extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette is superb with lobster and scallops, globe artichokes and asparagus. A nut oil and balsamic dressing does well with winter vegetables such as carrots, turnips, squash and sweet potatoes, as well as cold weather greens such as frisee, radicchio and Belgian enpe.  It is with delicate summer lettuces that many gourmands would argue that a balsamic vinaigrette is too heavy, but by no means would everyone agree!

The History of Balsamic Vinegar

The first written documents regarding balsamic vinegar date back to the the eleventh century when in a chronicle of the benedictine Donizone, something is said about a small barrel of vinegar given as a present by Marquess Bonifacio, Sir of the Canossa castle and Matilda's father, to the King and future Emperor Enrico II of Franconia in the year 1046.

The diffusion of the balsamic started in the 1598 when the Duke of Este moved from Ferrara to Modena, that became the capital of the dukedom.  There are documents of this period that confirm the particular attention that the ducal court had for this product that was usually reserved for the ducal family or as a present for very important people.

In the 1700's balsamic vinegar is already known in Europe: archives documents testify that an english merchant and the Count Michele Woronzon, high chancellor of Moscovia, asked the balsamic vinegar to the Duke Francesco III.  The balsamic vinegar, before being used in gastronomy, was used for its medicamentous properties.  In the treatise " of the government of the plague and of the ways of bewaring of it " written by Ludovico Antonio Muratori, eminent modenese scholar, he describes some remedies based on the vinegar, useful as antidotes against the terrible disease.

Among all the devastations caused in Modena by the french revolution there is also the auction sale in 1796 for the French republic, of the vinegar house of Duke Ercole III, situated in the west tower of the Ducal Palace of Modena.  Probably not all the barrels were sold : on the 4th of may 1859 the ducal vinegar reserve was visited by Vittorio Emanuele II, the new king, and the prime minister Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour ; the next 24th of august the prime minister ordered to select all the best barrels and to transfer them to the Moncalieri's castle, where, for the very poor knowledges about the technical secrets, but this leaded to the loss of this immense treasure.

The method of preparation of balsamic vinegar did not undergo any significant changes for many centuries.  The traditional raw material for balsamic vinegar had always been wine vinegar, which was then aged for even hundreds of years.  This is the hallmark of a tradition which was handed down from generation to generation.

Even the Estense family, which ruled the Duchy of Modena from 1598 to the middle of the 19th century, possessed large stores of balsamic vinegar which became famous throughout Europe.  Menus from this period show that it was never lacking at meals.

The culinary requirements of such a renowned court made it necessary for the west tower of the Ducal Palace in Modena (residence of the Estense family) to be dedicated exclusively to the production of balsamic vinegar.  In 1861 Mr. Aggazzotti, a lawyer, introduced a revolutionary production technique that used concentrated grape must as the raw material instead of wine vinegar.  This is the method that has been used ever since to produce traditional balsamic vinegars like Patryus.

Only a tiny proportion of balsamic production is "the real thing".  Less than 3,000 gallons of genuine Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale are released each year, all of it made in Modena, a historic town just west of Bologna, or in nearby Reggio Emilia.  Traditizionale is made from freshly pressed juice ("must") of the Trebbiano grape that is boiled down by more than half to a dark syrup laden with sugar, which leads to the distinctive sweetness of the finished vinegar.  The syrup is transferred to oak casks to ferment in the open air and then starts the long evaporation and aging process that makes artisan balsamic vinegar unique.

Over the years, the vinegar mellows and intensifies by evaporation as it is transferred to ever-smaller casks of various woods, ending with one of juniper.  Measure for measure, prices of the best balsamic match those of a top Bordeaux or Pinot Noir wine.  When buying balsamic, the key word on the label is tradizionale, the guarantee that it was made and aged in Modena by traditional methods. Balsamic vinegar does not deteriorate after opening as oxygen is part of the aging process, so treasure your best bottle and use it on special occasions.  To subject such nectar to heat would be an insult and a grave injustice to all of the intense efforts that have preceeded it!

Using Balsamic Vinegar in Today's World

Happily for us cooks, more modest and affordable everyday versions of balsamic vinegar, (costing $20 and up), are also made in Modena and elsewhere.  These are the vinegars that are so valuable as marinades, as flavorings in sauces and dressings and that can be simmered a short time without serious damage to their character.  Making good quality vinegar is a long process, which accounts for the price.  Cheap vinegars lack the subtlety of their more expensive counterparts and tend to be too harsh and acidic.  It's worth paying that bit more for the mellow, full-bodied character and deep lingering flavour of these excellent vinegars.  There are a lot of bad balsamics out there, too, at their worst made simply of white vinegar and caramelized brown sugar. On the whole you get what you pay for, so be sure to read the label.

All those sweet-sour recipes for duck and pork can be adapted to make good use of a moderately priced balsamic vinegar, as can delicious dark sauces for quail, dove, wild duck and venison.  Balsamic vinegar is a great substitute for Marsala with veal scaloppini and saltimbocca. I've come across a lively little salsa, using strawberries, spring onions and cucumbers (see below) dressed with balsamic, which is great with fish.

Consider This As a Long-Term Investment

Want a sure-fire, long-term (or maybe super-long-term) investment?

Move to Modena, Italy, cook down huge batches of unfermented juice from Trebbiano grapes, then pour it into wooden barrels that are, oh, 400 or 500 years old.  Age it for up to 100 years, designate it as aceto balsamico tradizionale balsamic vinegar, then sell it for $135 for a 3.5 ounce bottle.  (Your great grand kids will be so pleased that you did!)

Or, if that investment strategy leaves you a bit cold, drive to your nearest fine food emporium and stand in line to snap up small, ornate bottles of the world's finest balsamic vinegars: concentrated vinegars so exceptional in taste, complexity and tradition that in Italy, they're often given as wedding dowrys.  Conversely, you could always browse our selection of superb balsamic vinegars!

Buyer Beware however: In order to be an authentic balsamic vinegar, it has to be from Modena, Italy. These are vinegars that are for people who are very serious about fine cooking.

What makes a true gourmet balsamic vinegar?: The Process behind the Potion

In Modena, the making of traditional balsamic vinegar follows a precise set of time-honored rules which some say date back as far as the 13th century.  Trebbiano grapes are harvested, as late in the season as possible for maximum sweetness, from the land that lies between the valley of the river Secchia and to the west of the river Reno.  They are pressed, but before the juice can ferment, it is simmered gently over an open flame to reduce it by as much as seventy percent.  This concentrated grape must is filtered and cooled, and then slowly, slowly transformed through a complex aging process.  The liquid passes through a battery of five casks, each of a different wood, and each smaller than the last.  The casks of oak, ash, cherry, chestnut, and mulberry range from sixty down to twenty liters.  The timing of each topping up of the smaller barrels with balsamico decanted from the larger ones is determined by the sugar content as well as the personal sensibility and artistry of the particular producer, and there is no rushing the process for the finest results.  The balsamico must experience the cold of winter and the heat of summer for at least a decade to achieve the rich overtones that grace the ideal balance of sweet and piquant.

Over the maturation period, measured in years, the vinegar is moved through a series of wooden casks: oak, chestnut, cherry, cedar, mulberry, ash and juniper all impart unique flavors as a part of the maturation process.  As the process continues three major factors come to play; evaporation, concentration and blending.

Most traditional balsamic vinegar is carefully aged and blended and transferred from small casks to ever-smaller casks.  All of effort is very good for the slow aging of the vinegar but it means that a great deal of the liquid is lost to evaporation.  Sometimes as much as 85% is lost.  (i.e.  if you started off with 100 liters, in twelve years your hundred liters will have become a mere fifteen!) Lovers of Balsamic vinegar have learned to look for the more syrupy, viscious, liquid, for the thicker the vinegar, generally, the older it is and therefore the richer.

Complex flavor in fine Balsamic Vinegar comes from this long and exacting aging.  Balsamic vinegar makers keep a secret art in the matching and blending of resinous aromatic wood staves.   One taste of a truly fine Balsamic will make clear why it is worth all the effort. Balsamic Vinegar is truly in a class apart from other vinegars.  Unlike the sharp tastes we usually associate with vinegar, balsamic vinegar presents a rich dark complex of sweetness and intrigue.

Today, the production of Balsamic vinegar continues in the hands of families, although a number of larger companies produce balsamic vinegar.  Unfortunately, some of those companies are rather unscrupulous, sometimes using red wine vinegar laced with caramel to try to replicate the taste of balsamic.  While Balsamic Vinegar lends itself well to a stunning vinaigrette, it may find its highest expression in distinctly un-vinegar-like roles such as a splash on fresh fruit or ice cream!

Phyllis and Greg Sprout began their company, epicureanfoods.com, in July 1993.  They specialize in supplying hard-to-find gourmet foods, fine wines, gift baskets and other non-food gourmet items to discriminating customers across North America.  Their combined 50+ years in the fine food and fine wine businesses uniquely enable them to assess the wide variety of gourmet & specialty foods, fine wines and non-food gourmet items available on the market today.  They offer only those items that they deem to be superior to comparable competitive products and that represent superb value to the consumer.   They also have a thriving wholesale division of their company which services gourmet shops, gift shops and gift basket companies across North America.  They can be reached at phyllisandgreg@epicureanfoods.com.