About Balsamic Vinegar

Balsamic Vinegar comes from the
most simple sugar and vinegar
fermentation of cooked must but the
real secret lies in the ageing process
which is carried out in sets of different
wooden barrels over a long period of
time.

The refining of the bouquet which
grows ever more intense, delicate
and pleasant to smell and to taste, is
the most complex and delicate phase
and this is when the experience of
the master vinegar maker is essential.

While the acetification process of
ordinary vinegar is based on wine,
the production of the precious
balsamic vinegar is based on cooked
must. The classical tradition has it
that the production is made in small
wooden barrels arranged in sets of
no less than three.
The three production phases are:
alcoholic fermentation, acetic
oxidisation and ageing.

The most common woods used for the
barrels are oak, chestnut, mulberry,
cherry, ash and juniper. Each one
lends a particular aroma to the
vinegar and makes it unique.

Balsamic Vinegar can be used neat to
dress salads and crudities, on flakes
of aged cheese, to liven up
mayonnaise, creams, pastes.
It marries perfectly with all red meats,
with game or with white meats and
there is just one handy hint: it should
be added to cooked food only at the
end of cooking, so as not to lose its
aroma and volatile bouquet.


Source: Consortium of Producers of
Traditional Balsamic Vinegar from
Reggio Emilia