Review- Caramelised balsamic reduction from EDC

[LauraTO]

I am subtitling this review "Why Laura is a giant idiot and shouldn't be allowed within 10 feet of the kitchen, except sometimes her mistakes turn into genius new creations."  A bit unwieldy I know, but I'm open to input.

I decided to make this recipe since I'm having a dinner party tomorrow and wanted to drizzle it over a caprese salad (tomatoes and mozzarella and basil.)

The recipe calls for 500 g of balsamic vinegar, which is a really big amount.  Balsamic is expensive.  My bottle was 250 g and it was about $15.  But I thought it would be really nice and I'd be able to use it in other things, so I decided to try the recipe with some of my bottle, about 150 g.  I used a proportional amount of sugar.  BUT.  And this is a big but.  I used the same amount of time. Big mistake. 

What I ended up with my friends, was balsamic TOFFEE.  I poured it out of my TM bowl before it started to harden, and noticed it had a golden sheen reminiscent of when I was young and used to make taffy with my grandma.  I dipped in the spoon and I pulled out a golden thread of this new creation, which quickly hardened into a silken thread of deliciousness.  I quickly poured it all out (not quickly enough, a lot of it hardened into the bowl which was a bit of a b*&^% to clean out) and started pulling balls of it like a good old fashioned taffy pull.  I wasn't very organized (since balsamic toffee was not my aim here) but if I was I could have pulled it really thin into more beautiful strands. A very Martha-Stewart like topping for a dessert etc.

So.  I totally failed at making this recipe, but I have a handful of delicious balsamic toffee of my own invention.  I can't help but regret my $15 bottle of balsamic though.  I will have to try this recipe again when my pride has recovered.

[LauraTO]

Here is a photo of what resulted.

[judydawn]

Laura, I'm just loving having you on board.  As a new-comer you are a great contributor.

I've never heard of balsamic toffee so if that happened to me, it would have gone straight into the bin.  Well done for converting it to something useful.

I googled to see if there was any information about balsamic toffee and saw this recipe although no picture unfortunately.

What really took my fancy was this recipe for Oven dried balsamic tomatoes with a lovely picture to entice me to try it in the air fryer perhaps.

Thanks for an experiment that went wrong for you Laura but which has opened my eyes to something different.

[LauraTO]

Thanks Judy, I'm loving all the support and encouragement (and hopefully only occasional and very brief commiseration) I'm getting here, so thanks for rolling out the welcome wagon!

Those balsamic tomatoes look divine. And the amount of balsamic seems much more reasonable.

Now if you'll excuse me I'll return to my completely unexpected dessert of golden wisps of balsamic deliciousness that just dissolve on the tongue. Wish I could email you over a taste JD!

[judydawn]

If only we could pass things through the computer Laura, as this forum is a very sharing community the taste tests would be never ending 

[Kimmyh]

What a bummer Laura. Like the toffee creation.
I swear by this recipe http://www.superkitchenmachine.com/2012/16145/thermomix-recipe-balsamic-vinegar-reduction.html
Have made it several times and it never fails.

[LauraTO]

Thanks kimmyh! The recipe proportions are essentially the same as the EDC but smaller amounts and less cooking time. The spatula test she describes is very helpful. I will definitely try it again soon.

[cookie1]

Laura you are a clever girl. I would never have thought of doing that. Like Judy I would have binned it. Congratulations on being such a lateral thinker and for being so kind to share it with us.

[gertbysea]

Love it Laura. I probably would have added some water and reheated it ! I love the toffee.

I also swear by Helene's recipe and always have some in the fridge.  I just buy a few bottles of Modena from Coles when it is on special. If you have a wholesaler you can  get it by the two litres cheaper.  Dead easy to make . I use it for many things . It is great with fish, kangaroo, venison, eggs you name it. 

I have used a more expensive brand and it really makes no difference at all believe me. Make a big lot of it and you will use it often as a quick value added sauce to a meal.  It is really economical as you need very little. Remember it spreads when heated so you can use less than you think.

Gert

[LauraTO]

Thanks Gert, that's good to know. I'll save my fancy stuff to use on its own and keep my eyes peeled for a big jug on sale.