Balsamic Vinegar

[Nay-nay]

Or this dessert in a glass
http://www.passionateaboutbaking.com/2009/01/balsamic-strawberries-with-whipped.html

[Thermomixer]

I use it a lot just in salad dressings, but use less than normal vinegar. Use it for loads of things.

[quirkycooking]

I made my barbeque sauce today, and realized that has 100g balsamic vinegar in it... I'll post the recipe.  It's yummy! 

[rubyslippers]

Only if you like the flavour. With whipped mascarpone cream - even better!! 

Thank you, I'll give the strawberries a 'taste test' on the weekend and skip the sponge till after that.     I'll check out the other ones too.

Thermomixer  - yes, bring on 'salad season'.   

Thanks quirky - I look forward to reading/trying it 

[quirkycooking]

Here it is: http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=4243.0 

[andiesenji]

There is a huge range of taste and quality in Balsamic vinegar. 
The true Balsamic vinegar of Modena, rarely appears in large bottles.  It is thicker than vinegar and is meant to be used as a condiment.
(Often you will see the term "condimenti" on the label of some of these products.)

There are cheaper products that are mislabeled Balsamic and some do not even originate in Italy.  The term is not supposed to be used except by the products actually made in Modena but the Italian DOCG (Denominazione di origine controllata ("Controlled origin denomination")  can't control everything made in every country.

It's a lot of fun to experiment with applications of balsamic vinegar, especially when used as a condiment on just about anything.
Even on egg dishes, which may seem odd.   A few drops sprinkled on a wedge of quiche can add an astonishing depth of flavor to it,, especially if it contains meat and/or a cheese with some strength of flavor. 
There is a site, devoted to cheeses, that has a long list of cheeses that are enhanced with the application of a few drops of balsamic.  I can't find it at the moment but will post it when I come across it.  Can't recall the title of the blog.

I've attended a Balsamic vinegar tasting, where more than twenty producers, with various grades and ages of the product were available for tasting.  It is as interesting as a wine tasting event and a lot of money is on the line for the successful producers.

I have one Balsamic vinegar that is a 50-year-old Privilegio Mussini  in a 2.4 ounce bottle! 
It was a gift - spendthrift that I am, I have never paid such a huge sum for balsamic vinegar.
A local Italian market carries a few brands and my usual for desserts - steaks (just a few drops at table), etc., is a 12-year-old made by De Nigris  in Modena  - an 8.5 ounce bottle is usually priced at nineteen dollars but sometimes they have a modest sale. 
For marinades, dressings and for cooking, I buy a 6-year-old made by Rustichella, another Modena producer.  I don't bother with the younger ones, they aren't that different from red wine vinegar with a little sugar added (often this is exactly the way they are produced. Simply cooked with sugar until some of the water has been reduced - some are even colored to look more authentic.
Once you taste the real stuff, it's easy to know the difference. )

You can read more about it on this page   and here.

[Nay-nay]

andiesenji, you leave me Gobsmacked as usual!!   

[andiesenji]

Sorry!  I guess I went a bit overboard.

[Thermomixer]

Not at all Andie.  I visited one of the farms where they produce balsamico outside Modena in 2006.  Very interesting with all the barrels.

We bought a small bottle of 50 yr old with an eye-dropper to dispense onto parmesan cheese and other bits.  It is so thick!

But the larger bottles can add some flavour that I like.

[gertbysea]

Nah you didn't Andi. You always have something interesting and informative to say plus we love your funny stories.

Gretchen

[cookie1]

Andie I enjoy reading your posts as I learn so much.

[andiesenji]

Not at all Andie.  I visited one of the farms where they produce balsamico outside Modena in 2006.  Very interesting with all the barrels.

We bought a small bottle of 50 yr old with an eye-dropper to dispense onto parmesan cheese and other bits.  It is so thick!

But the larger bottles can add some flavour that I like.

I didn't mean to imply that the balsamic in the larger bottles can't have a pleasant flavor, I only wanted to note that there are some products sold that are really not of the best quality.  Some producers slap a balsamic label on a bottle and jack up the price accordingly.  I despise companies that deliberately rip off the consumer. 
Several years ago, when the balsamic products first became trendy, a California producer of pretty good vinegars (and one of the few that produces verjus), began marketing a product that had Balsamic prominent on the label - in smaller type, above and below that word were the words  "In the ------ of Modena tradition."    The product was pretty good but it was deliberately mislabeled.
He was sued, settled and relabeled the product. 

I'm very fond of vinegars of various types and have a rather extensive "collection" of different types from different fruits and etc.,  that I use all the time in cooking, in dressings and marinades and as a condiment. 
On another foodie forum there have been a couple of lively discussions about the various types of vinegars and I learned I was not alone in "collecting" them.  I really enjoy tasting them. 
Some vinegars are actually intended to be made into a drink - with seltzer water and fruit syrup.   The tradition of drinking vinegar goes back to Roman times, when it was safer to drink the local water if it was mixed with vinegar, which killed some of the pathogens that might cause disease.

[Thermomixer]

No Andie - I didn't take it that way either, just wouldn't want people to throw out there bottles of the non-genuine stuff.

Something to think about with balsamico in the cheaper versions is to cook it and reduce it down with a little sugar so it becomes more syrupy and less astringent.  They use that in some restaurants.

Andie - I love vinegars and fruit infused vinegar, like raspberry vinegar, has always been a favourite from early days at my grandparents.

The cousin - vincotto, is also a favourite here.

[andiesenji]

I think someone mentioned ice cream.  I have some fig vinegar - also very much like a syrup - it is delicious on vanilla ice cream.

[Nay-nay]

Sorry!  I guess I went a bit overboard.

No! Not at all! Exactly what Gertie said - "interesting and informative, plus we love your funny stories."