We recently bought some tapenades from O&CO in Paris. One of the ingredients was Balsamic Vinegar from Modena. Is Modena famous for this ytpe of vinegar?

Peter

If it isn't from Modena, it isn't balsamic, it's just sweet vinegar.

Unfortunately, much of the stuff from Modena is just sweet vinegar these days. Balsamico is traditionally made from boiled must (crushed grapes) that is then fermented on a mother of old balsamicos. The first year, the new vinegar styas in large oak casks. The vinegar is then aged in a series of barrles for many years. The barrels become smaller as the vinegar ages. The new vinega is added to barrels with about a third of the old vineger left in them. After three years the barrels are emptied entirely and cleaned, and the aging vinegar is added to a new set of barrels. Older Barrels are filled from younger barrels. It may take 6 to 10 years (measured as the minimum age of any of the vinegars in a given barrel) for the true characteristics to come out. 20 and 30 year old barrels are considered the best.

There are a lot of tiny bottles that claim ot be 50 and 100 years old and come with incredibly high price tags. Leaving aside the question of proof of age, many of these vinegars taste as if younger vinegars have been added to some smaller portion of older stuff. These tiny expensive bottles are usually called "Tradizione", but they are bottled at only 4% acidity. True balsamico is 6%

Great balsamico is not supposed to be super thick and syrupy. It is much thicker than young vinegars but it should still be pourable.

Old balsamico's are great with a wide variety of food, just none of it salad. If you want to dress a salad, use something that is 3 to 5 years old. On heirloom tomatoes, 6 to 10 year vinegars are going to be better and will play off the rich flavors and acidity of the tomatoes. When you get to 20+ year old stuff, you want to use it in the traditional fashions: On a steak (beef, lamb or pork) or chop, on ice cream or on beries. FOr the steak or chops, just cook the meat and season it with a touch of salt and pepper (and maybe a little thyme or Rosemary but not too much). Then puor a little fo the good stuff on it and as you eat the steak, it will combine with the juices to make a heavenly concoction that you will want to spo up with a piece of bread. Beried with balsamico is a classic dessert around Modena. And on my first visit to a fine balsamico producer (Carrandini) Carrandini's wife ran out to get some vanilla gelato the moment she heard we had never tasted the combination. It is truly heavenly!

If you're lost, you're just having an adventure.......

Some of the best producers are Carrandini (my absolute favorite) and Villa Mandori. The Mandori is in a simpler, sweeter style and the Carrandini are very fine and elegant. They are much less sweet than many a vinegar but have more character. Fini and Federazioni Monari are not my favorites (unless you are looking for something to clean you drains with). They have too much red wine in them. In fact, that is the real problem today. Too many vinegars labeled balsamico are just red wine vinegar blended with a bit of true balsamico or even worse with some unaged boiled must.

We say Balsamic vinegar, but that isn't quite right in the technical sense. It is not made from spoiled wine (vin=wine, aigre=sour). It is made from grape juice and so is much gentler on wine than are other vinegers. One of my favorite ways to end a meal is to chunk up a bit of parmigianno reggiano and drizzle some balsamico over it. Drink it with a little Barolo and you will be in heaven.

If you're lost, you're just having an adventure.......

Dean, altho I have never had baslmic vinegar on gelato OR strawberries, I do know that it is a highly recommended way to serve it. Everyone I have ever mentioned this to looks at me as if I were crazy.....well, okay, maybe I AM, but that will be one of the sweet treats I look forward to on my next visit to Italy! Thanks for the info. And PS please don't take this wrong when I say I LOVE the way you type...just like me, with lots of transposed letters! Our minds are just going too fast for our fingers!

I think of it like an artist's scetch. The scketchs often carry more power than the finished piece. The sense of urgency is there.... or maybe I just too lazy to spell check.....

Don't wait till Italy for the Balsamico and berries!

If you're lost, you're just having an adventure.......

There was a recipe in the NY Times a couple of years ago that we saved for "faux" balsamico, in which you take the basic stuff that you get in gourmet food stores and doctor it up (reduce it, and then cook it further with spices, etc.) and it truly tastes like the aged, expensive stuff. I don't have time now, but I'll try to post the recipe within the next few days. That's what we've used over berries, ice cream etc.

David, usually in NYC

Basically you need to counterbalance the acidity with sugar, and reduce.

There was a huge article in the newspaper today about food frauds from Italy.
Especially olive oils, wines.... that are MADE IN ITALY, but with the ingredients from other countries.

Then given some labels with cute names...
There is not truth in labeling laws here, that is why they start the consorziums, to educate the clients

Judy Divina Cucina
Florence
Everyone should try being Italian at least once a day!!

The reduced balsamico recipes may taste like some of the low quality balsamicos widely available. But there is no way to duplicate the flavor os a 25 yo Balsamico from a truly great producer like Carandini (Giusti is also reputed to be very fine tho I have never tried this brand). The Carrandini 25 year old is about $100.00 a bottle and should be available in NYC from Neal Rosenthal who I believe has a retail wine shop in addition to his wholesale operation.

If you're lost, you're just having an adventure.......

There is nothing like the real thing.
I am lucky so living here in Florence it is only $45 for the real thing( 12 year old) and $75 for the 25 year old so I have many..by many different producers!

I also prefer a real red wine vinegar to a fake balsamic!
and the real red wine vinegar is also hard to find..
I make my own, from left over super Tuscans..yes I do have left over wine as I buy new wine everyday with my students as part of the class.

Giusti is also producing some commercial balsamic so read the labels!

Judy Divina Cucina
Florence
Everyone should try being Italian at least once a day!!

Dean and Judy:

Of course you're right that there's nothing quite as good as the real thing. But if you don't want to spend $100 for a bottle, I really do recommend this recipe. I found it to be quite good.

Note: if you don't have most of these ingredients handy, it might not be so cheap to make . We happen to keep most of them, so......... It's possible to omit some ingredients also. It just might not end up tasting as complex.

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FAUX BALSAMICO


2 Tb white sugar
3 c balsamic vinegar (the cheap stuff)
2 juniper berries, cut in half
1/2 inch vanilla bean, split
20 needles fresh rosemary
2 black peppercorns
6 raisins
1/4 t dried fig
1/4 inch cut of dried star anise
1 Tb honey
1/8 t molasses
Worcestershire sauce, optional

1. In a heavy-bottom skillet over medium high heat, simmer 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 tablespoon water until they are dark caramel -- but not burned -- 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, add 1 cup vinegar. Lower heat, and simmer until the mixture is a very thick syrup, about 12 minutes.

2. Carefully add half the remaining vinegar, stirring constantly, and scraping the syrup to incorporate it. Add juniper, vanilla bean, rosemary, black peppercorn, raisins, fig and star anise and continue simmering until liquid is reduced by nearly two-thirds and measures about 1 1/2 cups -- 20 to 30 minutes.

3. Add honey, bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Cool to room temperature. Taste and adjust the flavor with the molasses (for a darker, caramel tone) or Worcestershire sauce (to enhance th spice tone). Strain.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups.

David, usually in NYC

quote:

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There was a huge article in the newspaper today about food frauds from Italy.

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Judy is sooooooooooo right about this.

Last year the legal battle between the growers and bottlers of olive oil in Italy went to the new EU court. The bottlers won again.

What all that means is that most olive oil you buy - particularly in the USA - may say "made in Italy" on the label, but it only means that olive oil was poured into the bottle while the bottle was in Italy.

Italy is the largest exporter of olive oil in the world, BUT, it is also the largest importer of olive oil in the world - hence it is difficult to know where the oil in the bottle was originally made.

Even the locals in our area are very suspicious of oil unless they know the person they buy it from. At harvest time, you always hear the rumors of some unscrupulous frantoio, who cuts your oil with oil from Puglia. No self-respecting Tuscan would ever use olive oil from Puglia, except in place of motor oil in their car.

The same holds true for many food products throughout the EU. Escargot and foie gras from France is mostly from Eastern European countries.

The newest battle is over Lardo di Collonata made in and around Carrara. There is no DOC on this product, and with it's popularity, it's being produced everywhere now.

Balsamic from Modena is regulated and one should feel comfortable with most brands. Some balsamic from Modena is made simply for salad, while others are aged. Our favortie is from Italo Pedroni, but then again, we love eating at his restaurant.

Bill & Patty Sutherland
Tuscan Women Cook
Montefollonico, Italy

Thanks Bill and Judy. That's really good to know about.

David, usually in NYC