How to Use Balsamic Vinegar in Your Everyday Cooking?
Balsamic vinegar is one of the most versatile ingredients in the kitchen, offering a sweet yet tangy flavour that can elevate a variety of dishes. Whether it's a simple salad or a gourmet meal, here are 10 delicious ways to incorporate balsamic vinegar into your cooking:
- Vinaigrette for Salads: Whisk together balsamic vinegar with olive oil for a quick, flavourful vinaigrette. Perfect for any salad, especially ones with mixed greens, goat cheese, or fruit for that sweet and tangy kick.
- Flavourful Marinades: Use balsamic vinegar to create marinades for meats, fish, or veggies. Its acidity helps tenderize and infuse dishes with a deep, rich flavour that makes grilling or roasting even more delicious.
- Bread Dipping: Start your meal with an irresistible appetizer by serving balsamic vinegar alongside good-quality olive oil for dipping crusty bread. Add a sprinkle of salt, herbs or garlic for an extra flavour boost—simple yet delicious.
- Roasted Vegetable Glaze: Elevate your roasted vegetables—think Brussels sprouts, carrots, or sweet potatoes—with a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end of cooking. It creates a glossy, caramelized glaze that enhances their natural sweetness.
- Charcuterie Boards & Cheese: Pour a little balsamic vinegar into a small dish and serve it alongside your charcuterie board, with cheeses, cured meats, and olives. It’s the perfect tangy accompaniment to rich, salty flavours.
- Flatbread, Pizza or Focaccia: After baking, add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar to flatbread, pizza, or focaccia. It pairs wonderfully with toppings like prosciutto, arugula, and goat cheese, adding depth and a burst of flavour.
- Balsamic-Glazed Chicken or Beef: For a show-stopping main dish, cook chicken or beef with a balsamic glaze. Simmer balsamic vinegar with honey and garlic until it thickens into a rich sauce that coats the meat and adds a perfect balance of sweet and tangy flavour.
- In Sandwiches: Add a few drops of balsamic vinegar to sandwiches, especially those with tomatoes, cheese, turkey, or Italian meats. The tangy vinegar cuts through richness and adds a zesty flair.
- Dessert Topping: Surprise your taste buds by drizzling balsamic vinegar over fresh strawberries, figs, panna cotta, ice-cream or brownies. It’s a sweet-savory combination that transforms ordinary desserts into something extraordinary.
- Refreshing Shrub Beverages & Cocktails: Our fruity balsamic vinegars, like lychee and peach, make for a refreshing non-alcoholic drink when mixed with sparkling water or serve as the perfect base for a unique, flavour-packed cocktail. Learn more about our Balsamic Shrub Beverages here.
How is Balsamic Vinegar Made?
Balsamic vinegar, particularly the traditional varieties we source from Modena, Italy, undergoes a meticulous and time-honoured ageing process that significantly enhances its flavour and health benefits. The journey begins with the Trebbiano and Lambrusco grapes, which are crushed to extract the must, a thick juice containing sugars, acids, and other compounds.
Understanding the Ageing Process, From Grape to Balsamic Vinegar:
Cooking and Fermentation: The grape must is cooked slowly at a low temperature to prevent caramelisation, which retains the natural sweetness of the grapes. This cooking process helps concentrate the sugars, setting the stage for the fermentation and ageing process. After cooking, the must is combined with a small amount of older balsamic vinegar to kickstart the acidification process, a crucial step in developing its characteristic tang.
The Solera Method: Traditional balsamic vinegar is aged using the Solera method, a system of progressive ageing in a series of wooden barrels made from different types of wood such as oak, cherry, chestnut, and mulberry. Each barrel imparts unique flavours and aromas to the vinegar. Over time, the vinegar is transferred from larger to smaller barrels, concentrating its flavours and complexity. Our balsamics are aged for 18 years, with the vinegar developing a rich, deep flavour profile and a thicker consistency as it ages.
What Balsamic Vinegars are available at Nelson Olive Oil Co. ?
At Nelson Olive Oil Co, we offer a diverse range of authentic balsamic vinegars crafted in Modena, Italy. Our selection includes:
- Dark Balsamic Vinegars: Based on an 18-Year Traditional Style Balsamic, these vinegars represent the highest quality and flavour available at this price point. The deep, complex notes and rich colour make them ideal for enhancing a variety of dishes, from salads to marinades.
- White Balsamic Vinegar: Also from Modena, this vinegar meets the demand for a balsamic with similar characteristics but without the dark colour that can affect the presentation of certain dishes. White balsamic undergoes the same cooking process as dark balsamic but at a lower temperature to prevent caramelisation. It is aged in stainless steel vats rather than wooden barrels, which helps preserve its light colour and crisp, tart flavour.
- Infused Balsamic Vinegars: We also offer a range of balsamic vinegars infused with natural flavours. These include fruit infusions such as Raspberry, Lemon, and Fig, as well as herb infusions like Neapolitan Herb. These infused balsamics are crafted using real ingredients, enhancing the versatility and depth of flavour in your cooking. Each infusion is carefully made by blending high-quality balsamic vinegar with natural fruit or herb extracts, ensuring a pure and rich taste without any artificial additives.
The primary difference between Dark and White Balsamic Vinegars lies in the cooking process. Dark balsamic is reduced until it begins to caramelize, resulting in a rich, dark flavour and colour. White balsamic, on the other hand, is cooked just enough to achieve a balanced taste without the deep colour. Dark balsamic is aged in wooden barrels, while white balsamic is aged in stainless steel barrels.
How are the Infused Balsamics Flavoured?
Our balsamic vinegars are flavoured exclusively with real ingredients or extracts—no sugars, sweeteners, artificial flavours, or thickeners are ever added. For both our Dark and White Balsamic Vinegars, we start with a high-quality base and then incorporate natural ingredients. We use essential oils extracted from the ingredients through expression or maceration, not through chemical processes, to enhance the vinegar’s flavour.
Is Balsamic Vinegar Healthy?
Yes! Balsamic vinegar offers several health benefits due to its rich antioxidant content and low-calorie profile. It is a source of antioxidants, including polyphenols, which help neutralise harmful free radicals and support cardiovascular health. Balsamic vinegar can also aid in digestion, improve gut health, and help regulate blood sugar levels by enhancing insulin sensitivity.
For a more detailed exploration of the health benefits and the chemistry of balsamic vinegar, please visit our comprehensive Balsamic Health & Chemistry page.
Authenticity and Quality
The high concentration of dried extract solids in our balsamic vinegar closely matches that of DOP Traditional Balsamic, which is sold exclusively in 100ml bottles. The art of making high-quality balsamic vinegar lies in the expertise of the artisan, who aims for a balanced flavour profile—a harmonious blend of juniper, oak, and cherry wood flavours that achieve the ideal equilibrium between sweetness and acidity.
Due to stringent certification processes, you can be confident in the authenticity of our balsamic vinegar. Unfortunately, some producers exploit certification loopholes and lax food labelling laws, cutting corners by adding sugars, colorants, or thickeners to lower-quality red wine vinegar. These shortcuts compromise the quality and authenticity of the product.
[Click here to read more about Balsamic Vinegar fraud.]
A Note from Our Supplier, Veronica Foods:
"In our quest to offer the highest quality products, we have partnered with our balsamic supplier for decades to continually improve our offerings. We were the first company in the United States to provide a verifiably caramel color-free balsamic vinegar. Our products are authentic balsamic vinegars made exclusively in Modena, Italy, and are crafted to be identical to Traditional Extra Vecchio DOP in both flavor and chemical composition.
We insist on a high proportion of barrel-aged, kettle-cooked grape must, resulting in a product that comprises over 97% cooked grape must. This high concentration of grape solids, excluding grape sugars, enhances the phenolic content of our balsamic. We are currently working with leading balsamic labs and scientific experts in Modena to study these phenols and their health implications. Our goal is to provide valuable information to our customers and help them identify and avoid products that are poorly made or artificially modified."
- Veronica Foods, California