a topic i haven't seen discussed - Balsamic Vinegar

mad max beyond eggdome · January 2004

we talk about so many different foods, etc. thought i'd see what people have to say about balsamic vinegar. . .[p]we use it a lot in salads and marinades, and i've always bought basic stuff at the grocery, and i even think that's expensive (like $9.00 a bottle). . .well, i'm watching that new italian hottie, giada de laurentiis (gggggrrrrrrrrr), on food channel last week and she is make this farro salad (more on that later, it was fabuous), and is using this balsamic vinager for the dressing, and she is going on about buying this really good stuff. . ..so, we are in williams sonoma the other day, looking for farro (its an italian grain that you cook kinda like rice, again, more later, i'm trying to stay on my vinager thoughts here) and good vinager, and i'm seeing price tags up to $75.00 for a small bottle of balsamic vinager, and i'm going, woooaaa nelly, is it really that good?? or is this williams sonoma pricing. ..[p]so we go to our favorite italian market in arlington, and there i buy a 8.5oz bottle of balsamic vinager for $25.00 (from modena italy w/ less than 6% acidity if that means anything) and still wondering if i'm crazy or not (oh, yea and i found my farro there as well). . .[p]now for the good part. . .first, the vinager was about the consistency of good maple syrup. . .tasting it straight up, it had this wonderful sweet taste along with the normal vinager taste (which was much more subtle than the cheap stuff). . .and in the dressing for the salad (basically nothing more than the vinager, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper), it was fantastic. . .now, because of the price, i don't think i'd use it in a beef or chicken marinade, but for salad dressings, or drizzled over fresh tomatoes, etc., it is definitely worth the price. . . .use it when you want to really have a taste of the vinegar. . .[p]now for the farro salad, which we served with my flank steaks rolls and was outstanding. .thanks giada you sweetie!![p]10oz of farro, boiled for 30 minutes, then drained and cooled[p]1 lb seeded and chopped plumb tomatoes
1/2 sweet (must be sweet) onion chopped
some snipped chives
some cut up parsley[p]add these to the farro and toss[p]mix in bowl[p]2 tblspns balsamic vinager (use the good stuff)
1/4 cup olive oil (of course i used the extra virgin)
ground pepper and garlic to taste. . .[p]mix it all together, we thought it got better after a few hours in the fridge. . .[p]

Marvin · January 2004

mad max beyond eggdome,
It's like fine wines or home audio. Your 25.00 bottle was great compared to the 9.00. The 150.00 bottle of vinegar probably would be better yet, but where is the point of diminishing returns? I've tasted the 150.00 and the 25.00; my palette is not fine enough to distinguish a 6-fold difference. Neither fine wine fine vinegar, nor fine audio impresses guests unless they're knowledgable or you tell them the price. If you have to tel them the price, you get two responses: "what a fool" or "your crazy". Enjoy.

Unknown · January 2004

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]Good wine, good food, good friends ... good balsamic vinegar. That is what brings us to this forum - we like good food (especially when it is cooked on a ceramic!). [p]Generally speaking, you get what you pay for... try imported prosciutto versus the domestic cured ham masquerading as prosciutto - there are definite differences in taste and texture. [p]If you saw the process to make good balsamic vinegar... it is truly impressive. I've tasted 40 year old vinegar, the aroma is superb (the best come from Modena), and it is truly close to heaven...[p]MM[p]

BlueSmoke · January 2004

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]At the Florida QFest last October, we were introduced to Terres Rouge lemon/ginger balsamic. It was so good, I came right home to infuse my own. (And in the meantime, somebody who loves me gave me my very own bottle of Terres Rouge.)[p]I took a bottle of Modenaceti (brand) straight from the supermarket shelf and infused slices of lemon and ginger in it for 90 days. It didn't start as the $150 (or even $25) a bottle stuff and it still ain't, but smeared on a steak before grilling it works pretty durn good. Just a smigeon takes potato salad to a whole new dimension.[p]Ken

Unknown · January 2004

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]Good wine, good food, good friends ... good balsamic vinegar. That is what brings us to this forum - we like good food (especially when it is cooked on a ceramic!). [p]Generally speaking, you get what you pay for... try imported prosciutto versus the domestic cured ham masquerading as prosciutto - there are definite differences in taste and texture. [p]If you saw the process to make good balsamic vinegar... it is truly impressive. I've tasted 40 year old vinegar, the aroma is superb (the best come from Modena), and it is truly close to heaven...[p]MM[p]

mad max beyond eggdome · January 2004

MapMan,
parma. . .at about $16.00 lb at my local italian deli. . .my 14 year old daughter eats the stuff like candy. . .about to drive me broke. . .but you are correct. . .you get what you pay for. . ..

mad max beyond eggdome · January 2004

BlueSmoke,
i'll bet it is good on tater salad. . .btw. . .got your witchy red sample. . .haven't cooked w/ it yet, but from the basic finger test, i'm thinkin its gonna taste great on burger, or in tomatoe sauce. ..i really like the tomatoe infusion in the rub. . ..

mad max beyond eggdome · January 2004

Marvin,
i know what you mean about palates (and ears for audio). ..while we tasted a huge difference between our grocery store vinager and the 25 buck bottle from the the italian store, i'm not sure my palate is good enough to go much beyond that. . . but sometimes, when you can tell the difference, and enjoy the difference, it is worth the extra price. . .

BlueSmoke · January 2004

mad max beyond eggdome,
Try a pinch in deviled eggs while you're at it...[p]Ken

Dock of The Woods · January 2004

mad max beyond eggdome, Great topic! this one is one I have no dealings with, I have only bought the cheap local grocery brand. This has my couriosity meter pegged out! Maybe like Marvin said below we could try to define the line a little better. For instace once you get to the 25$ mark is it really not worth spending any more because most folks can't tell the deference after that? I hope this makes sense?[p]Hugh, sitting on the "Dock of The Woods" with a big ? mark over my head!

Unknown · January 2004

mad max beyond eggdome,
Funny you should mention that, sometimes I forget what makes me happy, like certain ways to put together a salad. For over a week now we can't seem to get enough salad and one of the keys to the reason for that...you guessed it Balsamic vinegar. Others ingredients are few but very good in the right combination, i.e. garlic, blk pepper, romano cheese, romaine, cucumbers, onion. Very informative post Max I'll being looking harder at the vinegar choices.

RhumAndJerk · January 2004

mad max beyond eggdome,
A while ago, Cooks Illustrated did a taste test on Supermarket Balsamic Vinegars. I will look up the issue when I get home.
R&J

ColaCooker · January 2004

Dock of The Woods,
I'm not sure about that. You get what you pay for in Balsamic from Modena. The expensive stuff is not like vinegar at all. We've eaten it on vanilla ice cream! I use it as a finishing touch on foods. Never in cooking or salad dressing.[p]One trick you might want to try is to take a less expensive bottle and reduce it by half in a sauce pan over moderate heat. This thickens the vinegar and intensifies the sweetness. I use this for marinades and dressings.[p]Have fun,
Cola

TRex · January 2004

max,[p]Try this. Next time you cook a beef tenderloin, pour a bottle of balsamic vinegar into a saucepan and let it simmer for about an hour or so, until it is reduced really well and real sweet. Then, use the reduced balsamic as either a marinade or a basting sauce. It's delicious![p]TRex

Chef Wil · January 2004

mad max beyond eggdome,
try reducing 2 cups of balsamic vinegar to 1/2 cup, Proper ventilation is needed, your sinuses will thank you. The body should coat the back of a spoon.If you like the end result, try reducing infused vinegars like using rosemary,thyme, or vanilla beans. The vanilla/balsamic or thyme/balsamic reduction goes well with strawberries and cracked black pepper.

mad max beyond eggdome · January 2004

Chet,
here is a simple but delicious salad dressing.. .[p]cook 3 or 4 pieces of bacon in a skillet. ..when good and crispy, remove the bacon, drain the fat (but save some of it. . .[p]deglaze the pan with some balsamic vinager, then add a couple of tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat, add olive oil, and crumbled up bacon. . .add about 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, stir well. .. let stay warm, then servew over a good spinach salad . .. fantastic. ..[p]

mad max beyond eggdome · January 2004

Chef Wil,
if i'm reading you and others correctly, can i get the same sweet flavor of the expensive vinager from simply buying the less expensive stuff and cooking it down??. . .makes sense, and i'll give it a try . ..

mad max beyond eggdome · January 2004

TRex,
man, i'll bet that is good. . .may do that next time instead of drunk and dirty. . ..[p]thanks

bbqbeth · January 2004

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]add some mandarin oranges and red (purple) onion...and yum!

Lawn Ranger · January 2004

mad max beyond eggdome,
I use a lot of balsamic in various recipes. A couple of years ago an article appeared in the food section of the San Antonio paper regarding balsamic vinegars. One of the highest rated was Monari Federazoni. It's like $4 a bottle, and is really good stuff(in my opinion).[p]Mike

mad max beyond eggdome · January 2004

Lawn Ranger,
sounds good. . .is it thick?. . .the stuff i bought was like maple syrup, and very sweet, which from what people have said below, is the sure sign of really good balsamic vinegar. .

Grillhauberichtlinien · January 2004

mad max beyond eggdome,
I saw this while looking for good balsamic, I had to laugh, but I would love to try it. If someone else is buying.[p]
[ul][li]3.4 oz balsamic[/ul]

Grillhauberichtlinien · January 2004

Sorry,
The direct link did not work
Click the vinegar link on the lower side of the right hand column. You will know which one I was trying to get.[p]

Grillhauberichtlinien · January 2004

Maybe this will work.
[ul][li]3.4 oz balsamic[/ul]

mad max beyond eggdome · January 2004

Grillhauberichtlinien,
yowza, for 180 bucks a bottle, it better be better than viagra. .. .[p]

StumpBaby · January 2004

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]
It's all in the application...[p]StumpBaby

a topic i haven't seen discussed - Balsamic Vinegar

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