So my brother doesn't exactly know much about vinegar...

[chave982]

Ok, so I'm planning on going to my brother's place after work today for pulled pork sandwiches. I just got an email that reads something like this:
"Hey my recipe this morning called for 1/3 cup of cider vinegar. I didn't have any, so I used half white vinegar and half balsamic." LOL!
It's now supposedly cooking in his Crock Pot...I have no idea what this is gonna taste like...

 

[Andy M.]

It will be fine. You guys may have discovered the next great taste sensation to sweep the country!

 

[GB]

Yeah I think that might actually be very interesting. I would happily volunteer to try it.

 

[keltin]

That doesn’t sound too bad! I love balsamic vinegar and often eat it plain over a green salad (not a vinaigrette, just Balsamic vinegar!). I’d try it. In fact.....I might whip some up soon and see how it is.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Hey ya'll, what's the difference between balsamic and regular white distilled vinegar (besides the taste)?

 

[keltin]

Hey ya'll, what's the difference between balsamic and regular white distilled vinegar (besides the taste)?

White vinegar is made by oxidizing distilled alcohol. It could also me made by simply mixing acetic acid with water. It’s clear in appearance.

Balsamic vinegar is made my mashing white grapes and boiling them down to a syrup that is then aged and fermented (along with a vinegar mother) for several years (at least the good stuff is) in wooden barrels......although commercial vinegars may be aged 6 months in stainless steel vats before being moved to wooden barrels. The type of wood the barrell is made from affects the taste of the vinegar.

Good aged Balsamic can be aged anywhere from 10 to 25 years. It is dark in color, ranging from reddish to near perfect black. It has a very sweet flavor, and the good stuff (aged up to 50 years) can cost $500.00 a bottle. It is suggested you use those vinegars “by the drop”!

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Thanks keltin. I know balsamic tastes better to me but didn't know why.

 

[GB]

Most of the balsamic vinegars you find here are actually just regular vinegar with caramel coloring added.

The real stuff can be VERY expensive and VERY old (hundreds of years).

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Most of the balsamic vinegars you find here are actually just regular vinegar with caramel coloring added.

The real stuff can be VERY expensive and VERY old (hundreds of years).

I was wondering about that after keltin's posts. Maybe I've never actually had balsamic vinegar before if the stuff at the grocery store is generally "doctored up" regular vinegar. I think I've never paid more than $10 for a bottle of "balsamic" so maybe it wasn't the real thing. Can you elaborate on this?

 

[GB]

If you are only paying $10 then you have not had the real thing (not have I). Here is a starting point for some more info.

 

[GB]

Here is some more info.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

OMG, GB, you're right! I had no idea. Thanks for this info. Of course, now I have to begin saving for a bottle of the real stuff!

 

[GB]

You and me both. We can save our pennies together and share a bottle if you want

 

[keltin]

Most of the balsamic vinegars you find here are actually just regular vinegar with caramel coloring added.

The real stuff can be VERY expensive and VERY old (hundreds of years).

The commercially produced stuff can be super cheap, but it still must be produced from a grape product. In some cases, they start with a wine vinegar, and in others it can be concentrated grape juice, fermented, and sugars and caramels are added. The cheap stuff is typically aged at least 6 months, but no longer than 2 years.

That’s why it’s good to stick with a name you trust, and look for products that declare they have been aged in wooden barrels.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

You and me both. We can save our pennies together and share a bottle if you want

Absolutely! (It never hurts to schmooze the site admin.!) My friend just got back from a trip that included a week in Italy and silly me, I asked her to bring me back a piece of Venetian glass. She's already planning her trip for next year so I'm asking for balsamic!

 

[GB]

The commercially produced stuff can be super cheap, but it still must be produced from a grape product. In some cases, they start with a wine vinegar, and in others it can be concentrated grape juice, fermented, and sugars and caramels are added. The cheap stuff is typically aged at least 6 months, but no longer than 2 years.

True balsamic does not have any caramels added. It is also not fermented.

The juice from Trebbiano grapes are boiled down until it becomes a dark syrupy consistency. A mother is added and it all goes into oak barrels. As it ages it is generally moved to smaller and smaller barrels. These barrels can be different types of wood other than oak.

 

[Andy M.]

The commercially produced stuff can be super cheap, but it still must be produced from a grape product. In some cases, they start with a wine vinegar, and in others it can be concentrated grape juice, fermented, and sugars and caramels are added. The cheap stuff is typically aged at least 6 months, but no longer than 2 years.

That’s why it’s good to stick with a name you trust, and look for products that declare they have been aged in wooden barrels.

I have a bottle of balsamic vinegar I paid less than $10. for. It's labeled:

Aged Balsamic Vinegar
Sweet Vinegar of Modena
Acidity 6%
Product of Italy​

I bought it in a MA supermarket and there is no listing of ingredients on the label. Knowing the labeling laws, I have to assume ther is nothing in the bottle but Aged Balsamic Vinegar. If it contained brown sugar or caramel color, etc. it would have to be listed.

As it was not expensive, I assume it is a younger balsamic rather than one aged to a sweeter, richer, thicker consistency.

Has my logical mind led me astray? If so, tell me how.

 

[keltin]

Balsamic taste changes as it’s aged. The older it is, the sweeter it becomes, and the less tart and “vinegary” it is. Good commercially produced Balsalmics adhere to the “leaf system” as mandated by the CTAB. These vinegars start with a wine vinegar base and then add aged balsamic to it. The leaf system determines the ratio of the mixture.

0 leaf – about 95% wine vinegar and often with caramel added.
1 leaf – a nice balance of sweet and vinegar and perfect for salad vinaigrettes.
2 leaf – Much sweeter, and the sweetness is to the point where the vinegar bite is rather mellow. Nice marinade or to drizzle over a finished dish, or pour it directly onto your salad. This is my favorite.
3 leaf – Even sweeter, good for gravies, sauces, red meats.
4 leaf – Thick and super sweet with only a hint of vinegar. Better suited for desserts.

Not all commercial manufacturers have adopted the leaf system, so beware. If you buy balsamic, look for one that does use the leaf system. You can get a 2 leaf balsamic for under 5 bucks, and the average price is 10.

One leaf is cheaper, and 3 leaf slightly more expensive.

Or you can go nuts and get the real deal.

 

[GB]

Did it have an official Modena seal on it Andy?

I have read of a ton of manufacturers labeling their fake balsamic just the way yours is labeled. Only the true stuff will have the real seal. Of corse some of them have seals, but just not the actual seal.

 

[GB]

Balsamic taste changes as it’s aged. The older it is, the sweeter it becomes, and the less tart and “vinegary” it is. Good commercially produced Balsalmics adhere to the “leaf system” as mandated by the CTAB. These vinegars start with a wine vinegar base and then add aged balsamic to it. The leaf system determines the ratio of the mixture.

0 leaf – about 95% wine vinegar and often with caramel added.
1 leaf – a nice balance of sweet and vinegar and perfect for salad vinaigrettes.
2 leaf – Much sweeter, and the sweetness is to the point where the vinegar bite is rather mellow. Nice marinade or to drizzle over a finished dish, or pour it directly onto your salad. This is my favorite.
3 leaf – Even sweeter, good for gravies, sauces, red meats.
4 leaf – Thick and super sweet with only a hint of vinegar. Better suited for desserts.

Not all commercial manufacturers have adopted the leaf system, so beware. If you buy balsamic, look for one that does use the leaf system. You can get a 2 leaf balsamic for under 5 bucks, and the average price is 10.

One leaf is cheaper, and 3 leaf slightly more expensive.

Or you can go nuts and get the real deal.

That leaf system describes traditional and non-traditional balsamic vinegar. To me that means real balsamic and what people now call balsamic even though it does not qualify by the original definition.