Do you want to surprise your guests with something special, sophisticated and unusual, but don’t know how, and funds are limited for expensive products? Do not fill the refrigerator with unusual ingredients, which cost half the monthly salary. Especially if you do not hold the position of a chef in some expensive and popular restaurant. It is enough to have only one component in the arsenal, which will give traditional dishes completely new noble shades of taste. And the name of this wonderful product is balsamic vinegar. The recipes in which he is present instantly become the subject of heated discussion at the table. So what is this kind of seasoning familiar to the ear, which, however, is not common at our festive everyday meals?
Balsamic vinegar, the recipes of which are rooted in Italy in 1046, is an extremely difficult product to make. Previously, it was the privilege of extremely noble layers of the population because of its high cost and was consumed mainly as a medicine, and not as a seasoning for dishes. In order to answer the question whether it is possible to prepare balsamic vinegar at home, you must carefully familiarize yourself with the process of its creation.
In order to get this special kind of vinegar, grapes are needed first of all. And not any, namely trebbiano. Its squeezed juice must be boiled until it acquires the necessary viscosity and density. The resulting brown must is diluted with a small amount of wine vinegar. This is done so that the mass begins to ferment faster. After that, the workpiece is poured into wooden barrels. And here you need to tell more about this. After all, it is wood of various species that gives balsamic vinegar such a unique thick aroma and unusual flavor, the stunning facets of which no other seasoning can repeat.
First, vinegar is stored for some time in the smallest barrels, which are made of ash or oak. Then some part of it is poured into cherry and chestnut containers, which are already slightly larger in volume. And finally, a saturated aromatic liquid is poured into a mulberry barrel, which is the largest of those listed. In the process of ripening, a certain set of special spices and herbs should be added to it, which will finish the shade with a kind of soft spice. In this case, the composition of the final bouquet is strictly kept secret by the masters of production. The recipe went to them after going through many generations, guarded by their ancestors since the distant Middle Ages.
Depending on the shelf life, different balsamic vinegar is distinguished. How to make it look young? This will require "just something" 12 years. But in order for this aristocracy spice to acquire its classic taste, color and smell, it should be kept in the darkness of the cellar for as long as 40 years.
The conclusion suggests itself. No matter how much we would like to establish our own production, balsamic vinegar, the recipes of which are sacredly kept secret, is not available for home cooking. It is unlikely that anyone really considers it necessary to spend time and money to at least get closer to the original composition and storage methods, tested not even for years, but for centuries of traditions. But this does not mean that the coveted balsamic vinegar will not be able to appear on our table. Recipes may not be available to us, but the doors of specialized stores are always open for their visitors. Although who can guarantee that in small, expensive bottles with a dark thick liquid, the vinegar that he spent 40 years in a wooden barrel is poured?