Author: cri

Find out how to taste Balsamic Vinegar, techniques, tips and traditions to make the tasting experience unique and teach you to recognize vinegars and their individual peculiarities.

Our Mastro Acetiere Stefano attended a course a few days ago to refine his tasting techniques, organized by the Association of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena D.O.P. Expert Tasters.

An educational experience as well as comparison and growth. But let’s get to us… how to taste Balsamic Vinegar?

First of all, you need some easily available tools that will help you taste:

• White porcelain spoon
• Glass chalice
• A candle or a flashlight because you will need a direct light source

Now that you have everything you need, let’s get hands-on. There are 3 fundamental steps to follow, the practice of tasting Balsamic Vinegar requires 3 of our 5 senses: visual, olfactory, gustatory.

• Visual analysis: first, put your Balsamic Vinegar into the glass, this will allow you to see its color and consistency well. Then swirl the glass to make the vinegar adhere to the walls (as you do when you are about to taste a good wine). What you will notice from this operation is its density. The thicker and more persistent the film that settles on the walls of the glass, the denser the Balsamic Vinegar will be. Here the candle or torch comes into play, bringing the glass close to the light source, against the light you will be able to grasp its clarity. The specification states that the only color allowed is dark brown.
• Olfactory analysis: cover the mouth of the glass with your hand for at least 1 minute and heat the ampoule with the heat of the other hand. With this operation the vinegar will release its aromas which will remain inside the glass until, after at least 1 minute, you inhale the aromas 2/3 times. The smell of Balsamic Vinegar must be persistent and strong, with the release of a sour note at the end. Pay close attention, with this practice, you can already identify any unpleasant odors, signs of an altered product, such as mold or rancid.
• Taste analysis: last, but not least, tasting. Pour a few drops of Balsamic Vinegar onto the porcelain teaspoon (preferable as a material to metal because ceramic does not alter the flavours). Taste by distributing the product throughout your mouth in order to grasp all the nuances of flavours: acidity, tannic flavors and creaminess.

Now that you know the 3 steps for tasting and enjoying Balsamic Vinegar, a product with such particular flavors, you just have to try!

Let us know what flavors you will find there, every palate is different!

Happy tasting!

What you discover will leave you stunned. Balsamic vinegar does not contain fat unlike other products, because it is not a food fat, as are, for example: mayonnaise or olive oil.

In this article we have compared some of the most common condiments used to garnish our dishes and our dressing Balsamic Vinegar.

But let’s take a step back.

How are dietary fats classified? How many types of fats are there?

The fats are divided into saturated, of animal origin, and are found in: butter, lard, meat and cheese, but also in some vegetable products, such as margarine. Saturated fats are guilty of increasing the level of cholesterol in the blood.

And of unsaturated fats, which unlike saturated fats, have the opposite effect on cholesterol, lowering its level in the blood. Unsaturated fats are found in foods of plant and animal origin such as: olives, olive oil and dried fruit, but also in oily fish, salmon, mackerel, avocado and others.

But now that we know how fats are divided, do we understand what are the benefits of fats on the body?

The functions of fats are many, some of which are fundamental for the correct work of our body. Among these, we list:

• support the bodies;
• improve cell membrane health;
• collaborate in the “construction” of vital molecules, such as hormones;
• contribute to the synthesis of hemoglobin and blood coagulation;
• help the reproductive system;
• promote the growth of the organism.

Therefore translatable into an almost essential element that is absolutely not to be eliminated from the diet, but rather to understand how to make conscious choices in order to use it correctly in the kitchen.

How much fat should you eat per day?

Each gram of fat provides about 9 calories. According to the guidelines for a healthy diet, the following should be taken every day:

• 55% carbohydrates;
• 10-15% protein;
• 25-30% fat, which equates to about 70 grams on an average 2,000-calorie-a-day menu.

Precisely because it is recommended not to abuse saturated or unsaturated fats, Condiments proves to be an excellent fat-free ally, with very few calories. Rich in taste able to give flavor to every dish, both vegetable and animal based.

A question we are often asked is whether balsamic vinegar contains sugar.

In a diet where organic products are increasingly important, without additives. It is right to get well informed before choosing the right product to bring to your tables.

So is it balsamic vinegar without sugar?

Although some types of aged and non-aged balsamic vinegar have a sweet aftertaste. This sweetness is absolutely not given by the addition of refined sugars, but comes from the sugars naturally contained in grapes.

So how do you get balsamic vinegar?

Balsamic vinegar is a vinegar obtained from a fermentation process. The sugar contained in cooked grape must is transformed into alcohol, which is in turn converted into acetic acid by acetic bacteria (process of alcoholic fermentation and oxidation of vinegar).

In fact, during all the processing phases, the producer uses only grape must and wine vinegar. As regards all types of vinegars of Acetaia Bonacini, they do not contain coloring agents or thickeners. They are therefore 100% natural products.

But let’s understand what sugars are for in the grape plant?

Sugars, also called carbohydrates, are very important for the plant and are the result of photosynthesis.  A process by which carbon dioxide is transformed into chemical compounds necessary for the plant’s metabolism.

There is a continuous variation of the ratio between glucose and fructose in the pulp and this is due to the various stages of grape ripening.

In still green grapes there is a predominance of glucose with respect to fructose; but as the maturation progresses the values ​​are exchanged.

Fructose has a higher sweetening power (1.73) than glucose (0.74): this means that you have that characteristic sweetness of grapes when they are ripe. In ripe grapes, the glucose and fructose content is between 150 g/l and 250 g/l. Sucrose is naturally present in the grapes. Even if it is not found at very high levels (between 2 and 5 g/l) and is then hydrolysed into glucose and fructose.

Now that we know the ratio of sugars present in grapes, we can say that balsamic vinegar has no added sugars. Therefore it does not contain sugars, except the natural ones present in grapes.

Do you want an easy, quick and tasty cold dish? Try the cabbage salad with vinegar. It will enchant the palates of all diners.

Follow the recipe step by step.

Ingredients for 2 people: 

• 1/4 Cabbage
• 75gr Carrots
• 20g Pine Nuts
• 25gr Raisins
• 15ml of Domenica dressing (woody flavor with a marked acidic note)
• Extra virgin olive oil, fine salt to taste

Preparing the dish:

1. Cut half a cabbage into thin slices and put it in a large bowl.
2. Add the carrots cut into sticks, the pine nuts and the rehydrated raisins.
3. Add salt, extra virgin olive oil and Condiment Domenica with a woody flavor and a marked acidic note, which will give our salad an intense and particular flavor and aroma.

A tip: prepare our salad in advance, in order to let it flavor well before serving.

A delicious and easy to prepare dish. Enhanced by the vinegar dressing that gives the recipe for chicken bites with peppers an extra touch of taste!

Discover the ingredients and the procedure for cooking this dish.

Ingredients for 2 people:

• 250gr. Chicken nuggets
• Half a red pepper
• Half a shallot
• 50ml of Lucia dressing (woody flavor given by aging in oak and acacia barrels)
• Oil, salt, sesame seeds and parsley to taste

Preparation of the dish:

1. Cut the pepper into pieces and in the meantime, fry the chopped shallots in a pan.
2. Then add the chicken nuggets and brown them. After a few minutes, add the peppers and cook for about 10 minutes, adding salt to taste.
3. Pour in plenty of Lucia dressing Vinegar and cook for a few more minutes.
4. At the end of cooking, thanks to the vinegar, a nice tasty cream will have formed. At this point we turn off the fire and add the sesame seeds and a little chopped parsley.

Enjoy your meal!

Let us know how you found the recipe