Ford On Food

Balsamic vinegar is very popular, due to it’s rich, sweet characteristics.It features prominently in many Italian recipes.It is so sweet in fact that it can also be used in desserts.Unlike most vinegar, Balsamic vinegar is not derived from wine but from newly pressed grape juice.In its most traditional form, balsamic vinegar is made from the Trebbiano grape, which flourishes in the Modena region of Italy.It is aged by transferring between barrels made from oak, chestnut, juniper or cherry, ash and finally mulberry. The transferring from one barrel to the other is known as ‘rincalzo’, which normally takes place in spring.Throughout the prolonged aging process it gradually evaporates, requiring incrementally smaller barrels. Due to the dramatically reduced yield from the original volume of grape juice, balsamic vinegar is quite expensive.The most authentic balsamic vinegar, aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena, is one of the most expensive liquids on earth. It is aged and blended for up to fifty years and ea