BUT
WHAT EXACTLY ARE THE DIFFERENCES AND ARE THEY REALLY THAT IMPORTANT?
There
are two ways of producing Balsamic vinegar; the artisan process and
the industrial process (factory made).
The
artisan process
results in a far more expensive product.
Traditional
balsamic vinegar is made in the hills near Modena, Italy, and the
Consortium of Producers of Traditional Balsamic vinegar strictly
controls its production and export.
The area that is affected is in the Northern Italian region of
Emilia between the cities of Modena and Reggio Emilia.
The
making of authentic traditional balsamic vinegar follows a precise set
of time-honoured rules. It is made from selected Trebbiano
or Lambrusco grapes.
The
must obtained from soft pressing of grapes is cooked on direct heat in
steel vats for several hours before alcoholic fermentation begins.
This continues until the volume is reduced up to a half or a
third.
Must
is new wine; grape juice before or during fermentation; any juice or
liquor undergoing or prepared for undergoing alcoholic fermentation.
Must
for Balsamic vinegar is more valuable and expensive than the must used
for wine production.
The
concentrated grape must is filtered and cooled and then very slowly
transformed through a complex aging process.
Saba or Sapa, a sweet and syrupy concentrate, is obtained from
this process.
The
liquid passes through a battery of a minimum of 5 casks and up to a
maximum of 10-12 casks. All
12 casks are normally made of different woods.
Each wood gives a different aroma to the product.
Typical woods are oak, chestnut, cherry, juniper and mulberry
and range from 60 to 20
litres. The casks have a hole on the top, which is closed by means of
a river stone, that does not entirely seal the cask, thus allowing
vinegar evaporation, which reduces its acetic degree.
New
casks are not suitable to start production of traditional balsamic
vinegar. They need to be
initiated for at least a year. In this way the wood becomes impregnated with vinegar
bacteria.
The
cooked must is then put in a first barrel, filled to three-quarters
only, where it rests for a year, during which time, it is attacked by
the environment’s bacterial flora, and slowly and progressively
turns to vinegar, a process that will continue for several years. It
is best affected by a climate that is very cold in winter and very hot
in summer and always humid.
At
the end of the year, a part of the contents of the first barrel, which
will have by then been concentrated and enriched by the aromas
released by the barrel wood, will be transferred to a smaller barrel,
possibly of a different kind of wood and the first barrel will again
be filled with newly cooked must of the last vintage year.
And so the process continues for five years or seven until the
last and smallest barrel of the so-called ‘batteria’ (battery or
set) is filled again. The process may continue up to 30 years to
produce truly great balsamic vinegar.
The
timing of each topping up of the smaller barrels with balsemico
decanted from the larger ones is determined by the sugar content as
well as the personal preference and artistry of each particular
producer. There is no
rushing the process for the finest results.
The
perfectly fermented must, rests in the last barrels for a very long
time, during which time the liquid becomes concentrated, gaining the
aromas of the different woods of the barrels into which it has been
placed. It gains a
brilliant shiny dark brown colour and begins the miraculous balance
that determines its quality. The
balance between extreme sweetness and extreme sharpness. A polarity of tastes that only the better productions manage
to achieve.
Traditional
Balsamic vinegar marries well with olive oil to make a Balsamic
vinaigrette.
All
this is Balsamic vinegar. In
order to distinguish it from Balsamic vinegar of Modena, it is called
Traditional Balsamic Vinegar.
Balsamic
vinegar is always tasted in drops. It can be taken straight or
natural, in a teaspoon as a digestive.
Use it with discretion. It is excellent in a salad dressing
used as the Italians do with a good olive oil on leafy green salads.
Superb drizzled over Pecorino or Parmesan cheese with Carpaccio, nice
on a spring onions and sautéed potato omelette, on room temperature
rare roast beef. Try drenching strawberries with sugar and tossing
with a few drops of Balsamic Vinegar. It is difficult to find
contraindications for a food product that is already so balanced and
rich in itself.
