Cooking Tip

To start, balsamic vinegar is produced almost like making wine. Traditional balsamic vinegar comes from Modina, an Italian province. Its governed by the district commission in Italy, justt like wine.

There are two types of vinegars. One is aceto balsamico of modina, which is aged for a minimum of 12 years. The other is extra vecchio - which means "Extra Old" and is aged for a min of 25 years. This type of vinegar can be aged up to 100 years, and of course, is the most expensive. The generation of Vinegar makers that starts the 100 year balsamic never gets to taste their own Vintage.

Use aceto balsamico that is 3 to 4 years for drizzling over vegetables, cooking ect. Use older, more mature balsamic for bread dipping and more refined meals and foods.

Trebbiano is the type of white, sugary grape used to make balsamic vinegar. The grapes are picked well to the end of the summer, so they are able to get the full capacity of the high heat. Then the grapes are crushed and the must runs off, the same way white wine is made. At this point, like in wine, the process is stalled so that fermentation does not start too early. Once the fermentation does start, it is removed from the vats and any alcohol is slow boiled out. The liquid is reduced to a certain concentration using a slow simmer. The quality will depend on the vintage of the grape.

Once reduction is complete, it is cooled, filtered and poured into casks. This is called topping up. The vinegar is then poured into 5 different casks that the vinegar will be stored in. The casks are made of different woods stored in an attic. First is Oak, second is Chestnut, third is Cherrywood, fourth is Ash and finally, Mulberry.

For 100 year balsamic, the vinegar stays in each cask for 20 years. When the vinegar hits 50 years or more, it gets syrupy and thick. You need less and less because the flavor is so full and concentrated.

The grape harvest always determines how long the vinegar will be kept in each cask.