Condimento Balsamico Tradizionale

Let me tell you what traditional balsamic vinegar actually is, because most Americans have never tasted it. The real Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena spends a minimum of twelve years aging in a battery of wooden barrels, each smaller than the last, each made from a different wood. It costs what a good bottle of wine costs, sometimes more. It is sold in small bottles because you use it by the drop.

What you buy in the supermarket is not this. It is industrially produced vinegar with caramel coloring and sweeteners, and it belongs in the same category as processed cheese. Between these extremes lies Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP, a regulated product made with real grape must and wine vinegar, aged at least sixty days. This is what we work with here.

By reducing good IGP balsamic slowly over low heat, you concentrate its sugars and drive off the harsh acidity. What remains is a glossy, syrupy condimento that approaches, though never equals, the viscosity and complexity of the true tradizionale. It is an honest approximation. Do not call it the real thing, but do not be ashamed of it either.