Oct 22
So today for lunch I made myself a Caprese Salad - fresh buffalo mozzarella and vine-ripened tomatoes topped with olive oil (extra virgin of course), balsamic vinegar, sea salt and fresh basil. So simple, so delicious. It really got me thinking - the art of making and aging balsamic vinegar is so amazing, a process from Modena that goes back to the middle ages. The main basilica in the town of Modena even has pictures of the balsamic making process etched in stone around its entryways. If your family was or is from Modena, you lived your life learning about, making and enjoying this wonderful ingredient. In our restaurants, we use a high quality, three leaf balsamic that we import from our partner Acetum in Modena. A three leaf designation means that the vinegar is full flavored and smooth, is slightly 'syrupy' and tangy. We use this in our salad dressing and the popular Chicken Balsamico. Notice the three black leaves on the gold banner at the bottom of the label.
Now we use the GOOD stuff, but let me tell you about this - Last spring when I was in Modena, I also learned about the SUPER GOOD STUFF - Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale (gold label). This is a 25-year aged balsamic that is very complex in flavors and is very sweet and syrupy. You can pour it over a grilled beef tenderloin or pour it over gelato with fresh strawberries. The flavors are out of this world. There are two consortia that regulate and produce this fine vinegar. You will notice it by the small, uniquely shaped bottle below (I pulled this from my own personal stash) - Only the 'Traditional' goes into this type of bottle. But of course it isn't cheap, it can run as high as $100 per ounce! Just think, you could FLY to Modena for what it costs to buy a couple of bottles of the 'Traditional' - I would probably even argue that it is worth it!
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