used.
Balsamic Vinegar
True balsamic vinegar, aceto balsamico, is a
vinegar like no other: almost black in color,
syrupy, sweet, remarkably complex in flavor,
and remarkably expensive, all thanks to
decades-long fermentation, aging, and
concentration in wood casks. It has been made
in the northern Italian state of Emilia-
Romagna since medieval times. Individual
households produced their own as a kind of
general-purpose, soothing tonic, or balsam. It
wasn’t until the 1980s that the rest of the
world discovered balsamic vinegar, a
discovery that fostered the development of
less elaborate and less costly approximations.
The label term tradizionale, “traditional,” is
reserved for the original version.
Using Balsamic Vinegar