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Well in this video, we are doing a deep dive into the world of Balsamic Vinegar, which might be one of the most confusing ingredients to buy in a US grocery store, but if chosen correctly, can make boring food tastes amazing.
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📚 Videos & Sources mentioned:
▪ Official Balsmic Website (Italy) https://www.balsamicotradizionale.it/il-prodotto/la-storia/
▪ Balsamic of Reggio Emilia Regulations -https://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/3%252Fa%252F2%252FD.5a2ca1222aa99db92fda/P/BLOB%3AID%3D3345/E/pdf
▪ Balsamic Consortium – https://www.consorziobalsamico.it/balsamic-vinegar-of-modena/how-it-is-produced/?lang=en
▪ How Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is Made ➡ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nF5D6PUlx4
▪ How to produce the true Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena ➡ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1VFODB1yOs
▪ Balsamic Vinegar | Meet The Makers | Waitrose ➡ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naU1D8xGvwo&t=5s
▪ How Certified Balsamic Vinegar Of Modena Is Made ➡ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFnQwZoXo_8
▪ America’s Test Kitchen Article – https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/3233-how-to-make-your-cheap-balsamic-vinegar-taste-like-a-300-bottle
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⏱ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Director’s Cut
0:36 Intro
1:51 Why is traditional Balsamic Vinegar so expensive?
6:02 How to buy traditional Balsamic
8:03 What is the flavor of Balsamic Vinegar?
13:05 What are the 4 Categories of Balsamic
16:06 Tasting the 4 Categories of Balsamic
18:42 Can you make “instant” traditional Balsamic?
23:16 Balsamic Test 1: Steak
25:57 Balsamic Test 2: Salad
29:18 Balsamic Test 3: Ice Cream
30:45 Balsamic Test 4: Balsamic & sparkling water
32:49 What is the best Balsamic Vinegar for home cooks?
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44 Comments
zuzeto zaboro? ahahahahaha please dont try to pronaunce foreigh names as american. its Djurdjeto Djudjaro is correct
Great videos! Warning about this, tho, lol. I love balsamic vinegar. Don't swallow it down the wrong pipe! 6 hours emergency room, 4 iv magnesium, multiple nebulizer. Lung spasms no fun! It was the $3 type, tho, so might be okay with real bv. Thanks again! 😊
5:43 That's over 22 pounds of grapes for one bottle
The difference is just how heavily it's refined and/or cut
Basically, the good stuff is a scam
So, as a noob, what am I buying when I go to a boutique oil and vinegar store with a couple dozen balsamic flavors?
Would the reduction work with maple syrup instead of the sugar and port?
Damn, I just picked up the cheapest at Target, Hahahaha. I recently learned about this when someone made a sandwich at camp… so I got a bottle at Target to make balsamic glaze for caprese skewers. I thought it was good 🤷♀️
I have never used balsamic vinegar and might never try it. I watched this to have some idea of if I should try it. I still don't know but I have a better idea of what I should buy now. Thanks
Why not just reduce some balsamic vinegar with some smoke wood chips in it 🤷🏽♂️
I do remember the 1st but I’m back to refresh. What is the more budget friendly of the real stuff & if I can get it local in England?
Re: the homemade balsamic mix, I love aged marmite for its umami . Wouldn’t it add to or compliment the woody flavour of the port as it is a fine aged wine barrel bi product?
Even if not replicating the real stuff, I think it would at least taste delicious in its own new way.
I think once sugar, colouring etc starts getting added, it should be a no go! It's a freakin' chemical! I make my own wine vinegar from my own homemade wine, so invest in a good Balsamic as I use it quite sparingly.
It's the grape son, it's the grape 🍇
Ethan I’ve been trying to get a version of balsamic vinegar like central market 5 leaf aged. They don’t ship to my location in Kentucky. What is a common variety in the east?
I think what an enthusiastic home chef should have in the pantry is a bottle of the condiment one for regular use and cooking, and one bottle of the extra aged DOP one to elevate select dishes.
150 usd is actually SUPER cheap. compared to the legit kamibishi for instance
I'm watching this and very interested in the content. However, I need to say it would be better to make this video Longer, to 1 hour, and with slower talking speeds. It's like you're OCD or on a time-crunch. I like the content, but reduce the speed of your talking, and sound normal… don't worry about time. Everyone loves Balsamic and it's an old process that works.
You answered my question. Would MSG help this theory? Also would a splash of long aged bourbon give that woodiness after the alcohol is cooked off?
I am going to try this. Sounds like fun.
This video is particularly interesting because it solves a mystery. There is a store that I patronize that sells off brand, discontinued and what used to be called something like insurance salvage. There were tall thin bottles with various labels, some from Italy and some from other Mediterranean countries. Some were amazing, and I went back for more, but once gone they were never seen again. They were only a few dollars, never very thick or thin, usually tart, but some were sweet enough to be used as desert topping. I suspect that there have been attempts to copy "il prodotto genuino," some Italian and some not, and with some success. The results were labeled variously and sold. I prefer genuine experimental products be sold than, for example, wine secretly blended or with additives like ethanol, sugar or formaldehyde.
Repeat making the homemade without the added sugar. You were putting port in it😅 That is sugar lol. The granulated sugar just burn and went bitter
Real balsamic vinegar on pizza and you can’t go back. The real stuff is amazing.
at 10:44 you didn't put a point on the umami part of the graph.
Never been a fan of vinegar, it being grape juice that has gone bad does explain it, the rare wine I enjoy is one that is closer to a beer or a cider and always a brut…
Note that the spider graph (throughout the video) for the $150 bottle is wrong, in that it omits the data point for Umami. Thanks for making the vid, I am now better informed about this, balsamic vinegar is a lot more complex than I had realized!
Your mustache is so distracting when you eat unfortunately it looks like a caterpillar on your face and not a great look when it's that thick. Trim it 50 percent and you'll look normal trust me brother just looking out for ya 🤟💪
@20:30,, my throat muscles were contracting and I was salivating as I imagined the magnificent flavor. Balsamic vinegar IMHO IS perhaps the most amazing flavor and flavor enhancer known to mankind.
This is soooo interesting. I bought a bottle a while back and hated it. Way too sweet. Then I bought another brand (maybe $15?) and it's so much better. Going to take a look at these to see what types they are, but they are both watery. Looking forward to going back to the store and trying something newer/better.
you can't compare a product made with love and culture with a chemical product that only you Americans can buy
Ortalli is a surprisingly good 4 leaf BV for less than $4 at Walmart
Is it weird if I put traditional balsamic vinegar on my Christmas list?
You should be able to get educational grants. You teach us so much valuable info. Thank you ❤
So are you in Texas?
I thought I recognized that red label, generic store brand as HEB.
Shame you didn't include the Darrell Corti story.
All I want to know is it worth the price?
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MSG is a big no no why even mention it or use it .
Around the time that this deep dive series started, I decided to try making something as close as I can get to a homemade balsamic vinegar. Boiling grape must until it’s 30°Brix, then wood aging it with exposure to a large amount of oxygen. Then repeat the process in solera as it evaporates into a smaller amount. I’ve gotten 2 gallons of grape juice to turn into 1 quart, which is a 1/8 reduction in volume. It’s very sour, with a sweet approach and a savory finish, where the smallest sip is enough to taste it for minutes. I can’t wait to see what it becomes, because it’s already well past the flavor that a balsamic glaze can get.
So do the original ones have alcohol or wi e in the final product?
Thanks for the video
Dos'nt Ketchup have a similar propfile?
I’m eating a salad with balsamic vinegar—or that’s how it is advertised. I thought to myself that I never knew how it was made. Silly me, I thought it would have something to do with the tree—the Balsam fir. Glad I looked it up and now I’ll have to try the real stuff and be ruined forever on the old stuff
It all tastes like crap and gives me indigestion. Boke
I absolutely love the quality and amount of content you can pack in a video that is relatively short compared to how much information is given.
I am incredibly curious however about some of the less commonly used the ingredients. I have always wanted to know how exactly one could cook with buzz buttons. They have such a unique flavor and physical reaction but I have never found a single person saying that they cook with them. It would be so fun to see a video about ingredients such as these.
What is must?
The great stuff tastes AMAZING on ice cream