Ingredients
To buy
- Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP, in its sealed bottle
- or Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP, for everyday cooking
For a home cooked-must syrup
- 3 litresfreshly pressed grape juice, from ripe dark grapes
- or 3 litres good unsweetened grape juice
Classic uses
- aged Parmigiano Reggiano, in chunks
- strawberries
- grilled or boiled meat
- vanilla ice cream
- risotto, finished off the heat
Directions
- Press ripe dark grapes and strain the juice. Do not add anything to it at all.
- Pour it into a wide heavy pan. Reducing it takes several hours. Bring the juice to a gentle simmer. Never let it boil hard at any stage.
- Skim off any foam that rises at the start. Let it reduce slowly and steadily.
- Stir it occasionally to stop it catching. It takes about four hours to reduce by three quarters.
- Let it cool completely before bottling. Pour it into clean bottles and seal them. It keeps for a year in a cool dark place.
- Add a few drops to a chunk of aged Parmigiano. Put a drop on vanilla ice cream. Finish a risotto with it off the heat.
- Simmer it down to a syrup for dressing. Use it in marinades and salad dressings.
Technique
- Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena and di Reggio Emilia both hold DOP status and are made from cooked must alone.
- Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP is a separate protected category with much looser rules and is what most bottles labelled balsamic actually are.
Substitutions
- Saba or mosto cotto is sold in Italian shops and is the closest honest home-scale product.
- A good IGP balsamic reduced gently in a pan gives a syrup suitable for cooking, though not the traditional flavour.
Variations
- Reggio Emilia bottles its traditional vinegar in a different shape and grades it by coloured cap.
- Condimento balsamico is a category outside the two protected ones and varies enormously in quality.
- Saba is used in its own right on desserts and cheeses across Emilia-Romagna.
History
Cooked grape must ages in shrinking barrel sets in Modena and Reggio attics; a balsamic vinegar is recorded as a noble gift in 1046.
Frequently asked questions
What is Aceto balsamico di Modena?
Aceto balsamico di Modena is a sauce & condiment from Italy: syrupy aged vinegar from cooked grape must, used by the drop. Cooked grape must ages in shrinking barrel sets in Modena and Reggio attics; a balsamic vinegar is recorded as a noble gift in 1046.
How long does Aceto balsamico di Modena take to make?
Aceto balsamico di Modena takes 30 minutes of preparation and 4 hours, for the home approximation of cooking. The recipe makes used by the drop. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Aceto balsamico di Modena?
Yes, within limits. Saba or mosto cotto is sold in Italian shops and is the closest honest home-scale product. A good IGP balsamic reduced gently in a pan gives a syrup suitable for cooking, though not the traditional flavour.
What is the most important thing to get right in Aceto balsamico di Modena?
Press ripe dark grapes and strain the juice. Do not add anything to it at all.
