Picking a good Balsamic Vinegar?!
Answers: I know there are some bad ones out there using some strange things to make it "cheap"... how can I find the best?
It is well worth the money to get a good Balsamic vinegar. A good Balsamic is aged in oak, cedar, cypress, and one or two other woods. The longer it is aged the more expensive it is.
You will need to spend about fifteen dollars to get a low end vinegar. I have had Balsamic aged for more than 50 years that cost about $250.00. It was truly amazing and memorable, almost like a thinner syrup. Check out the web site for Avanti.com. The have a wonderful selection of vinegars and oils.
You also may want to try Sherry vinegar and Fig vinegar. They are both rich & cost around $15.00 a bottle. The fig vinegar is amazing drizzled over fresh sliced strawberries.
I also make a salad of baby arugula, prosciutto, sliced pears, and shaved parmesan, pecorino, or grana & drizzle the sherry, fig, or balsamic on each salad without any olive oil.
you get what you pay for
Balsamic vinegar varies in price greatly. The better brands come from Modena, Italy and are aged for 4 years minimum in oak barrels, which imparts its characteristic musty flavor.
I use the Bella brand from Modena which is affordable. The older the vinegar the more syrupy and stronger the flavor, and higher the cost. Cheap brands just use ordinary wine vinegar with caramel added.
The typical thing to look for is on the ingredients, the only ingredient should be grapes. That being said, it's also not always true that more expensive is better quality, but higher end brands can often have better results.
There's a good page about it here:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/balsamic....
For most uses, you really don't need the "best" balsamic. Really good balsamic vinegars like Fini should really just be used for finishing, like drizzling over cooked greenbeans, a steak, sliced berries, etc.
For making salad dressings and sauces, use a mid grade balsamic. Read the ingredients list and make sure there are no wierd things like caramel coloring in the list. Grape must and red wine are really the only two ingredients that should be on the lable. Look for words like "aged".
Don't buy the cheapest brand you can find, you might have better luck with an italian brand like Colavita...I've had it, it's pretty good. I've been buying the Kirkland brand at Costco and have found it really great for sauces and salad dressings.