I like balsamic vinegars, but I'm not much of a vinegar snob. I've found that most of the ones that are actually from Modena and have the seal of the vinegar authority are pretty decent, and in salad dressings it's not necessary to use the über-special expensive ones.
For salad dressing, anything from your local grocery should be fine. It's going to get mixed up with a pile of other things, so the only qualification should be "decent and has flavor."
If you want to use the vinegar by itself, say on a plate of tomatoes/mozzarella/basil, or as a dip for a good quality hard parmesean, then you need a superb balsamico. To find one, there are two things you must do:
1. Go to a gourmet store, because they will have the good stuff, which your local grocery will not.
2. It doesn't much matter what brand. What you want is viscosity. Pick up bottles and swish them around. The thicker the better.
The better stuff can be insanely expensive, of course, but DAMN it is so worth it. My sister had some at Xmas that was the consistency of honey, and oh holy Crom it was orgasm-inducing. The three of us downed most of a pound of parmesean by dipping it in the balsamico. It had not the slightest "vinegar" quality, but was pure sweet heaven.
That would be great. America's Test Kitchens ran a segment about balsamic vinegars a few weeks ago, but I didn't take notes. I did subscribe to Cooks Illustrated, but when I tried to sign up for the online magazine, the site kept dumping me out.
For salad dressing, we use Trader Joe's brand of balsamic vinegar and an extra light extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil. We find that it's the combo with olive oil that helps determine how much we like the balsamic.
A friend routinely uses a balsamic glaze on things like tomato-and-mozzarella salad and it's wonderful. He tells me they get it at a high end grocery, but I've never bought it myself. It also works exceedingly well on bleu cheese.
I usually pick my balsamic up at Whole Foods. I agree - go with the thickest one with the Modena label. I usually get the Gaeta, but there are several good choices.
Salad Dressing: 1/4 c balsamic vinegar 1/2-3/4 c extra virgin olive oil 1 clove minced garlic 1/2 tsp salt (you may need more) 1/2 tsp pepper 1/2 tsp italian seasoning dash of water
You'll need to shake it hard before every pouring, but it's worth it.
I also use this as a marinade before grilling a steak.
[showing up late... spent much of the weekend in Flycon's on-line chat, and have been up to my eyeballs behind in test procedures writing and testing at work....]
I don't know if Williams-Sonoma still has the try-their-vinegars-and-oil bar in their stores--I haven't even been in the mall the store is (was? I expect it's still there, but....) for months. There were some very nice vinegars there, including at least one champagne one....
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winterfish
Heinz
Date: 2009-03-13 01:51 am (UTC)If you like sweet, there's Mitsukan rice vinegar.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-13 02:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-13 02:41 am (UTC)If you want to use the vinegar by itself, say on a plate of tomatoes/mozzarella/basil, or as a dip for a good quality hard parmesean, then you need a superb balsamico. To find one, there are two things you must do:
1. Go to a gourmet store, because they will have the good stuff, which your local grocery will not.
2. It doesn't much matter what brand. What you want is viscosity. Pick up bottles and swish them around. The thicker the better.
The better stuff can be insanely expensive, of course, but DAMN it is so worth it. My sister had some at Xmas that was the consistency of honey, and oh holy Crom it was orgasm-inducing. The three of us downed most of a pound of parmesean by dipping it in the balsamico. It had not the slightest "vinegar" quality, but was pure sweet heaven.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-13 02:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-13 03:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-13 02:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-13 03:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-13 03:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-13 03:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-13 03:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-13 05:07 am (UTC)A friend routinely uses a balsamic glaze on things like tomato-and-mozzarella salad and it's wonderful. He tells me they get it at a high end grocery, but I've never bought it myself. It also works exceedingly well on bleu cheese.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-13 12:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-13 03:04 pm (UTC)Salad Dressing:
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/2-3/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt (you may need more)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
dash of water
You'll need to shake it hard before every pouring, but it's worth it.
I also use this as a marinade before grilling a steak.
Adrianne
no subject
Date: 2009-03-14 01:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-19 03:30 am (UTC)I don't know if Williams-Sonoma still has the try-their-vinegars-and-oil bar in their stores--I haven't even been in the mall the store is (was? I expect it's still there, but....) for months. There were some very nice vinegars there, including at least one champagne one....