Balsamic vinegar. Recipes rooted in the Middle Ages

Want to surprise your guests with something special, exquisite and unusual, but do not know how, and the means are limited for expensive products? Do not fill the refrigerator with unusual ingredients that cost as much as half the monthly salary. Especially if you do not occupy the position of chef in some expensive and popular restaurant. It is enough to have only one component in the arsenal, which will give the traditional dishes absolutely new noble shades of taste. And the name of this miracle product is balsamic vinegar. Recipes in which he is present, immediately become the subject of heated discussions at the table. So what kind of variety is the customary rumor seasoning, which, however, is not common on our festive daily meals?

Balsamic vinegar, whose recipes originate in Italy in 1046, is a highly complex product. Previously, it was the privilege of exceptionally noble layers of the population because of its high cost and was used mainly as a medicine, and not as a seasoning for dishes. In order to answer the question whether it is possible to prepare balsamic vinegar at home, it is necessary to thoroughly familiarize yourself with the process of its creation.

In order to get this special sort of vinegar, it is necessary, first of all, grapes. And not any, namely trebbiano. His pressed juice should be cooked until it acquires the necessary viscosity and density. The obtained brown wort is diluted with a small amount of wine vinegar. This is done so that the mass quickly begins to wander. After that, the workpiece is poured into wooden barrels. And here it is necessary to tell more about this. After all, the wood of different breeds gives balsamic vinegar so unique a thick flavor and unusual flavor, the stunning edges of which can not be repeated by any other seasoning.

At first vinegar is stored for some time in the smallest barrels, which are made of ash or oak. Then some part of it is poured into cherry and chestnut containers, which are already slightly larger in volume. And, finally, a saturated aromatic liquid is poured into the mulberry barrel, which is the largest of the listed. In the process of maturation, a certain set of special spices and herbs must be added to it, which will end with a peculiar soft spice. At the same time, the composition of the final bouquet is strictly kept secret by the masters of production. Recipe went to them, having passed through many generations, guarded by their ancestors from the distant Middle Ages.

Depending on the storage period, different balsamic vinegar is distinguished. How to make it look young? This will take only 12 years. But in order that this spice of aristocrats has acquired its classic taste, color and smell, it should be kept in the dark cellars as much as 40 years.

The conclusion suggests itself. No matter how we would like to establish own production, balsamic vinegar, recipes of which are sacredly kept secret, for home cooking is not available. It is unlikely that anyone really will consider it necessary to spend the time and money to at least get closer to the original composition and methods of storage, proven not even for years but centuries of traditions. But this does not mean that on our table, and will not be able to appear cherished balsamic vinegar. Recipes to us, maybe, and not available, but the doors of specialized stores are always open to their visitors. Although who can give a guarantee that in small expensive bottles with a dark thick liquid poured exactly the vinegar that 40 years spent in a wooden barrel?