Balsamic vinegars fall into two categories: Artisan-Made and Commercial
Artisan-Made is aged for 12 or 25 years and is more a liqueur and sauce than a vinegar. Syrupy and glossy sable in color, this is the only true balsamic vinegar. By law and tradition it can be produced solely in the provinces of Modena and Reggio in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. Artisan-made balsamic vinegar’s heritage reaches back over a thousand years. These vinegars are usually family-made today, and always were in the past.
Made from boiled-down grape must, artisan balsamic can legally contain no wine vinegar and must be aged by passing the must through a series of progressively smaller wooden barrels which are located in airy attics. The barrels have large holes in their tops to encourage evaporation and concentration of flavors, as well as the enzyme reactions yielding the often incredibly complex liquid. Bottled by two consortiums only after approval in blind tastings, the key word to look for on the label is “tradizionale”… With Modena’s vinegars, “Vecchio” indicates a 12-year-old vinegar; “Extra Vecchio” a 25-year-old. In Reggio, tradizionale is in three levels of quality: red label, silver and gold. Remember, without the word “tradizionale” on the bottle, the vinegar is not true artisan-made balsamic no matter what a label may claim about age and quality…
Using: Tradizionale is a concentrated syrupy sauce, not a vinegar for salad dressings and marinades. Drizzle small amounts over finished dishes — simple pastas, risotti, roasted and grilled vegetables, meat, seafood, and flans. Sprinkle it over fruit and pour over vanilla ice cream and rich creamy desserts. There are no substitutes…
Commercial Balsamic Vinegar has no regulations governing its origins and production. Any statement of age on the bottle is not controlled by any regulations. A manufacturer can say anything on the label. At its best, commercial balsamic is a blend of young artisan-made balsamic or boiled grape must and good wine vinegar. Lesser commercial balsamics are inferior wine vinegar colored and flavored with caramel. They can possess all the goodness of paint remover. Price does not indicate quality.
Using: For salads, marinades, simmering into sauces, and for drizzling over finished dishes. One Modena cook enriches store-bought commercial balsamic with a generous pinch of dark brown sugar for each tablespoon of vinegar. Restaurant chefs in America boil [down] commercial balsamic to a syrup as a stand-in for “tradizionale.” Although not approaching artisan balsamic’s finesse, the syrup is good on composed salads and the like.
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