When House of Balsamic sent me a bottle of their Saporoso Riserva Balsamic Vinegar to try, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I haven’t done much tasting in the area of vinegar. However, I have noticed a real difference in olive oils, so I suspected that this was going to be good.
Oh yeah, it was. When I opened the cork I took a sniff and right away could tell the depth of flavor. It was like breathing in a wine that’s been aged, compared to a new wine. I had DH smell it and his eyes widened “that smells good!” he said. I didn’t try it straight but tried it on the Stoplight Salad.
The taste was wonderful. House of Balsamic describes it like this on their website: Saporoso was specially created for consumers desiring a high-quality balsamic vinegar positioned between balsamic vinegar of Modena and Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. Aged for 8 years in oak barrels and 8 months in steel containers, this organic “reserve” product is tart with delicate accents of wild flowers, grass and cooked mustard.
My vinegar palate isn’t developed enough to distinguish all those flavors, but I definitely could discern the creaminess.
So now, I want to learn more about vinegar. Can you make it yourself? Do people have vinegar tastings, like wine tastings? Inquiring minds want to know.
I am going to be messing with some of my homemade kombucha in the next day or so to see if I can come up with a good salad dressing using it. It already has a vinegary taste, so I think adding some good olive oil and fresh herbs will be just the ticket! I love balsamic, and you can truly tell the difference between the good, aged stuff, and the cheap stuff straight off the shelves of the local grocers. Mmm…try a bit of yours all by itself. SO good!
Mmm, can you post some pictures of the food you put it on?