• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Umami Days

Umami Days

Meaty with a dash of veggies

  • Course
    • One Bowl Meals
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch / Dinner
      • Appetizers
      • Salads
      • Soups
      • Main Courses
      • Side Dishes
      • Sweets
    • Snacks
    • Drinks
      • Summer drinks
      • Cold weather drinks
      • Cocktail hour
  • Ingredient
    • Chicken, duck & turkey
    • Meat
    • Seafood
    • Eggs
    • Mushrooms
    • Tofu
    • Vegetables
    • Rice & grains
    • Noodles
    • Bread
  • Kitchen
    • How-tos
    • Ingredients
    • Tools
  • Newsletter
  • Food Tales
    • Edible Garden
    • Dining
  • Newsletter
  • Recipe index
    • By Meal
      • One Bowl Meals
      • Breakfast
      • Lunch / Dinner
        • Appetizers
        • Salads
        • Soups
        • Main Courses
        • Side Dishes
        • Sweets
      • Snacks
      • Drinks
        • Summer drinks
        • Cold weather drinks
        • Cocktail hour
    • By Main Protein
      • Chicken, duck & turkey
      • Meat
      • Seafood
      • Eggs
      • Mushrooms
      • Tofu
      • Vegetables
    • By Carb
      • Rice & grains
      • Noodles
      • Bread
  • Kitchen
    • How-tos
    • Ingredients
    • Tools
  • Sidebar
    • Dining
    • Edible Garden
    • Food Tales
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Contact
Ingredients Kitchen

Balsamic vinegar: real versus imitation

Published: 05.11.2021 » Last updated: 03.24.2022

Balsamic vinegar is like wine. The longer the aging, the more rare and pricey.

Balsamic vinegar of Modeno is commercial grade (imitation)

During the mid-90s when cable TV was new in this part of the world, there was program on Discovery Channel calledCaprial’s Cafe. It was from Caprial Pence, the show’s host, that I first heard about balsamic vinegar. I distinctly remember her saying that if you can’t get hold of balsamic vinegar for a recipe, then, just omit it because there is no substitute.

Before globalization and the implementation of various trade agreements that relaxed import and export policies between countries, balsamic vinegar was very, very hard to find in this country. And on the rare occasions that we found it, the price made us cringe.

Today, commercial grade balsamic vinegar is available in most groceries and although it is priced higher than other gourmet vinegars, a small bottle is quite affordable.

What makes balsamic vinegar so special? What makes it different from other vinegars?

The answer is why I referred to balsamic vinegar we find in groceries as “commercial grade”.

After reading a dozen articles on the subject (some where useless), it all boils down to this:

Balsamic vinegar is made by cooking and reducing grape juice, and aging the reduction in wood barrels. It is essentially an artisan product.

Balsamic vinegar is classified into “tradizionalebalsamic vinegar”, “condimentobalsamic vinegar” and “balsamic vinegar of Modeno”.

Traditional balsamic vinegar, aged for at leasttwelveyears, is produced by or under the supervision of two consortia in the towns of Modeno and Reggio Emilia in Italy.

Condimentobalsamic vinegar is aged for less than twelve years or not made under the supervision of the consortia, or both.

In short, balsamic vinegar is like wine. The longer the aging, the more rare and the more highly prized it is.

Balsamic vinegar of Modeno — the ones we often find in the grocery — is “commercial grade” balsamic vinegar. Or, to call a spade a spade, it is imitation balsamic vinegar. Some brands are good; some are lousy. Some don’t even undergo the aging process. In some cases, the liquid in the bottle is just grape juice plus vinegar plus coloring plus caramel.

Now, to go back to Caprial Pence’s advice — when she said just omit balsamic vinegar if unavailable because there is no substitute for it, what could she have meant? Was her peg the “tradizionalebalsamic vinegar” or was she talking about commercial grade balsamic vinegar? It’s been around two decades since I saw her show and I can’t remember anymore if her bottle of balsamic vinegar carried thattradizionalestamp.

For most of us who have only experienced commercial grade balsamic vinegar and who still have little, if not non-existent, access to thereal thing, I suppose we’re not in a position to know how much more flavorful and finertradizionalebalsamic vinegar is. Our only concern is to identify brands of “Balsamic vinegar of Modeno” that taste good enough for our purposes.

Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on Email Share on Reddit Share on WhatsApp

Recipes and stories in your inbox

  • #26 More than one way to enjoy miso soup
    05.26.2023
    Basic miso soup has tofu, wakame and scallions. But you can add more vegetables, or even meat, mushrooms or seafood, and it won’t be sacrilege.
More in Ingredients, Kitchen
Homemade herb infused olive oil

How to make herb-infused olive oil

Shrimp paste drying under the sun

Difference between shrimp paste and shrimp sauce

Bacon, pancakes and egg

The better way to cook bacon

Illustration of custard thick enough to coat the back of a spoon

Making custard: best practices

A bowl of green and ripe mangoes

How to cut and skin a mango

Truffle and truffle oil

Truffle oil: is It Really extracted from mushrooms?

Sidebar

Connie Veneracion, Chiang Mai, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Welcome to Umami Days, a blog that advocates innovative home cooking for pleasurable everyday dining. No trendy diets, no food fads and definitely no ludicrous recipe names like crustless quiche, noodleless pho or chocolate lasagna.

More about me and Umami Days »

  • About
  • Recipes
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Contact

Umami Days is powered by Apple, coffee & one bowl meals · Copyright © 2023 Connie Veneracion · All Rights Reserved