How balsamic vinegar – the best artisanal kind – takes decades to mature like a fine wine, and how to enjoy it
- The best balsamic vinegar is made in Emilio-Romagna, northern Italy, from grape must using a long, complex process
- A visit to an artisanal producer reveals what goes into making the most sought after DOP balsamic vinegar, and a Hong Kong chef suggests ways of eating it
An intense dark brown with hints of red gives way to caramel as syrupy drops of one of the world’s finest balsamic vinegars trickle down the creamy folds of a scoop of vanilla gelato, changing colour as they do so.
This vinegar is the ultimate in slow food – waiting for the aceto balsamico tradizionale DOP to emerge from the bottle is a test of patience. But the precious liquid is the product of centuries of expertise, so the few seconds it takes can’t be begrudged.
Our life-changing dessert, the essence of simplicity, comes at the end of a lunch at Il Borgo del Balsamico, a producer in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, source of several ingredients food lovers salivate over.
As with all food products, telling the good balsamic vinegar from the great can be tricky, but the three letters DOP on a bottle, which stand for denominazione di origine protetta – “protected denomination of origin” – guarantee its provenance from this part of north-central Italy.
The words aceto balsamico tradizionale confirm that the contents have been crafted using artisanal methods certified by all-powerful consortiums which control the quality of one of Italy’s oldest protected denominations.