Balsamic Vinegar vs White Vinegar
For those who may be unfamiliar with the world of culinary arts, it may come as a surprise that there are many types of vinegar used in cooking today. This is because vinegar can be made from nearly any food that contains natural sugar. The process involves allowing yeast to ferment the sugars into alcohol, which is then converted into vinegar by a specific type of bacteria. Two popular types of vinegar in the culinary world are balsamic vinegar and white vinegar.
What is Balsamic Vinegar?
Balsamic vinegar is a flavorful and popular vinegar produced in the Reggio Emilia and Modena provinces of Italy. It comes in a variety of forms, with traditional balsamic vinegar made from the concentrated juice of white Trebbiano grapes. This type of vinegar is dark brown in color, complex in flavor, and very sweet. Balsamic vinegar is considered an artisanal food, similar to fine wines, with the more refined varieties aged in barrels made of various types of wood, such as oak, chestnut, mulberry, cherry, juniper, acacia, and ash.
Originally, balsamic vinegar was an expensive product, aged for 12-25 years and available only to the Italian upper class. Today, these traditional varieties are labeled as “tradizionale” or “DOC” to protect their Protected Designation of Origin status. A leaf rating system, ranked from one to four, helps consumers determine the best use for each type of balsamic vinegar. For example, one-leaf rated vinegar is suitable for salad dressing, while four-leaf rated vinegar has a stronger flavor and can be used to season a dish just before serving.
Non-DOC commercial brands are less expensive and labeled as “acetobalsamico di Modena.” These are the types of balsamic vinegar most commonly found in American grocery stores. Due to the rigorous production process, only a limited number of balsamic vinegar bottles make it to the market each year, making them quite expensive.
Key Takeaways
- Balsamic vinegar is a flavorful, artisanal vinegar produced in Italy, while white vinegar is a common type of vinegar used in American households.
- Balsamic vinegar is made from the concentrated juice of white Trebbiano grapes, while white vinegar is obtained from fermenting alcohol or by diluting laboratory-produced acetic acid with water.
- Balsamic vinegar comes in a variety of flavors and quality levels, indicated by a leaf rating system, while white vinegar is more acidic and stronger in nature, often used not only in cooking but also for laboratory and cleaning purposes.
