Cooking Lesson #36— Balsamic Vinegar Cooking Tips & Recipes

Balsamic Vinegars

 How you doin’? Here’s what I’m planning today. I’m going to grill steaks for dinner. I picked up a couple of bone-in rib-eye steaks at Huntington Meats yesterday and I lightly marinated them in what I thought to be expensive balsamic vinegar. It comes from a canister-like dispenser at Gelson’s markets and it costs about $35 bucks for a small bottle when they have it in stock. They make all kinds of claims they I never really paid much attention to; I just love the flavor of this brand of balsamic vinegar and use it on a lot of different things… I add it to salads and dressings, to sous vide chicken breasts, over-ripe strawberries, I even use it to add a punch to my Italian sauces and Bloody Mary Mix.
 
I was a happy “balsamic camper” until I heard from George—George Salmas, The Food Lawyer. George exclusively represents food and beverage companies. The Food Lawyers have been in the biz for over 30 years advising and protecting food industry clients. We (Perspectives and The Food Lawyers) have common clients but do different things.
 
Let me tell you a little bit about George… first of all, he is an attorney (that’s not all bad) with a quirky sense of humor and often writes about some of the really stupid things that people sue food people over. In California there are lots of litigious crackpots who will sue anyone at any time for anything… but I digress. 
 
So last week I receive a new article from George, Drop the Vinegar and Come Out With Your Hands Up!  He goes on to tell us—well, I’ll let you read it in George’s own words (be sure to scroll down to the recipes below).

                             Drop the Vinegar and Come Out With Your Hands Up! 
One of the great scams that has gone on for years, and still goes on today, is counterfeit balsamic vinegar. Most of it in stores is bogus.
 
Real, traditional, authentic balsamic vinegar comes from two regions in Italy and starts with specific strains of white wine grapes that are crushed into juice with the skins, seeds and stems. This concoction is cooked down to about 50% volume into a concentrated syrup and then aged in a progression of barrels made from chestnut, cherry, oak, mulberry, ash or juniper for at least 12 years. Some of the premium products are aged for as many as 50 to 100 years.
 
Well, this is all very expensive—and this is where the con-game begins. But this one is doubly tricky because it can be a double-con—one of which is actually legal.
 
All crooks have two things in common. 1) They want to make as much money as possible with as little work as possible. 2) They are smarter than everybody else.
So, they do things like rob banks, print counterfeit money and smuggle drugs. Some of them even go into politics. But those chumps are all pikers compared to the real gravy train: Food fraud.
 
If you can take cheap food and palm it off as something exclusive, you can run that scam over, and over and over to the same people—forever (or until you get caught). Even when you catch them red handed, they act surprised and try to keep it going.
 
One of the really great scams that has gone on for years and still goes on today, is counterfeit balsamic vinegar. Most of it in stores is bogus.
 
Real, traditional, authentic balsamic vinegar comes from two regions in Italy and starts with specific strains of white wine grapes that are crushed into juice with the skins, seeds and stems. This concoction is cooked down to about 50% volume into a concentrated syrup and then aged in a progression of barrels made from chestnut, cherry, oak, mulberry, ash or juniper for at least 12 years. Some of the premium products are aged for as many as 50 to 100 years.
 
Well, this is all very expensive—and this is where the con-game begins. But this one is doubly tricky because it can be a double-con—one of which is actually legal.
 
The illegal con: Mostly originating in Italy, counterfeit balsamic starts out as “plonk” (cheap generic table wine grapes) that is palmed off as the expensive varieties. Then, it might be aged for a couple of years (or less) and then diluted with cheap white vinegar and pumped up with thickeners and coloring agents. The product is then labeled “balsamic vinegar” and sold without disclosing its sordid past. 3.38 oz of real 25-year-old balsamic vinegar can cost more than $150, and a bottle of 50-year-old can be $300. Even a bottle of 12-year-old (the minimum allowed) can go for $75. So, when it costs $10 or so to make a fake, that’s some serious profit. Last year, the Italian police conducted a sting and seized over 9 tons of bogus balsamic stock. And no one thinks they got all of it.
 
The legal con: It’s OK to label something “balsamic vinegar” and put a bunch of bogus junk in it, so long as you list the bogus junk in the little ingredient statement on the back. Common additives are white vinegar, GMO brown sugar and caramel coloring.
 
So here is a little advice from The Food Lawyers:

1. Admit to yourself it’s impossible to be sure without a DNA test. I believed my parents when they told me I was their kid. I never bothered with a DNA test. I’m not suggesting one here.
2. Be prepared to spend some real money. If it’s $20 a bottle, like we used to say in South Philly, “Feggeda Bout It.”
3. Look at the ingredient statement. The only ingredient should be “grape must.” “Must” is the grape juice, seeds, skins and stems before they’ve been cooked down to 50% volume. If you see anything more than “grape must” listed, you know it’s watered down, bogus balsamic. And if the ingredient list names wine vinegar before the “grape must,” you know it’s more than 50% watered down.
4. Look for the designation, D.O.P. Denominazione di Origine Protetta—Italian for “Protected Name of Origin” – is the EU certification of authentic balsamic. Odds are good you’re getting the real thing. I.G.P. denotes a much cheaper blend with white vinegar from Modena, Italy. Any other combination of letters is just B.S.

But there’s another alternative: If you like the cheap, watered-down stuff that’s normally served in Italian restaurants (it can actually taste pretty good), go ahead and use it. Just don’t pay $300 for 4 ounces.
If you’ve got a problem and need legal food advice, call or email George Salmas, Phone: 310-556-0721 or email george.salmas@thefoodlawyers.com.
      
So, now that you know all the interesting “cons” relating to balsamic vinegar, here a couple of recipes you can make with it. For these two recipes you can use the “cheap” stuff.
 
                                                 Inexpensive Balsamic Vinaigrette
 
This is a great tasting balsamic vinaigrette that does not require the expensive, aged vinegar.  It is simple and works well as a dressing or marinade.
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
 
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon shallot, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
salt and ground freshly-ground black pepper to taste
 
Directions
Combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, shallot, garlic, salt and black pepper together in a glass jar with a lid. Shake vigorously until thoroughly combined.
 
 
                                                        Boneless Balsamic Italian Beef
Ingredients
1-3/4-pound boneless roast beef (chuck or round roast)
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, chopped
 
Directions

1. Place roast beef into your Instant Pot cooking insert.
2. In a small mixing bowl, mix together all remaining ingredients and pour over the beef.
3. Set the Instant Pot on HIGH PRESSURE for 45 MINUTES. At the end of the cook cycle let it NATURALLY RELEASE for 10 MINUTES and then open the valve to release the remaining steam. Alternatively, you can also use your slow cooker--4 hours on High or 6-8 hours on Low.
4. Transfer the cooked beef from the pot with tongs to a serving dish. Break apart lightly with two forks and then ladle about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid over the roast beef.
5. Serve over pasta, rice or couscous.

ChefSecret: I keep any leftover cooking liquid in a Food Saver bag in the freezer and use it as a cooking starter for the next braised beef dish I make.

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