SIMPLE Cherry Balsamic Sauce Recipe - With Only 4 Ingredients! (2024)

FAQs

SIMPLE Cherry Balsamic Sauce Recipe - With Only 4 Ingredients!? ›

In a small saucepan, combine balsamic vinegar, sugar, cherries and water. Bring to a low simmer. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.

Traditional balsamic vinegar is made only with one ingredient — "grape must" (in Italian, "mosto"), the sweet juice of freshly pressed grapes — that is boiled to a concentrate, fermented and acidified, and aged for 12 to 25 years or longer in wood barrels.

Most commercially available balsamic vinegar should be consumed within three to five years after opening. The vinegars are still safe to consume after five years (self-preserving, remember), but the quality won't be the same.

To make a glaze, you only need that one ingredient: balsamic vinegar. Many recipes call for an added sweetener of some sort — usually sugar or honey. Cooking it down with those additions helps it cook faster while adding a hint of flavour to the glaze.

It undergoes only one stage of fermentation, followed by aging in barrels for a prolonged period of time. The base ingredient for balsamic vinegar is grape must, which is a thick syrup created by pressing fresh grapes along with their skins, seeds, and stems.

If your recipe calls for balsamic vinegar and you only have red or white wine vinegar on hand, add a little sweetener like honey or sugar to even out the taste. You can also mix one tablespoon of wine vinegar with two teaspoons of maple syrup to sweeten it naturally.

"Colavita and Alessi are my go-to inexpensive grocery store grabs," says O'Brien. This tangy organic option is not only affordable, it's also widely available, making it an excellent candidate for a pantry staple.

Good quality balsamic vinegar will have its ingredients listed as “Grape must, tradizionale'. This means that it has been aged for at least 12 years, and the vinegar will thick and sweet. Cheaper vinegar will be combined with a wine vinegar, caramel, flavourings and other ingredients.

Often you have confused the texture of aged Balsamic Vinegar with the texture of Balsamic cream. Both look thick. Actually the real aged Balsamic Vinegar is thick, while the cream is not thick, but viscous. In fact, viscosity indicates the greater or lesser ease of flow of a liquid.

We can say that aged balsamic vinegar has an indefinite shelf life. However, it would be convenient to use the product once opened, within two to three years, and the one that has yet to be opened, within five years. After that time, its color may change, and the flavor will no longer be as bright and fresh as before.

Why is balsamic vinegar so expensive? ›

It takes 12 years to make the best, aceto balsamico tradizionale (traditional balsamic vinegar), and at least 25 to make the finest, extra Vecchio. Because of traditional balsamic vinegar's painstaking artisanal production process, supplies are limited, and it tends to be rather pricey.

Older bottles of wine-based vinegars might get sediment at the bottom, and sometimes they develop a growth of what is called Mother of Vinegar, the natural mold that is used to make new batches of vinegar.

Balsamic vinegar shines in dressings, marinades, and drizzled over fresh summer salads. Its versatility extends to enhancing the natural sweetness of fruits, making it a delightful addition to desserts. On the other hand, balsamic glaze is perfect as a finishing touch.

Mix together equal parts lemon juice, molasses and soy sauce. This will give you a good flavor (and color) approximation, and it doesn't require any fancy ingredients. Just pull a few things from your pantry and fridge and you're in business!

If used in excess, the acidic content of balsamic can lead to problems like enamel erosion or heartburn. The benefits can still be enjoyed when consumed in small amounts.

Balsamic vinegar is made from unfermented grape juice, while red wine vinegar is made from fermented red wine. This difference in production process results in two very different flavors. Balsamic vinegar has a sweet, fruity flavor, while red wine vinegar has a sour, acidic taste.

While traditional balsamicos contain nothing but cooked and acetified grape must, Aceto Balsamico di Modena is required to contain at least 10% aged wine vinegar of unspecified origins and may contain up to 2% caramel coloring.

Traditional Balsamic vinegar is made only from the remains of red wine grapes after they have been used to ferment wine. Water is added to the must and it is set aside to ferment again in a barrel open to the air, where it ferments and also reduces as water evaporates.

Takeaway. Balsamic vinegar is a safe food additive that contains no fat and very little natural sugar. It's been proven effective to lower cholesterol and stabilize blood pressure. Some research suggests it can also work as an appetite suppressant, and it contains strains of probiotic bacteria.