Italy - The Greatest Country On Earth
I say this because my dear friend Ruth just came back from a visit there and between strolling the cobblestoned streets of Medeival walled towns and swilling local wine, she managed to procure a beautiful bottle of balsamic vinegar made in Tuscany.
Now, for those of you poor, ignorant, unwashed masses not in the know as to how Balsamic Vinegar is created, just sit right back and you'll hear a tale. A tale of a substance known as grape must, which contains the stems and stuff of grapes. See how smart and technical I am? Anyhoo, they crush this must into a delicious juice, then pour it into a big oak barrel. After a lot of time has passed, the juice has reduced, so they then put it into another smaller barrel of a different kind of wood, time passes again, then they put it into another, smaller barrel. The process continues for five hundred years, at which point they pour the thimblefull of balsamic vinegar into a jar, then start again.
Anyway, you get the point. A lot of the balsamic vinegar sold in America now is pretty much red wine vinegar with sugar added.
So I have this adorable bottle of balsamic vinegar, which I think, "Well, it's probably fine, but not that good." Silly, silly Condiment Grrl. I opened the bottle, pulled the cork and poured out a sip and was instantly transported to Italy, to a storeroom filled with ripe oak barrels. The door is swung open and there is Norman Bishop, as played by Russell Crowe. And he has more than a thimblefull of balsamic vinegar...
Okay, I've put a stop to the sexy segue because this is a family blog. Think of the children, Condiment Grrl!
This balsamic vinegar is AMAZING. It was better than the shots of balsamic vinegar that Mr. Mustard and I paid $15 apiece for at a magnificent dinner we enjoyed last Christmas holiday at Oliveto. And the bottle was mine, all mine! We had lambchops tonight and, as I was out of my favorite Holy Jalepeno jelly, then I made do with a tiny dish of my new happy elixir to dip the lucious baby sheep in.
This was all good, because I had a horrible, very bad, no good day filled with teenagers, irate co-workers and far too much Seattle traffic. And let me just say that if anyone has a problem with me, your beloved Condiment Grrl from who all saucy goodness flows, then tell me. Don't go complaining to the Blog police.
Of course, the first thing I thought of was "where can I get more of this stuff?" So, using my good friend Google, I found the maker Emporio Delle Fattore. After futzing around a bit, I did have some luck finding an English version of the website, but I'm going to let you do that yourself if you're interested.
They have all kinds of delicous sounding things on the website, but they're all in Italian! Listen to this: "Mostarda di frutta fresca" which translates, according to Google, to "Mostarda of fresh fruit." What? Fresh fruit mustard? This, I must try. Or this: "Purè di tartufi bianchi T. Magnatum in tubetto" - doesn't that sound fabulous? Like a pate created with a white champagne in a tube. This translates to "Also of tartufi white men T. Magnatum in tubetto." This sounds like a pate created from Magnum P.I. In a tube, nonetheless.
Nevertheless I will order from the site and find out what these secretive goodies are. All in the name of research.
Tutti frutti,
Condiment Grrl
Now, for those of you poor, ignorant, unwashed masses not in the know as to how Balsamic Vinegar is created, just sit right back and you'll hear a tale. A tale of a substance known as grape must, which contains the stems and stuff of grapes. See how smart and technical I am? Anyhoo, they crush this must into a delicious juice, then pour it into a big oak barrel. After a lot of time has passed, the juice has reduced, so they then put it into another smaller barrel of a different kind of wood, time passes again, then they put it into another, smaller barrel. The process continues for five hundred years, at which point they pour the thimblefull of balsamic vinegar into a jar, then start again.
Anyway, you get the point. A lot of the balsamic vinegar sold in America now is pretty much red wine vinegar with sugar added.
So I have this adorable bottle of balsamic vinegar, which I think, "Well, it's probably fine, but not that good." Silly, silly Condiment Grrl. I opened the bottle, pulled the cork and poured out a sip and was instantly transported to Italy, to a storeroom filled with ripe oak barrels. The door is swung open and there is Norman Bishop, as played by Russell Crowe. And he has more than a thimblefull of balsamic vinegar...
Okay, I've put a stop to the sexy segue because this is a family blog. Think of the children, Condiment Grrl!
This balsamic vinegar is AMAZING. It was better than the shots of balsamic vinegar that Mr. Mustard and I paid $15 apiece for at a magnificent dinner we enjoyed last Christmas holiday at Oliveto. And the bottle was mine, all mine! We had lambchops tonight and, as I was out of my favorite Holy Jalepeno jelly, then I made do with a tiny dish of my new happy elixir to dip the lucious baby sheep in.
This was all good, because I had a horrible, very bad, no good day filled with teenagers, irate co-workers and far too much Seattle traffic. And let me just say that if anyone has a problem with me, your beloved Condiment Grrl from who all saucy goodness flows, then tell me. Don't go complaining to the Blog police.
Of course, the first thing I thought of was "where can I get more of this stuff?" So, using my good friend Google, I found the maker Emporio Delle Fattore. After futzing around a bit, I did have some luck finding an English version of the website, but I'm going to let you do that yourself if you're interested.
They have all kinds of delicous sounding things on the website, but they're all in Italian! Listen to this: "Mostarda di frutta fresca" which translates, according to Google, to "Mostarda of fresh fruit." What? Fresh fruit mustard? This, I must try. Or this: "Purè di tartufi bianchi T. Magnatum in tubetto" - doesn't that sound fabulous? Like a pate created with a white champagne in a tube. This translates to "Also of tartufi white men T. Magnatum in tubetto." This sounds like a pate created from Magnum P.I. In a tube, nonetheless.
Nevertheless I will order from the site and find out what these secretive goodies are. All in the name of research.
Tutti frutti,
Condiment Grrl
posted by CondimentGrrl at 11:06 PM
4 Comments:
You're right on about true Italian balsamic vinegar. We procured two of those cute little bottles when we were in Modena last year. Wonderful stuff at 90 cents per drop! I've wondered what's in the grocery store variety at $3.98 for 8 oz.
My husband and I own the only licensed vinegary in Minnesota. We don't make balsamic although we're tempted to try putting up a barrel of rhubarb "must" and see what happens. We make our wine from many different fruits, some which we grow in our orchard, and then over the next 8 months or so convert it to vinegar. Some is then infused with herbs, which we also grow, to make some pretty amazing domestic wine vinegar! You can find more information at our web site www.leatherwoodvinegary.com We cook with vinegary all the time and really appreciate the added flavors.
That was beautiful...kind of like "A Baby Story," but for the food network. "A Condiment is Born"...
Bella, bella.
Balsamic is one of my favorite ingredients and dips. Have you tried it as a flavoring to drinking water? It's fabu. Here's how wierd I am:
I'm dining at an upscale bistro in Orange County, CA and there's balsamic in a little condiment tray on the table. I rejoice because I won't have to ask the waiter to bring it. I order a glass of water and splash some balsamic into the glass. It's a lovely caramel color resembling iced tea.
So we're drinking and chatting and diping and dining when the waiter comes along with a pitcher of iced tea and before I can say a thing he fills my glass with tea. When I tell him it's not tea, it's water infused with balsamic, his face puckers into horrified disbelief.
"Vinegar?" he says.
"It's fantastic," I tell him. "And healthy, too."
When I really want to feel upscale and cultivate my Italian heritage at the same time, I order Pellegrino and balsamic. Delizioso!
Carolyn!
That is a great idea! I am going to try it tomorrow!
You're today's Condiment HERO!
Post a Comment
<< Home