Better Balsamic Vinegar

Back to the Notes Index

If you don't want to pay a fortune for Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale, you can greatly improve the much cheaper Balsamic Vinegar of Modena with the following method.

2 cups balsamic vinegar of Modena
0.25 cup port
0.25 cup sugar

It needn't be very expensive port, either.

Place everything in a pot, stir it over low heat until the sugar has dissolved, and simmer it very slowly until it has reduced and you have one cup of liquid left.

When it's done, I urge you to sip a little from your original bottle, take a drink of water and then sip a little of your new brew.

Bottle the result and keep it somewhere cool and dark (refrigeration is unnecessary). Use it wherever balsamic vinegar is called for.