Full transcript
Intro
0:00up until about five years ago I did not
0:02have the pleasure of enjoying true
0:03traditional age balsamic vinegar my
0:05oldest son came back from a trip from
0:06Italy and he brought home some of the
0:08real deal it was quite thick and syrupy
0:10he told me that it was really expensive
0:12you want to ask how much but it was a
0:14gift so I had an ask it was a tiny
0:16thimble sized bottle so how expensive
0:18could it be after I became hooked on
0:20this stuff I checked to see what was
0:21available online age traditional
0:23balsamic from madna Italy can be
0:26insanely expensive from a whopping forty
0:28dollars per ounce on Amazon to 1 000 or
0:32333 dollars per ounce and up does the
0:34price actually reflect quality or is it
0:36all just vanity fluff what makes age
0:39balsamic vinegar so special is there a
0:41significant difference in flavor from
0:42one to another at least one that
0:44warrants the price tag the two things
0:46about age balsamic that I know is that
0:48it is yummy on Parmesan cheese and that
0:50I never had an authentic age balsamic of
0:52madna that I didn't love while perusing
0:54the internet I discovered that you can
0:55fake age balsamic if I can get the taste
0:58to be relatively close to the real stuff
1:00that would make me and my wallet super
1:03happy
1:04I purchased three balsamic vinegars from
1:07Modern Italy I'm also going to show you
1:09how I fake age balsamic vinegar I wanted
1:11to see how my fake age balsamic fared
1:13against the real deal and I'm going to
1:15ask two of my friends to taste all four
1:17this is my good friend Alex bojoreno
1:20he's a chef of 25 years trained in
1:22Barcelona on the faran idea the father
1:25of Molecular Gastronomy he has worked
1:27side by side with Terence Brennan whose
1:29restaurants have earned multiple
1:30Michelin stars and he has earned James
1:32Beard Awards this is my longtime friend
1:34Rick Coffey he graduated from The
1:36Institute of Culinary education and
1:38happens to be one of the best home chefs
1:39I have ever met I have enjoyed the
1:41Delicacies that he serves at his BNB The
1:43Coffee House Bed and Breakfast Alex and
1:45Rick are going to do a blind tasting of
1:47the balsamic vinegars I have chosen and
1:49George's soon to be famous Long Island
1:51age balsamic they will critique all four
1:53and give me their opinions but what is
1:55the deal with balsamic vinegar and why
1:57does it have to come from Modern Italy
2:01Marana is a medieval town in the heart
2:03of Emilio Romania Italy's agricultural
2:06Corps
2:07the region is the birthplace of precious
2:09Italian Delicacies like parmesan cheese
2:11Parma ham tortelli
2:14and of course balsamic vinegar when Duke
2:18Caesar Destiny moved to Mana in 1598
2:21they encouraged the vinegar that was
2:22made almost exclusively in the homes of
2:24local residents and the best that they
2:26had ever tasted they often jealously
2:28guarded the secret recipe which was
2:30passed down from generation to
2:31generation
2:34their vinegar was generally not sold it
2:37was often used to enrich the Dowry of
2:39their daughters
2:41the earliest recorded mention of
2:43balsamic vinegar was in 1747. the most
2:46expensive is traditional balsamic
2:48vinegar dop and it can only be produced
2:50in Madonna or Riggio Emilia this vinegar
2:53has a protected designation of origin
2:55dop from the European Union these
2:59balsamic vinegars are made from one
3:01ingredient grape must that's it then
3:04their agent barrels to qualify as
3:06traditionale they must be aged for a
3:08minimum of 12 years and the color of the
3:10label indicates the minimum level of
3:11Aging red means 12 years silver means 18
3:14years and gold means 25 years they are
3:17thick and syrupy and reflect many wood
3:20notes from the barrels they were aged in
3:22you're not going to cook with these they
3:24are finishing balsamic
3:27the most common true balsamic vinegar is
3:30balsamic vinegar of madna look for this
3:33sticker that says igp which stands for
3:35protected geographical indication it's a
3:38guarantee that the vinegar was produced
3:39and bottled in Modena Italy
3:42unlike traditional balsamic it's made
3:44from a combination of two ingredients
3:46wine vinegar and grape must the grapes
3:48in igp vinegar is interestingly enough
3:50don't have to come from adna but must be
3:53processed and packed in madana to earn
3:55the label igp vinegars have a broad
3:58flavor range where traditional balsamic
4:01vinegars will taste more similar to one
4:03another
4:03igb balsamic vinegars have to be aged in
4:06wood barrels for a minimum of two months
4:08and can be mixed with red wine vinegar
4:10during the aging process America's Test
4:12Kitchen simulated an aged balsamic
4:14vinegar by slowly heating traditional
4:16balsamic vinegar with a little bit of
4:17port wine and sugar until it was reduced
4:20to half its original volume so I'm
4:22trying to recreate the flavor of this 25
4:23year old dop traditionally balsamic
4:26vinegar
4:27George's H balsamic vinegar of long
4:29island has to be just as good
4:31if not better
$20 roaster
4:33what is actually occurring in a barrel
4:36it's dehydration over many years and
4:38rather than reduce the mix over heat I
4:40decided to dehydrate it in a dehydrator
4:43when traditionally aging balsamic
4:45vinegar the longer the grape must is in
4:47the barrel the more it's going to take
4:48on the taste of the barrel port wine
4:50does the same it's also aged for a long
4:53time in barrels that's the logic behind
4:55adding a little port wine to the
4:57balsamic when you're trying to simulate
4:58age
4:59also the longer the balsamic ages the
5:02more concentrated it becomes therefore
5:04it should be sweeter hence the addition
5:06of sugar when fake aging balsamic I'm
5:08not so sure if sugar is going to be the
5:11best sweetener for George's age balsamic
5:13I'm also not sure which port wine will
5:15give my balsamic the best taste so I'm
5:18going to make nine test batches to see
5:19which one I like the best I decided on
5:22three port wines the least expensive is
5:24Coburn's Ruby Port the second is
5:26sandman's 20-year 20 port and the third
5:29one I'm trying out is a 20-year 20 Port
5:31from presidential Porto I use sugar
5:33molasses and maple syrup hence my nine
5:36test batches I'm using this organic
5:38balsamic vinegar from Costco as my base
5:41it is igp
5:42[Music]
5:44I'm weighing each plate and noting the
5:46weight I'm weighing nine equal amounts
5:48of balsamic vinegar or the equivalent of
5:51113 grams I will be adding 14 grams of
5:54port wine and 15 grams of either sugar
5:56molasses or maple syrup then I'm noting
5:58the weight of each balsamic vinegar mix
6:00I'm going to dehydrate the nine test
6:02batches at about 130 degrees Fahrenheit
6:05or 54 degrees Celsius when the weight of
6:07the balsamic has been reduced to half
6:09its original weight it will be done
6:10rather than wait around I decided to
6:12visit my buddy Mike he's my local cheese
6:14Monger he owns The Cheese Shop near me
6:16and he can steer me towards a
6:18first-class Parmesan cheese
6:22foreign
6:31all three of the vinegars that I
6:33purchased are authentic the least
6:34expensive one is this one do vitory auto
6:37gold it is igp it comes in at around
6:401.88 per ounce or 28 grams it received
6:43over a thousand five star reviews on
6:45Amazon 96 were five and four stars it's
6:48loose I can see this as a wonderful
6:49addition to a salad or on top of
6:51vegetables it's light it's fruity very
6:54pleasant the second one here is
6:55Giuseppe's gusties it costs a little
6:58more than double this one at four
7:00dollars and seventy cents per ounce or
7:0128 grams it too is igp and has over 2000
7:05reviews on Amazon with again 95 of the
7:07reviews at four and five stars
7:09I picked this one kind of intentionally
7:11because it's not a dop but it is aged
7:14for 12 years it tastes like a cross
7:17between the duo vittori Oro Gold and
7:21this one here the traditional AIDS
7:22balsamic
7:24the flavor stands up to parmesan better
7:26than this one the barrel flavor is there
7:29and it's delightful it is definitely
7:32thicker a little less syrupy I think you
7:34can cook with it as well as serve it on
7:35a salad it's kind of like a go between
7:38the traditional age balsamic and one
7:41that's not finally we have our heavy
7:43hitter lasekia extravecchio traditional
7:46age balsamic vinegar of moderna DLP 25
7:49years old coming in at a whopping 115
7:52dollars for 100 milliliters or 34
7:55dollars per fluid ounce
7:58fruit is mild this Cherry this Plum it's
8:01consistent and smooth throughout the
8:03taste it's married into the flavors of
8:05the barrel it explodes in your mouth
8:07with Parmesan the salt in this cheese
8:09brings out all of the subtle flavors
8:11hints of Brandy and Oak Aged French wine
8:14caramel this is outstanding and it
8:17should not be used for cooking
8:22so according to America's Test Kitchen
8:25you're supposed to cook the balsamic
8:26vinegar mix until there's half left
8:28after 48 Hours the balsamic test samples
8:31stop dehydrating it did not reduce to
8:33half they became too thick almost like
8:35caramel also the alcohol didn't
8:38evaporate it makes sense alcohol
8:39evaporates at 165 degrees Fahrenheit or
8:4274 degrees Celsius and even though they
8:44tasted promising I had to redo the batch
8:47a second time this time though I decided
8:49to cook down the port wines and remove
8:50the alcohol
8:51I also kept checking the syrupy
8:53consistency of the test samples until
8:55they resembled the thickness of the 25
8:56year old age balsamic I purchased
Siphon / Vacuum brewer
9:01this combination tasted the best
9:04maple syrup and sandyman 20 year 20 port
9:07its lost weight was around 30 grams
9:10the recipe for this is in the
9:12description below and on my website
9:14it Bears the same age flavor as the
9:17extra Vecchio but it's a lot more
9:19complex
9:20there's a prominent Taste of grape musk
9:22and the maple syrup gives it a really
9:23truly Pleasant woodsy flavor
9:25I actually like the flavor of this
9:27better than all three and I would buy
9:30mine if it were commercially available
9:31let's see what my friends think
9:34Alex was gracious enough to taste my
9:36vinegars even though his restaurants
9:38closed for the season I've spent most of
9:40my life dining on the East End of Long
9:41Island New York and I can say without
9:43any conviction that Alex is one of the
9:45best chefs in the Hamptons his dishes
9:48have blown me away both in presentation
9:50and taste
9:59all right Alex my friend thank you so
10:03much for doing this let me explain to
10:05you what's happening here
10:07so here we have four different balsamic
10:11vinegars
10:12one of them is classic aged balsamic
10:15vinegar 20-year Madonna the real deal
10:19one of them is uh is aged but it's it's
10:22it contains vinegar it doesn't also have
10:25just straight grape must one is your
10:28run-of-the-mill balsamic vinegar is that
10:31has no certificates whatsoever but it is
10:33from Madonna and the other one of them
10:36is
10:37the one I've made and I just want you to
10:40rank them in order which one you feel
10:42you like the best to the worst
Taste Test
10:45can I switch a little bit or just
10:47because I see the the intensity color
10:50okay is going the lighter to darker if
10:54it's okay any way you want okay
10:57[Music]
11:07I go with this this one yes okay this is
11:11your favorite one I mean
11:13I like it to be honest with you I like
11:16everything
11:18rank it like put so this one let's say
11:20is number one
11:26it's later it's lighter
11:45one two three and four so you would go
11:49one
11:50two two
11:52three
11:52and four so this is your favorite yes
11:55and this is your least favorite yes okay
11:57that's really really interesting so
12:00let's see this one is C and C was the
12:04least expensive out of all of them which
12:06is interesting
12:07this one is b b was a 12 year aged
12:11balsamic vinegar but uh it didn't have
12:15it was made with vinegar and grape
12:17mustard so it wasn't certified the third
12:20one here is the one that I made okay and
12:23this is the one that was aged for you
12:25know the true classic very expensive 150
12:28dollars for a little tiny bottle of uh
12:30well sound good it's very interesting I
12:32mean the valley reflected in that
12:35versus this one
12:38and I can get the consideration yours uh
12:41yours is very similar with the the agent
12:45the expensive one so that's what I was
12:47trying to achieve by the way when I was
12:48I was when I was doing this I based it
12:50this I based mine on the expensive one
12:53because I was trying to see if it would
12:56if I can get it to taste like the
12:57expensive one yeah
12:59but again
13:01I choose yours better than the expensive
13:06one
13:07um for me the expensive one don't have
13:09to be just the best one
13:12um
13:14the third one yours
13:23so good
13:25now Rick is a perfectionist who does
13:26things at his own pace I respect his
13:28palette and have been humbled many times
13:30by the complexity of his Creations so I
13:33have four balsamic vinegars here
13:36um from really good quality they're all
13:40I think they're all great but
13:42some of them are clearly a lot more
13:44expensive they're aged more and I want
13:48you to kind of go strictly by taste and
13:50tell me which which one is your favorite
13:51like rank it and you know I want your
13:54opinion on it so take a toothpick
13:57and give it a shot let me know which
13:59ones you like okay and a quick question
14:01just looking at it
14:04these two look uh thicker than these two
14:08is that yeah they're all four different
14:11grades but I want you to kind of Judge
14:13it basically on taste like that's what I
14:16really want you to let me know which one
14:17you like Flavor wise okay and then I use
14:21these yeah take a little toothpick yep
14:26so I'm just going to
14:28um
14:29have you rinse between a little bit so
14:32you know that the flavor so that you
14:34clean your palate a little bit you put
14:36the empty toothpick right now
14:39[Music]
14:49this one also has a richness and a
14:52thickness that I would
14:54picture drizzling over grilled Romaine
14:57or something along those lines Parmesan
15:00Parmesan yeah
15:03foreign
15:07delicious a tough call
15:10um
15:10I'd say these two are good for
15:14maybe like I'd use it with a an
15:16addressing salad
15:18these two wouldn't use for a salad
15:22I'm gonna have to go with
15:24my choice would be that one really yeah
15:27well that's pretty awesome let me just
15:29see what you picked here so this one
15:31this is a let me say a b
15:34oh good wow C and D so yeah so this one
15:38here we don't know how much it's H4 it's
15:40two months minimum they don't tell you
15:42on the bottle this one is and so it's a
15:45mix of balsamic vinegar oh I'm sorry red
15:47wine vinegar and grape must these two
15:50are red wine vinegar and grape must this
15:52one we don't know how long it's aged
15:53this one is aged for 12 years
15:56wow but it's not considered a
15:59traditional balsamic because it's
16:02um it's got uh vinegar in it red wine
16:04vinegar red I believe red wine vinegar
16:07Yes red white vinegar and grape must
16:09this one is 25 year old
16:13this is a traditional
16:15balsamic vinegar
16:17and it's strictly great must what does
16:19that go for a bottle 115 on Amazon okay
16:23at three ounces a little tiny bit now
16:26this one
16:27that's the one I made that
16:31really yeah try that again
16:42wow
16:51wow all right let's be perfectly clear
16:54here what I actually created is a
16:57balsamic glaze that was designed to
16:59mimic the flavor of a traditional dop
17:00age balsamic Madina the highest quality
17:04traditional dop balsamic vinegars are
17:06created by Masters we've perfected the
17:09secret art of taking grapes and aging
17:11them for up to 25 years or more in
17:13wooden barrels an art that is a family
17:15heritage of thousands of years now what
17:19would you charge for a vinegar that you
17:20babysat for 25 years I'd probably charge
17:23more I also understand the privilege of
17:25tasting an expensive age balsamic and I
17:27don't take it lightly
17:29I am thrilled that all three of us
17:30agreed that my fake age balsamic tasted
17:33good if not better than the extra
17:34Vecchio
17:35if you would like to see what a
17:37traditional age balsamic tastes like and
17:39not spend the money give this recipe a
17:41try but overall it's still not so cheap
17:44a bottle of Sandman Tony port in the U.S
17:47is about fifty dollars a quart of
17:49organic maple syrup from Costco will
17:50cost you 13 and a bottle of this organic
17:53balsamic vinegar from Costco is also
17:54going to cost you around 13 so if you
17:56don't have any of these ingredients this
17:59experiment will cost you about 75 US
18:01Dollars on the bright side for 75
18:03dollars you'll also be able to make
18:05almost a lifetime supply of fake age
18:07balsamic most importantly it brings me
18:09to the bonus tip of the day learn and
18:13experiment there's so much shared
18:15experience available online it's rarely
18:17that you'll ever have to Pioneer
18:19anything if you're interested in making
18:21a dish Uniquely Yours or creating
18:23something in the kitchen for personal
18:24pleasure don't be afraid to experiment
18:28enjoy the process
18:30now unfortunately if you like this video
18:32and choose to subscribe to my channel it
18:35kinda does nothing unless you hit the
18:37notification Bell for some mysterious
18:39reason the YouTube algorithm passes by
18:41subscribers I know this because only two
18:43percent of my subscribers actually watch
18:45my videos and I don't even get
18:47notifications from the channels I
18:48subscribe to as well
18:49so please help my channel grow by
18:51hitting that like button and staying in
18:53touch leave a comment down below the
18:56algorithm seems to promote videos with a
18:58lot of likes thank you I appreciate your
19:01time cheers
19:10[Music]
19:17thank you