Product Name: Colavita Balsamic Vinegar
Store purchased: Sobey's, various locations
Price: $3.99CAD
Ingredients: Wine Vinegar, Concentrated Grape Must, Caramel Colour, (contains sulphites)
Typically, I like scouring the food section of Winners or Marshalls for some well-priced balsamic vinegars. Recently, I found my stock depleted and I decided to buy a bottle at the grocery store for general cooking. I remembered that Bertolli used to make a serviceable balsamic for cooking. So, I grabbed the prettiest bottle off the shelf and headed home.
I think I must have forgotten what lower priced versions tasted like. I took a test teaspoon and was unpleasantly surprised. Colavita Balsamic Vinegar (not the aged version) was quite tart and lacked all the depth I was used to in my other vinegars I had been using for the past several years. I guess, once again, my memory is better than the real thing. Does it compare to a well-aged aceto balsamico? Obviously, no. It cannot be faulted for being exactly what is advertised. Actually, the more I have of it, the more I accept it. I might be overly harsh on a $4 bottle, when compared to a bottle that came corked and in a box. I can still use this to make sauces and vinaigrettes, add a bit of punch to my spaghetti sauce.
Excerpted from http://whatscookingamerica.net/balsamic.htm
"Look at the seal, list of ingredients, and the cap for clues. Read the label for cooked grape must, the word “tradizionale,” and the length of time vinegar has aged. Follow these helpful clues offered by The Vinegar Institute:
- Make sure the consortium seal is over the cap, as well as on the label.
- Traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena is only bottled in the distinct bulb-shaped, 100-milliliter bottle.
- Modena brands use red and silver labels to indicate aging of 12 and 18 years respectively.
- A gold cap indicates a minimum age of 20 years.
- Look for a bottle that comes in a box with a book containing recipes and a description of the process of manufacture and recipes.
- Locate traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena in fine gourmet shops
- Find a good-quality medium-priced one to use in your cooking.
The commercial grade or "cheap" balsamic vinegars work great in vinaigrettes. Lesser balsamic vinegars have brown sugar or caramel added to mimic the sweetness of the better-quality ones.
If a company produces a "traditional" balsamic vinegar, they will also produce a less expensive, but high quality vinegar as well. This is the same vinegar with the same heritage but not aged as long. You can have confidence in purchasing these balsamic vinegars."
concentrated grape must - check!
no caramel colour - uncheck!
printed aging time - uncheck!
traditional - uncheck!
consortium seal - uncheck!
Overall Taste: 2 out of 5
Quality for price: 4 out of 5
tag: balsamic, colavita, vinegar, balsamico, balsamic vinegar, balsamic recipe, vinaigrette balsamic
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