— Cherri Blair-Drayton

so to begin with when it comes to balsamic vinegars broadly speaking, there are a couple of categories and so when you say A quality balsamics. I'm not sure which category referred to so I'll talk about both of them. At the upper echelon. You've got the Traditional balsamic vinegars and you know, those are made over a long period of time Bound by many rules that are part of the the designation right of traditional balsamic or balsamicutale and you know, for example, traditional balsamic vinegars, they must be aged and you know at a minimum it's a dozen years and some of them are aged for, you know, well over 50 years and that takes a big investment. There's a lot of risk involved therefore. And a lot of evaporation of product along the way as these things age in wooden barrels or casks. And so consequently, the finished product tends to be relatively expensive now, you know in that category of balsamic vinegar as well, you know, I have you know used and tasted probably a couple of dozen or so, you know over the years. I don't have a particular favorite. I've I don't recall doing it taste test. It was always something that was, you know, given to me to use for a dinner, you know these sort of things and this is just part of cooking professionally these sort of opportunities come up. So, you know, I don't have a particular brand name or producer name to share with you however at that level of quality. I've never been disappointed. I've never second guessed or questioned the quality of of those products and I would imagine that you know, most consumers are going to find you know, four and a half star or five star ratings out of five stars. If you look at ratings on any of these sites such as Amazon, you know, for example Um, so, you know, give it a try see how much money you want to spend on given product and you might even try picking up two or three in order to compare noting of course that the traditional balsamics are not used in cooking but rather use to finish a preparation. Okay. Now the second category is often referred to as commercial balsamic vinegars and this category varies widely in the method of production as well as the resulting quality of the products generally speaking within this category. You can find a products that may fall under a Rating system that's called The Leaf rating system and it's one through four leaves and these are great leaves. And for being a higher quality product than a one leaf designation, okay, but in terms of production generally speaking, but with some exceptions you're supposed to get the lower end of quality these products maybe based in part on better quality balsamic vinegar with the addition. Of red wine vinegar in order to you know, bulk it up or to stretch the the yield of that particular product these things these vinegars under this separate category and rating system maybe aged in wood, or they may not be now the duration of age Aging in Wood will vary and you would really need to look at different producers and do some comparisons on your own to to find what you enjoy. But generally speaking a lower rated balsamic vinegar in the commercial balsamic category is going to be more acidic and less sweet in profile and a balsamico in this category that is has a higher rating three leaves or Four Leaves will have a better quality base. It'll feature more sweetness a better balance with the city or overall lower, you know acidity on the palate and so in item that's more sour more tart, you know can easily be used for balsamic vinegars blended with other ingredients. And enjoyed in that manner and then when you get into the three and and four leaf rated products within this commercial balsamic category where you have more sweetness, you know, these can be used for finishing as well. They're not quite as refined at that more subtle level as the traditional balsamics, but they can be very enjoyable and certainly from a price point perspective. They are much more accessible than the traditional balsamicos and you know one label that I am familiar with is from the stuts. Company and Stutz is a is a small bottler in the East San Francisco Bay Area. And they have a balsamic vinegar. It's it falls into this commercial balsamic category. It's a three leaf rated product. The the base product is from Modena where you have a lot of the traditional balsamics coming from and this one. I find to be fairly nicely balanced between the the sweetness in the acidity. I use it generally for finishing as well as for dressings and I've even enjoyed it over ice cream from time to time and I don't have any hesitation in saying, you know, check it out and see how you might like it now interestingly. Even if you're to compare let's say this stats product with other three leaf rated balsamicos, you might find profiles that are quite different. So it's still important that you compare, you know a two or three labels. Let's say in order to find something that you enjoy. Okay, but give stats a try. I just actually just had some this morning give it a little sprinkle on a parsley and cilantro salad that I had before the live event and very very enjoyable. All right.