Description
Our Chocolate & Vanilla ‘Special Reserve’ Aged Balsamic Vinegar is absolutely stunning & bursting with flavour; it’s glossy, thick & sweet with no bitterness.
Chocolate works brilliantly with goat’s cheese, in fact any strong, salty cheese: try a few slivers of 70%+ chocolate on your cheeseboard next time to see what we mean. A nice glass of port marries these two flavours together beautifully. That’s what gave us the inspiration for this unusual & exciting balsamic.
We use our GREAT TASTE AWARD WINNING Gran Riserva ‘Special Reserve’ Aged Balsamic Vinegar as the base for this infusion. This is what the judges had to say about this base balsamic:
Glossy, with good consistency; the ageing has done its work
Real molasses notes; complex sweetness & lovely balance of acidity
A dark & rich balsamic with good consistency & beautiful sheen
The key differences between our stunning, authentic aged balsamic vinegars compared with cheaper imitations are:
WE DON’T use watery, thin balsamic vinegar; ours are thick enough to use as a glaze but with NO artificial sweeteners or thickeners.
WE DON’T do ‘reductions’ – cheaper vinegars that have been boiled to reduce them (sometimes even with sugar) & make them thicker.
WE DON’T add a grain of sugar, caramel (E150) or sweeteners anywhere in the process – all the sweetness comes from the passing of time & from the fruit itself.
This is unlike any ‘supermarket balsamic’ or cheap, watery vinegars made with 40-50% sugar.
This also means it’s ‘free’ on all the slimming plans we know of!
Instead, our Chocolate & Vanilla ‘Special Reserve’ is a stunning, authentic aged balsamic from Modena, home of the World’s finest balsamic vinegars, aged for years in barrels until just the right balance of sweetness is attained, then infused to give a depth of flavour both surprises & delights.
Use it as a dressing for a robust salad – something like goat’s cheese or stilton works well – or even a gutsy game dish like pigeon or venison. Just a few drops on some sliced, rare-roasted venison will boost the flavour. Following the Mexican principle of chocolate in their stews, a dash of our balsamic in a stew, chilli or casserole gives a really intense flavour & makes red meat taste meatier.
It’s not a chocolate sauce though – it’s a fine balance of bitter chocolate, the heady aroma & sweetness of vanilla with the tangy, sweet, aged balsamic.
Add a few drops to a stir fry, gravy or jus for an extra special sauce or make a marinade by adding a dash to oil, crushed garlic, thyme & whatever else you fancy: marinate pigeon or game for a few hours before cooking as usual and you’ll have a dish sure to become a household favourite.
Try a few drops on ice cream or swirl into Greek yoghurt for an unusual twist, or add some crushed meringue for a complimentary chewy crunch!
Wholesale price per unit: £3.90
Retail price per unit: £6.75
