Pour this on anything from pizza, to tomatoes, to strawberries. The longer you cook the glaze the sweeter it gets. Think: thick glaze=sweet, thin glaze=tart (like the original vinegar)
- Start with at least 2 cups balsamic vinegar
Pour vinegar into a small non-reactive sauce pan and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Once liquid is simmering, turn the heat to low. Reduce the vinegar for about 30-40 minutes or until the vinegar has become thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. You should end up with just more than 1/2 a cup. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Pour into an airtight container and store at either room temperature or in the fridge. If you do store it in the fridge don’t be alarmed if it hardens up a bit. Simply place the container into a mug of warm water and it will soften quickly.
It’s very important to keep a watchful eye when reducing the balsamic, it can burn before you know it! It will also be thicker once it cools, so keep that in mind as you are watching it reduce. When it coats a spoon, it will be thick enough.
The following are ideas for infusing your basic reduction recipe depending on how strong you want the particular flavor to stand out, infusion time will vary. Start with 10 minutes and taste the vinegar. Play around from there:
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- 1 sprig rosemary or other hearty herb
- whole peppercorns
- 1 cinnamon stick
- orange rind
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