Thick Balsamic Vinegar - As you can imagine the density of a balsamic vinegar is considered a positive characteristic.

A thick balsamic Vinegar is a sign of good quality?
A good Vinegar has to be thick?

During the natural aging process the product develops a progressive thick balsamic ness which, however does not have to become excessive.

As you may imagine a thick balsamic vinegar is a sign for a superior quality product, its density is considered a positive characteristic.

During the natural aging process the consistency improves gradually but it doesn’t have to be excessive.

Let’s clear up this matter.

Original Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP (it can be sold by law on an industrial scale after only 60 aging days and a minimum density of 1,06) For this kind of vinegar only:
Cooked must, Wine vinegar, And a maximum of 2% of caramel, are requested by law.

Usually on the data sheet or label of the product you can also read a value of density. In this case you should prefer products with a higher density, as this means an increased percentage of cooked must in it (positive feature).

How can you calculate the density of the product?
According to weight to liter: if the weight of one liter of final product is 1,10 kg, its density is 1,10.
If the weight of one liter of final product is 1,20 kg, its density is 1,20.

But beware: a high density can also be a negative feature!

This phenomenon usually occurs with the original Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PDO, where the only admitted ingredient by law is the cooked must (this product is handmade and sold after an aging of minimum 12 or 25 years in wood barrels).

A too thick traditional balsamic vinegar is NOT a good vinegar as the refining of the product in the barrel was not correct.

As you may notice in the video, sometimes the product gets an appearance and consistency, which render it unusable.

The exact viscosity and pourability, which are the essential features for an excellent Traditional Balsamic Vinegar falls through and a very dense layer of the product settles to the bottom of the bottle. The flavour of the product remains unchanged but if you taste it you may feel a light granularity, which can spoil your recipes.

Have you ever tried a real thick Traditional Balsamic vinegar of Modena POD?

L-Originale Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena: www.l-originale.com