How to make balsamic vinegar

How to make balsamic vinegar

•Purchase 5 wine barrels of decreasing size. These types of barrels are found in stores that cater to wine making.The wood of the barrel can be mulberry, chestnut, oak or cherry. Choose one of these wood types based on the desired flavor of the vinegar. You can use multiple woods.•Choose a mulberry barrel for a spicy aroma and bolder taste.•Choose an oak barrel to keep the vinegar thicker, as oak permits less evaporation.•Choose a chestnut barrel for a rich brownish red color.•Choose a cherry wood barrel for a sweeter final taste.

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Clean the barrel. Use a mixture of vinegar, salt and water to eliminate bacteria and impurities.

•Buy ripe Trebbiano and/or Lambrusco grapes. These are white grapes grown mostly in the Modena region of Italy, but they can be grown elsewhere if weather permits. These grapes are harvested at the end of fall. Buy enough grapes so 80 percent of each barrel can be filled with liquid.

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Crush the grapes. P them through a sieve

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Allow the juice to settle for 15 minutes.

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Transfer the juice into a large kettle.

7Boil the juice. Let it simmer at 190 degrees Fahrenheit (87.7 degrees Celsius) for 24 hours. Do not exceed 195 degrees or your mosto will not ferment in the next stage.The process of long simmering the juice reduces it to half of its original volume and creates a mosto, which in English is "must." This is very sweet syrup.

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Cool the mosto. Let it sit for several hours.

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Put mosto in a non-reactive container (glass, stainless, or open barrel to ferment) Once it's finished fermenting, Move the mosto into each barrel.

10Cover each barrel's opening with a mesh cloth. This allows evaporation and reduction of the liquid.

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Wait 6 months.

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Fill the smallest barrel with liquid from the next largest. Repeat the filling process until you reach the largest barrel.

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Pour new mosto into the largest barrel.If you're not making any more balsamic vinegar, you can skip this step.

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Continue to transfer liquid from the larger barrels to the next smallest one once every year for 5 years.

15•Take 1 liter (0.3 US gal) of the vinegar from the smallest barrel.This is not yet authentic balsamic vinegar, but it is a form of vinegar.

16Continue to transfer liquid from the larger barrels to the next smallest once every year for another 7 years.