Balsamic Vinegar

To buy a good one, you need to taste-test and to read the label. Some mass-produced brands contain caramel coloring and sugar, some are blended with other kinds of vinegar—I’d stay away. The other piece of information you can get from the label is how long the vinegar has been aged, which will account, at least in part, for its price. You can get a fine balsamic for around ten dollars for a 10- to 12-ounce bottle. Even cheaper ones are fine for uses like marinating. Taste them and pick one that you like. Some tend to be sweeter, some woodier, some thinner, some more syrupy. The balsamic that sells for a hundred dollars a bottle and is treated like a miracle elixir by connoisseurs is a sublime substance on its own, but it does not concern us here. If you are lucky enough to possess some, do not use it to mix a salad dressing.