Honey Balsamic Glaze (Very Good Food)

Prep and Cook time: 20 minutes

To accompany some poor man’s filet mignon (flat iron steak) and blue cheese appetizers for our Superbowl potluck (to which the jrwalsh couple brought calzones and bacon-wrapped dates and nkurz129 brought some homebrew), I made my first balsamic glaze.  Had I known how stupidly easy it is to make, I would not have waited 27 years to try for the first time.

You don’t need to spend money on great balsamic to make this.  Great balsamic should probably be left alone.  But, you should make sure that what you actually buy is balsamic vinegar.  A lot of the cheapest stuff is actually red wine vinegar doctored with brown sugar, and may be labeled “Balsamic vinegar of Modena”.  The real stuff will have one ingredient listed: balsamic vinegar (or aceto balsamico).  Also the authentic stuff made traditionally and DOC-approved is labeled “Tradizionale di Modena” or “Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia”.

Tools:

• small pot
• wooden spoon
• 1 C measuring cup
• 1T measuring spoon

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 C Balsamic vinegar (read the label, make sure it’s not doctored red wine vinegar, or, buy this)
• 3 T honey

Method

1. In a small pot, pour in 1.5 cups of balsamic vinegar and 3 T of honey.
2. Boil on medium-high heat to reduce the mix to about 3/4 cup.  For this volume, this should take about 18 minutes (care of some nice carrots (“goodness”), or here).More important than the volume reduction is the development of caramelization.  When there’s a few minutes left, the mix will thicken noticeably and actually appear to grow in volume as bubbles start to maintain structure.  At this point, cook only for a few more minutes to let the taste develop.  Take it off the heat when the tartness is cut down and some nuttiness from the caramel is noticeable, but before the tartness is gone.
3. Let it cool for a few minutes and put it on everything: steak, fruit, brie, your girlfriend, crackers, and so on.

Tags: balsamic, honey