Balsamic vinegar- what's going on here

[Gogar]

Hello smart fellas

I generally have a thing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and an avocado (maybe peanut) oil on my counter next to the stove. In fancy bottles from the fancy store so I feel fancy.

Admittedly the balsamic gets used the least;

I haven't touched this in maybe 4 months. It looked suspect to me and I tried to empty it.

Edumacate me on this nasty goo that formed in the bottom of the bottle- is this normal?

It's regular supermarket- grade "balsamic vinegar of Modena."

I guess I'll stop trying to be fancy and not put it on the counter if I'm not actually gonna use it promptly.


Cheers!

[flatbutt]

Probably just some carbs formed by bacteria. Sometimes fermentation is incomplete and this is what you get. I think you can use what remains after filtering the goo. However, I'm mostly an inorganic chemist so....

[fintstone]

Probably just the thickener...thickening. I imagine it will shake/mix up with some effort.

Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
Main article: Balsamic vinegar of Modena
Balsamic vinegar
(Three years) Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
These commercial-grade products imitate the traditional product. They are made of as little as 20% grape must (and not necessarily from Modena or Reggio Emilia), with the addition of wine vinegar, colouring, caramel, and sometimes thickeners like guar gum or cornflour to artificially simulate the sweetness and thickness of the aged Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena.[8] IGP status requires a minimum ageing period of two months, not necessarily in wooden barrels, rising to three years when labelled as invecchiato (aged).[8] As the manufacturing process is highly industrialized, the output of a medium-sized producer may be hundreds of litres per day.

In 2009, the European Commission inserted the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena (Aceto Balsamico di Modena) designation in the register of IGP productions.

[Baz]

Can't answer your question but lately I've been throwing a lot of food stuffs away.

First check the "use by" date code - toss if expired. Then if not expired- still toss!

Reminds me of that Jackson Browne song....I'm gonna loosen my load......

[Arizona_928]

Immiscible.
Something separated based on density.

[Paul_Heery]

Balsamic vinegar should be stored in a cool, dark place. Having it in a bottle next to the stove is probably what caused your vinegar to "cook down".

[jrj3rd]

Quite possibly vinegar mother. Natural yeast from the production process continued to grow. Balsamic should be in a dark bottle not clear.

[Steve Carlton]

[mjohnson]

Yah, maybe the liquid part into a sauce - and treat it more like an oil next time by at least storing in a cool dark place. It's had its age in the barrel, if it's real, and it doesn't need more in the bottle (in my opinion).

The "hot" part of our cupboard nearest the stove gets normal vinegars like cider/white/chianging/wine and so on. If it's a good one and if it's a real balsamic, I treat it like vermouth/sherry/mirin and into the fridge it goes. The good stuff ain't cheap and I'm not going to abuse it...

Now I'm no saint. I have the traditional spinny-spice-carousel sitting near the stove in our sunny kitchen - but I do try to buy in larger quantities, decanting into smaller jars and fridge/freezing the rest.

For some unknown reason we get the Zingerman grocery/deli catalogue and they have some balsamics >$100 for 4-6oz. That's about as close as I get to real porn these days...

[matthewb0051]

Anthony Bourdain did a great show about Emilia Romagna on one of his shows.

FF to about 24:10 for a look at this family's balsamic vinegar production. It ain't the stuff you get at the supermarket or on that odd shelf area of Marshalls.

https://www.facebook.com/RonTonkinGranTurismo/videos/anthony-bourdain-no-reservations-emilia-romagna/10160380144915534/