{"id":1627,"date":"2010-08-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-08-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-05-01T13:38:45","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T13:38:45","slug":"a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes","status":"publish","type":"notebook","link":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/","title":{"rendered":"A Little Bit Sweet, A Little Bit Tart: Balsamic Vinegar Adds Sass to Classic Recipes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Throughout culinary history there have arisen many great pairings: salt and pepper, chocolate and peanut butter, chips and salsa.  But there exists one often overlooked pair that I simply could not do without.<\/p>\n<p>With their complimentary coloring, silky textures and subtle bite, olive oil and balsamic vinegar are the secret weapon of many a savvy cook. Whether dipping hot, crusty Italian bread, or tossing it with your favorite greens, this dynamic duo packs a high-health, low-guilt punch with very little effort.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve got olive oil in my cupboard, but what\u2019s this balsamic stuff you\u2019re talking about,\u201d you ask hungrily?<\/p>\n<p>Well, let me take a moment to spread the good word about my new vinegar friend. Lurking behind a rich, burgundy exterior lies a subtly sweet yet seriously sour syrup jam-packed with health benefits and complex flavors.  (In fact, I just found out that the Italian word <i>balsamico<\/i>, means \u201ccurative\u201d!)<\/p>\n<p>Unlike other vinegars, traditional balsamic is made from a reduction of two different types of grapes and then aged for at least 12 years.  I\u2019m a firm believer that good things come in old packages &#8211; if I do say so myself &#8211; and this tangy treat is certainly no exception!  Its complex flavors can easily stand alone and in my experience it is often best-served drizzled atop tomatoes, bruschetta or other equally simple dishes.   (For a taste, try <b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/recipes\/browse\/go\/uid\/94\">Brian Blackley\u2019s<\/a><\/b> yummy <b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/recipe\/simple-bruschetta-by-brian-blackley-bblackley\">Bruschetta<\/a><\/b> recipe!)<\/p>\n<p>Broadening my culinary horizons, however, are folks like <b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/recipes\/browse\/go\/uid\/73\">Tonya Young<\/a><\/b> who originally hails from Denison, IA.  Tonya has thrown open the curtains to a terrific new way of incorporating balsamic into a classic recipe.  Her <b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/recipe\/balsamic-potato-salad-by-tonya-young-cookswithspice\">Balsamic Potato Salad<\/a><\/b> dishes up a perfectly un-classic take on a down-home picnic favorite, and the results are utterly fantastic.   Using a combination of red potatoes, sour cream and balsamic, Tonya turns old-fashioned potato salad on its end while still preserving a traditional feel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, I&#8217;m a huge balsamic vinegar fan AND red potato fan, so this potato salad is one of my favorites of all the potato salads I&#8217;ve tasted,\u201d says Tonya.  \u201cPictures are hard to give it justice&#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And that is precisely why we had to give it a try ourselves!<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, the Kitchen Crew and I were wowed by the zing that balsamic adds to <b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/recipes\/browse\/go\/uid\/255\">Julie McLaughlin\u2019s<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/recipe\/black-eyed-pea-salad-by-julie-mclaughlin-julied\">Black-Eyed Pea Salad<\/a><\/b>.  The flavors in this dish are the perfect jumping-off point for your next creative day in the kitchen.  Don\u2019t like black-eyed peas?  Try chick peas!  Not a green pepper fan?  Throw in some zucchini instead.  The basic foundation Julie creates with spices and vinegar will compliment most any ingredient addition. <\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s that versatility that is really at the heart of what I love so much about balsamic.  A little dash will brighten up many a dish.  In fact, I\u2019ve heard of folks using it as an ingredient in their sweet dishes as well.  We haven\u2019t given that a go just yet, but you can bet it\u2019s on our schedule of things to make!  (Top of the list? <b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/recipes\/browse\/go\/uid\/44637\">Kathleen Erbe\u2019s<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/recipe\/oh-my-cupcakes-balsamic-strawberry-sauce-jam-recipe-by-kathleen-erbe-redraven\">Balsamic Strawberry Sauce<\/a><\/b>!  Give it a try and let us know what you think.)<\/p>\n<p>Happy cooking!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Throughout culinary history there have arisen many great pairings: salt and pepper, chocolate and peanut butter, chips and salsa. But there exists one often overlooked pair that I simply could not do without. With their complimentary coloring, silky textures and subtle bite, olive oil and balsamic vinegar are the secret weapon of many a savvy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":236613,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v18.8 (Yoast SEO v19.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Little Bit Sweet, A Little Bit Tart: Balsamic Vinegar Adds Sass to Classic Recipes - Just A Pinch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Little Bit Sweet, A Little Bit Tart: Balsamic Vinegar Adds Sass to Classic Recipes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Throughout culinary history there have arisen many great pairings: salt and pepper, chocolate and peanut butter, chips and salsa. But there exists one often overlooked pair that I simply could not do without. With their complimentary coloring, silky textures and subtle bite, olive oil and balsamic vinegar are the secret weapon of many a savvy [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Just A Pinch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/justapinch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-01T13:38:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1150\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kitchen Crew\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@justapinchcooks\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Just A Pinch Recipes\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/justapinchcooks\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/justapinchcooks\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/justapinch\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/justapinch\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/justapinchcooks\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PinchLogo_Square_no_tagline.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PinchLogo_Square_no_tagline.png\",\"width\":543,\"height\":543,\"caption\":\"Just A Pinch Recipes\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Just A Pinch\",\"description\":\"Food Bites &amp; Articles\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes.jpg\",\"width\":1550,\"height\":1150,\"caption\":\"Julie McLaughlin&#039;s Black-Eyed Pea Salad\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/\",\"name\":\"A Little Bit Sweet, A Little Bit Tart: Balsamic Vinegar Adds Sass to Classic Recipes - Just A Pinch\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-08-31T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-01T13:38:45+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Janet's Notebook\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"A Little Bit Sweet, A Little Bit Tart: Balsamic Vinegar Adds Sass to Classic Recipes\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Little Bit Sweet, A Little Bit Tart: Balsamic Vinegar Adds Sass to Classic Recipes - Just A Pinch","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Little Bit Sweet, A Little Bit Tart: Balsamic Vinegar Adds Sass to Classic Recipes","og_description":"Throughout culinary history there have arisen many great pairings: salt and pepper, chocolate and peanut butter, chips and salsa. But there exists one often overlooked pair that I simply could not do without. With their complimentary coloring, silky textures and subtle bite, olive oil and balsamic vinegar are the secret weapon of many a savvy [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/","og_site_name":"Just A Pinch","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/justapinch","article_modified_time":"2020-05-01T13:38:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1550,"height":1150,"url":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kitchen Crew","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@justapinchcooks","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Just A Pinch Recipes","url":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/instagram.com\/justapinchcooks","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/justapinchcooks","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/justapinch","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/justapinch","https:\/\/twitter.com\/justapinchcooks"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PinchLogo_Square_no_tagline.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PinchLogo_Square_no_tagline.png","width":543,"height":543,"caption":"Just A Pinch Recipes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/","name":"Just A Pinch","description":"Food Bites &amp; Articles","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes.jpg","width":1550,"height":1150,"caption":"Julie McLaughlin&#039;s Black-Eyed Pea Salad"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/","name":"A Little Bit Sweet, A Little Bit Tart: Balsamic Vinegar Adds Sass to Classic Recipes - Just A Pinch","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2010-08-31T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-05-01T13:38:45+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/1627\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Janet's Notebook","item":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/notebook\/read\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"A Little Bit Sweet, A Little Bit Tart: Balsamic Vinegar Adds Sass to Classic Recipes"}]}]}},"fimg_url":["https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/a-little-bit-sweet-a-little-bit-tart-balsamic-vinegar-adds-sass-to-classic-recipes-1024x760.jpg",800,594,true],"msn_title":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notebook\/1627"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notebook"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/notebook"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notebook\/1627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":233975,"href":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notebook\/1627\/revisions\/233975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justapinch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}