In my last two columns, I shared the documented and clinically proven health benefits of consuming high quality, fresh olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars on a daily basis. It is gratifying to have so many Flagstaff residents who have shared with me how their personal health has improved since they began using products purchased in my shop.
The most common health benefits that customers have shared with me have been gradual weight loss, increased energy, healthier looking and feeling skin and hair and getting a better night’s sleep.
As I have mentioned in the past, one excellent source to learn more about buying world class olive oil locally is www.Truthinoliveoil.com. On the site, click on the Great Olive Oils Of the World tab.
Questions often come up as to how to best use olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars at home. Here are a few recommendations and techniques to bring out your inner chef!
Marinate
To marinate, you simply coat your food in a mixture of your favorite olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar and let it rest before cooking. The purpose of marinating is for the food to absorb the flavors of the marinade, or, as in the case of a tough cut of meat, to tenderize it.
Because most marinades contain acidic ingredients (four percent in a dark balsamic and six percent in a white balsamic), the marinating should be done in a glass, ceramic or stainless steel container or in a ziplock bag – never in aluminum.
For each pound of food to be marinated (meat, poultry, fish, vegetables), use one tablespoon each of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Mix contents well and distribute evenly over food. Cover the container. For the best results, marinate for at least one hour, or up to eight hours, in the refrigerator. Turn the food halfway through the marinating time.
Remove the food from the refrigerator at least 30-45 minutes before cooking and allow it to come to room temperature. Remove from the marinade. Brush on any residual marinade during cooking.
When fruits are similarly prepared, the term used is macerate. Try working the word “macerate” into your next conversation with your workout buddy at the gym.
Emulsify
If you have ever sampled one of our ultra-fresh olive oils along with specially selected dark or white balsamic vinegars, you may have noticed that we vigorously mix the two together in a small plastic sample cup. We want to get the two products to blend together properly, or emulsify, before you taste them.
You want to do the same thing in your own kitchen. Slowly add your olive oil to your chosen balsamic vinegar in a bowl while whisking vigorously. This disperses and suspends minute droplets of one liquid throughout the other. Emulsified mixtures are usually thick and satiny in texture. Emulsifying will allow you to evenly disperse a vinaigrette flavor over salads and fruit. For a vinaigrette, the usual ratio is 1:3 (i.e., one tablespoon balsamic to three tablespoons olive oil). You will notice that your higher quality olive oils and balsamic vinegars hold together much better and longer in an emulsion than other oils and distilled vinegars.
Caramelize
Brush or drizzle any high quality aged balsamic vinegar on meat, fish, fruit or vegetables. Cook over medium heat in a pan coated with one to two tablespoons of fresh olive oil until the naturally occurring sugars in the balsamic become thicker and sticky, helping to brown (caramelize) the surface of the food.
Sauté
Cook food quickly in one to two tablespoons of fresh olive oil in a skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Authentic Extra Virgin Olive Oils will withstand heat of up to 300–325 degrees.
Deglaze
After meat, poultry or fish has been sautéed in olive oil and the food and any excess oil has been removed from the pan, deglazing is done by adding a small amount of aged balsamic to the pan and stirring to loosen browned bits of food on the bottom. The mixture often becomes a sauce to accompany the food cooked in the pan.
Reduce
Although a high quality, well aged balsamic vinegar is naturally thick and syrup like, sometimes you may be following a recipe that calls for a balsamic vinegar reduction. There are two reduction techniques that will bring about the same great results.
I refer to the two techniques as Non-Traditional and Traditional.
The Non-Traditional method is to simply place an already well-aged superior quality balsamic vinegar in a shallow bowl or dish covered with a paper towel covering the bowl or dish. Let it set for four or more hours and you will notice that, because of simple evaporation, you now have a thicker balsamic vinegar that has been “reduced.”
The Traditional method that you have seen on TV cooking shows for years is to bring your balsamic vinegar to a boil in a pan on the stove. Whisk constantly while maintaining a slow boil, until 50 percent of the volume is reduced by evaporation, thereby thickening the consistency and intensifying the flavor. Such a mixture is sometimes referred to as a reduction or a glaze and is used to finish both sweet and savory dishes.
I hope that this brief description of Kitchen Techniques has been helpful. More importantly, I hope that you will feel confident to try a few of these techniques yourselves and share them with your family and friends. FBN
By Mike Kilpatrick -Learn more online.