Here at Simply Flavorful, our dream was to build a store that brought our customers excitement and inspiration.  We love sharing flavors and ideas to help make that next meal just a little bit different without adding significant time and effort to the experience.  Between our specially selected Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar flavors, herbs & spices and our range of all specialty food items, we hope that you find something here that makes you say “oh, I want to try that!”.  

About our Balsamic Vinegars:

In order to tell you about our balsamic vinegar let's start off with a brief education of balsamic vinegar. Balsamic Vinegar is made from grape must (crushed grapes) that are then cooked down and caramelized. This mixture is then stored in barrels for a minimum of 12 years to age. This Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Italy is only bottled in 100ml bottles and sealed. Based on the time and process this product is very expensive (usually selling for $200 or more a bottle). This is not the same product that you find in many stores around the world today. What you will find in most stores are a "traditional style" which consists of a combination of the grape must and wine vinegar. Grocery stores usually carry a "4 star" balsamic which is thinner and more acidic, containing around 25% grape must and 75% vinegar. This product will have a watery consistency. A higher end balsamic that you may find at some specialty shops will be a "25 star" balsamic. These contain approx. 60% grape must and 40% wine vinegars.

Our balsamic vinegar is produced in Modena Italy and consists of 80% grape must and 20% wine vinegars/flavoring (For our flavored balsamic). The higher grape must lends to a thicker, sweeter, and less acidic product closer to Traditional Balsamic Vinegar. The thickness of our balsamic vinegars may be also comparable to some of the balsamic glazes at the grocery store however these glazes typically have ingredients added such as cornstarch, fructose syrup, or sugar. Our balsamic only contains the natural sugars from the grape must.

Some additional questions you may have.

What is the difference between dark and white balsamic vinegars. Dark balsamic contain the carnalized grape must and red wine vinegar, white balsamic is cooked down in a vacuum chamber which prevents the natural sugars from caramelizing and is mixed with white wine vinegar. This will lead to the white balsamic being slightly less acidic than its dark balsamic counterpart.

How long has your balsamic aged? If you do not have the "Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena" Italy does not allow you to label or advertise the age of a traditional style balsamic. We can confirm that our products have spent several years in oak barrels where many other commercial brands may only spend a few months. Any store that claims to have balsamic from Italy aged for X number of years is using marketing techniques to sell their products.

Is there any added sugar? Our balsamic has no added sugars. The natural sugars are from the grape must. Our balsamics have on average 8 grams sugar per 1 TBSP serving.