Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Balsamic Government


I could drink it!
Just typed, "how to make your own white balsamic vinegar" into that magic, invisible university known as Google and discovered there are some things that cannot be easily DIY'd...white balsamic vinegar being one of them. Unless, of course you have access to grapes from the Modena region of Italy, along with master-level winemaking skills.

While I do have the winemaking equipment and posses a novice-level skill at making it, I don't have the grapes or the time. And one out of three ain't good enough in this case.

Daunting to think, however (referencing my previous post) that in the wake of the Collapse of Everything we may have to do without our beloved white balsamic vinegar. How will we eat our post-apocalyptic homegrown watermelons and salads? That alone seems a good enough reason to keep our democracy and basic infrastructure going. So back off, Doomers.

Who would best support continued importing of white balsamic vinegar?
I do make my own laundry detergent, soap, cleaning products and a fair amount of "basics" kind of food, such as tomato paste. But other things are just not worth the time, equipment cost and skill level they take to produce on an individual basis, for one household.

So I probably can't make white balsamic...But I can start using my copious supply of eggs to make my own mayonnaise (very easy) and making ketchup from a jar or two from the store of canned tomatoes (also easy) I have put aside, so those will be projects in the weeks to come.

I'm always looking for ways to make things from scratch using basic ingredients, but the key to success is sometimes to know what do make yourself and what to buy.

And of course support the infrastructure that supports the products you can't live without. I'm willing to put up with a lot of political and governmental crap in order to keep my First World need for chocolate, white balsamic vinegar, bananas and the occasional bar of Halvah coming into the nation.

My vote goes to whomever supports that. And universal healthcare, of course.

4 comments:

  1. I learned this with cheese. When I really found out what went into making cheese, I decided I would just leave it to the people who dedicate their entire lives to it! It would never occur to me to make my own oil or vinegar though. You might be a little more headstrong than I am! Haha as I pretty much always assume my homemade version of anything would be superior. Notable exceptions: Mexican restaurant queso dip and broccoli-cheddar soup. I think that broc-ched must have such a disgusting amount of fat that I could never recreate it at home. Even though I am very liberal with butter and cream.
    Ah...watermelon and balsamic. One of my favorite, favorite dishes to make in the summer is cornmeal pancakes with a watermelon and tomato salad with lots of salt and balsamic. Soooo good.

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    1. That sounds totally delish! I think making plain old red wine vinegar is actually extremely easy but balsamic is just so much more complex so, yes, leave it to the people who devote their lives to
      such things. I can't even imagine making really fine cheese. It seems like such an elevated art form to me.

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    2. I would LOVE it if you posted on making red wine vinegar. I burn through it, so I use the cheap Kroger brand for the most part.

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    3. OK, next time we get a bad bottle of wine at the winery I will do it! Good wine that's "corked" is already halfway to being vinegar, so it's the best wine to work with. I have a couple of friends who make theirs from just such wines.

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