One Tangy Ingredient Gives This Classic Italian Sauce A Gourmet Edge - Tasting Table

"Italian cuisine is among the most famous in the world, and for good reason. Iconic dishes like pizza and pasta are fan favorites no matter where you are in the world. And these two categories of Italian food in particular showcase the most classic Italian sauce, red sauce. Red sauce can be a stewed tomato sauce or a simple marinara sauce. While traditional recipes uphold strict standards that ban certain ingredients, an unconventional yet gourmet upgrade to Italian tomato sauces is balsamic vinegar."

"Balsamic vinegar stands out from the other vinegar varieties in the way it is produced using actual grapes and a longer aging process. Consequently it has an almost black hue and a flavor as sweet as it is sour. While we tend to use balsamic vinegar into vinaigrettes for our salads, you'd be surprised at the unique ways this complex vinegar can be used. And tomato sauce is one such recipe that will benefit from its sweet and tangy profile."

"Tomatoes are, themselves, sweet and tangy, but when we cook them into a sauce, they are transformed into a savory, umami-rich reduction. So, the balsamic will help bring out the inherent flavors in raw tomatoes while also complementing the new depth of cooked tomatoes and the savoriness of common sauce ingredients like garlic and herbs. Plus, balsamic is an Italian-born ingredient upheld by the same DOP seal as San Marzano tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella, common ingredients on pizzas and pastas."

Balsamic vinegar complements tomato-based sauces by adding sweet, tangy brightness and deepening savory, umami flavors. Balsamic is produced from grapes and aged, yielding a nearly black hue and a sweet-sour profile. The vinegar accentuates inherent flavors of raw tomatoes and enhances the reduced, savory character of cooked tomato sauces alongside garlic and herbs. Balsamic holds the same Italian DOP designation as San Marzano tomatoes and traditional cheeses. Small dashes brighten bland marinara and improve both from-scratch and store-bought sauces. Proper timing of addition influences flavor balance and final sauce character.

Read at Tasting Table